Download Swahili Made Simple

SWAHILI MADE SIMPLE
by Stephen M. Shululu Revised and Expanded by T P. Wolf
Introductory Note:
This Study Guide is best used as a summary/reference for structures learned elsewhere, since it is impossible to present
such material in a graded progression, which avoids entirely any logical 'leaps'. Having said this, none of the examples
given to illustrate the structure under discussion goes beyond the grammatical limits of the summary itself. See the
accompanying Vocabulary for the lexical items used in the examples.
Pronouns
♦ Personal Pronouns
st
1 person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
mimi (I)
wewe (you)
yeye (he/she)
Plural
sisi (we)
ninyi or nyinyi (you)
wao (they)
These pronouns are always self-standing.
They are usually followed by the verb ni (or its negative, si): wewe ni mwalimu, wao si wema.
While the positive (ni) may be omitted, the negative must not be: mimi mgonjwa, ninyi si masikini.
They are sometimes used for emphasis before and in addition to the correct subject pronoun prefix (see below):
yeye hakuchelewa, sisi tumefaulu.
Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
angu (my/mine)
ako (you/yours)
ake (his/his, her/hers)
Plural
etu (our/ours)
enu (your/yours)
ao (their/theirs)
Know your stem/adjectival endings: uvumilivu wangu; uvumilivu wako, etc.
Know your noun class prefix agreement: kitabu changu; chungwa langu; etc.
Remember there is no equivalent to an apostrophe, so instead of saying “Juma's job” we must say “the work of
Juma”: kazi ya juma (or kazi yake juma).
♦ Subject Pronoun Prefixes
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
ni (I)
u (you)
a (he/she)
Plural
tu (we)
m(u) (you)
wa (they)
These prefixes are always used with transitive (i.e., action) verbs.
They are (generally) followed by the tense infix (or “marker”).
The subject prefix, the tense marker, and the verb stem are written as one word:
unasoma; tutasafiri; walikaa
♦ Object Pronoun Infixes
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
ni (me)
ku (you)
m (him/her)
Plural
tu (us)
wa (you)
wa (them)
Watch the position of the infix in the sentence- after the tense marker and immediately before the verb stem.
(remember: 'STOVE' - (S)ubject + (T)ense + (O)bject + (VE)rb):
ametuita; nitampa; hakunidanganya.
Because the same infix is used for the second and third persons plural, ninyi may be added when the former is
being expressed:
niliwaona; hatawatuma ninyi.
Remember also the reflexive object infix -ji- (myself):
nimejiumiza; hajajisaidia; watajipatia.
Basic Positive Tenses
♦ Present Continuous Tense
The present continuous tense refers to ongoing currant action (“I am doing something”). It is made by simply
combining the particular Object Pronoun with the infix -na-, followed by the verb stem (the infinitive with the
prefix ku taken out,):
ninasema; unaandika; anacheka, etc.
Note, however, that when the verb has only one syllable after the infinitive prefix ku, it remains:
tunakula; mnrkuja; wanakunywa, etc.
♦ The Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense is used to describe an action which either (a) has just recently occurred, or (b) regardless of
when it took place, produced a result which still exists in the present (“I have arrived”; “The milk is spilt”; etc.). It
employs the infix -me- instead of -na- as in the present continuous tense, but is in other ways identical.
nimefika; maziwa; yamemwagika
♦ Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense refers to a completed action, usually in the more distant past, and where no resultant state is
directly relevant to current conditions ("You worked"; "They played"). It employs the infix -li-, and is again
otherwise identical to the tenses described above:
ulifanya kazi, walicheza.
♦ The Simple Future Tense
The future tense refers to actions in all future time (She will recover; We will conquer). Again it is identical to the
other simple tenses, except that it employs the infix –ta-:
atapona; tutashinda
Adjectives
Adjectival Root
chache
dogo
kubwa
zuri
baya
refu
fupi
ingi/engi
ingine/engine
ote
o -ote
gumu
chafu
(few)
(small)
(large)
(good, beautiful)
(bad, ugly)
(tall)
(short)
(many
(other)
(all)
(any at all)
(hard, difficult)
(dirty, obscene)
Example
watoto wachache
mbuzi wadogo
miti mikubwa
habari nzuri
kitabu kibaya
mlango mrefu; safari ndefu
maua mafupi
chumvi nyingi; mahali pengi
choo kingine; mpishi mwengine
vikapu vyote
shida yo yote
maswali magumu
hadithi chafu
Adjectives always follow the noun they modify
• Nearly all adjectives of Bantu origin must agree with the nouns they modify according to their (noun class)
prefixes (see below):
mti mrefu; watu warefu, mlima mrefu; milima mirefu; etc.
Numbers also follow the noun (and the adjective if there is one), and also take the agreement prefix of the noun
except for 6, 7, 9 and 10:
watoto wawili; mananasi sita; vifaru wakubwa tisa; etc.
Adjectives of non-Bantu (especially Arabic) origin are generally not modified to agree with nouns:
Adjective
safi
ghali
rahisi
hodari
(clean, pleasing)
(expensive)
(cheap, easy)
(skillful)
Example
mikeka safi
nguo ghali
bei rahisi
mkulima hodari
The Imperative
♦ Positive Commands
When giving a command to only one parson, simply use the verb stem: e.g., funga!; fungua!; (but note such
irregulars as nenda!; njoo!).
When speaking to more than one person:
add ni to the verb stem: njooni!; jaribuni!
if the verb stem ends in a change it to e before adding ni: fungeni!; fungueni!; nendeni!
♦ Negative Commands
•
•
For negative orders, the pronoun prfix must be used together with the syllable infix -si-, or snev: S(ubject) +
N(egative order infix) + V(erb stem): usirudi!; msijibu!
For verbs ending in a, change it to e: usiogal'e!; msipumlike'
Note: These commands are harsh/rude (especially the positives; see the Subjunctive Tense, below), and should be
given only in emergencies, to peers, or to those with whom one is very familiar.
Nouns and Their Classes
As you will have seen, every noun belongs to one of a number of groups or 'classes'. The specific prefix of each noun
(person, place or thing) is thus determined by its class, in both the singular and plural.
♦ The Human Being (or m/wa) Class
Nouns in this class almost always take the m prefix in the singular and wa in the plural:
mtu/watu; mnyama/wanyama.
Remember that these prefixes also apply to adjectives. When referring to people, therefore where mtu or watu is
the subject, for example), the adjective may stand alone; i.e., the word for person or people need not be stated:
mjinga/wa3inga; mjanja/wajanja; mpole/wrpole.
Remember also that there are some nouns referring to persons (and animals) which according to their prefixes
belong to other classes (see below), but still agree with the m/'wa class when adjectives (except' in some cases,
possessives) are employed:
askari mkali''askari wakali; daktari miuri/madaktari wazuri; rafiki yangu mkeny^; marafiki zangu
wakenya.
♦ The Tree (or m/mi) Class
Nouns in the class invariably take M in the singular and MI in the plural. They include almost all trees and plants,
and other nouns: mti/miti; mgomba/migomba, moto/mioto; mto/mito; mwaka/miaka.
♦ The Thing (or ki/vi) Class
This class includes many inanimate objects as well as diminutives. All nouns take ki in the singular and vi in the
plural, except those which begin with oh, which become vy:
kitu/vitu; kikombe,'vikombe, mumba/vyumba; kisahani/visahani.
♦ The General (or N) Class
Many words in this class start with n. but it also includes most words of foreign (i.e., non-Bantu) origin. Because
there is no difference between the singular and plural form of such nouns, one can only tall from the
accompanying adjective or verb prefix ~ whether the speaker or writer is referring to the singular or plural:
nyumba yako/nyumba zero; saa imepotea/saa 7imepotea.
Remember those N class words which refer to humans (and animals), but which usually revert to the M/WA class
in the adjectival form: nrhodha mpotevu/nahodha wapotevu; ng'ombe mmoja/ng'ombe wengi.
♦ The Fruit (or JI/'MA) Class
This class includes most fruits and vegetables, as well as many many nouns made from verbs and things plentiful
in nature (which are usually only expressed in the plural), and some things which only come in pairs. While most
nouns in this class take JI in the singular, all take the subject prefix MA in the plural:
tunda/matunda; mapenzi; maji; icho/macho.
♦ The Abstract (or U) Class
This class contains most abstractions (such as concepts; i.a., the 'ness' of something) as wall as a small group of
other items. The former logi cally have no plural, whereas the latter take plural forms similar to the N class:
uzuri; usawa; uso/nyuso; u=i/nyu7i.
Final Note on Nouns:
Regarding the classification on nouns, there are several general ap plica~le rules. If the noun is a person (and in most
cases if it is an animal) put it in the M/WA class, if it is not human but has the power of movement (i.e., is animate), it
usually belongs in the M/MI class; if it starts with KI (and sometimes with CH) it belongs to the KI,iVI class; if it is
the name of a fruit or vegetable, put it in J/MA; if it starts with any other letter and has the same form in the plural as
the singular, it goes in the N class. Simple!
The Neuter Classes in Verb Form/Locatives
There are things which inanimate objects may do: knives cut, cups break, water dries up, etc. Thus there are subject
prefixes, singular and plural, which must be attached to verb stems for all things (as they are for people) which can act
or be acted upon. These are used in just the same way as they are for the human being class (NI-, U-, etc.); that is, they
coma in front G ~ the tense marker which precedes the verb stem itself That is, in Swahili (unfortunately), there are no
general words for 'it" and "they"; these are expressed differently according to the class of the noun in question as
subject prefixes:
Class
m/mi
ki/vi
n/n
ji/ma
u/n
It
ukiiliu-
They
iviziyazi-
Examples
mbuyu umepasuliwa.
kiti kimekatika
kalamu imekauka.
jiwe limeanguka.
ubaya utaondolewa.
miiba ilisumbua.
vijiko vimeoshwa.
peso zitaliwa.
madafu yataiva.
nyakati zinabadilika.
These subject prefixes are also combined with the locatives (place designations) -KO (indefinite or general place and
the most common), -PO (specific place) and -MO (inside place) to say that something(s) is/are "there". Negatives are
made by simply adding the usual negative prefix (HA-) to these subject prefixes for things of particular classes:
kiatu kiko - kiatu hakiko; viatu viko - viatu haviko; m'uko upo - mfuko haupo, mifuko iko - mifuko
haiko
Remember that when expressing location with people, all the usual subject prefixes are used except for the 3rd person
singular, where A becomes YU:
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
niko - siko
uko - huko
yuko - hayuko
Plural
tuko - hatuko
mko - hamko (or muko - hamuko)
wako - hawako
Present Tense Of The Verbs “To Be” and
“To Have” / “To Be With”
•
The word for "am", "is", and "are" (when used as self-standing intransitive verbs) is NI; its negative is SI:
yeye ni mpumba'v'u.; ninyi si w~talii.; uzee si ugonjwa.
•
The word for "have" and "with" is NA. When the latter meaning is required, it is a self-standing conjunction:
tutakula wali na kuku; niliwashtaki hamisi na fatuma.
•
The former meaning is (usually) indicated by joining NA to the particular subject prefix in question:
mtoto huyu ana homa; sisi tuna 3ahati;
•
To form the negative, put HA in front of the positive form, except in the case of the first and second person singular
(i.e., in the Human Being class) when SI and HU are used:
sina fedra; mfuko huu hauna cho chote; kisa hicho hakina mwisho
Note: Remember the words KUNA and HAKUNA (in general, there are and there aren't). The prefix PA is joined with
NA to refer to some thing in a more specific place (PANA/HAPANA), while MU usually refers to something inside
someplace (MUNA/HAMNA). (Also note that NA may mean "by", when referring to an act which was committed
"by" a human agent: TUMELIPIWA NA MZEE YULE, when a non-human agent is involved, KWA is used:
ALIWAWA KWA SHOKA.)
Past And Future Tenses Of "To Be And To Have
The verb form used for the past and future tenses of to be is KUWA:
alikuwa tajiri; tutakuwa safarini
When expressing possession in either of these tenses, KUWA is used with NA to say that someone/thing wasfwere or
will be with (i.e , have) some body/thing:
alikuwa na huzuni; watakuwq na furaha
Interrogation
Most questions are expressed merely through inflection, i.e., by raising the voice at the end of a sentence (not by
reversing word order as in English). However, such sentences may begin with the interrogative JE, which indicates at
the outset that a question is about to be asked:
atakasirika?; barabara imefunguliwa?; je, yeye ni mwenyeji?
Alternatively, JE can be used as a suffix, usually meaning how?
waonaje?; ilikuwaje?; ut~endaje?; amesemaje-; tufanyeje~
There are also a number of special interrogatives which denote that a question is being asked
Interrogative
nani?
nini?
gani?
lini?
wapi?
kwa nini?
kwa sababu gani?
-ngapi
Meaning
who?
what?
what sort of?
when?
where?
why?
why?
how many?
Example
nani amekuandikia barua~
nini kinakuudh i?
unasoma kitabu gani?
gari litaondoka lini?
wanakimbilia wapi?
kwa nini hukuniambia?
kwa sababu gani tusimueshimu?
saa ngapi sasa?/wataka viti vingapi?
(Note that -NGAPI is like an adjective in that it must agree with the noun it refers to.)
The Demonstrative and Other Adjectives
♦ Demonstratives (This/That, These/Those)
The following suffixes are used in connection with the demonstrative adjectives for the singular and plural forms of
nouns in each of the classes noted above:
Class
m/wa
mimi
ki/vi
n
ji/ma
u
Singular
yu
u
ki
i
li
u
Plural
wa
i
vi
zi
ye
zi
Examples (This/These; That/Those)
mtu huyu/watu hawa; mtu yule/watu wale.
mti huu/miti hii; mtu ulejmiti ilk
kitu hiki/vitu hivi; kitu kile/vitu vile.
pesa hiijpesa hizi; pesa ile'pesa zile
jino hili/meno maya; jino lile/meno yal'
uzi huu/nyuzi hizi; uzi ule/nyuzi zi'e
♦ The Relative (Who, Which)
The relative may be expressed in either of three ways. The first and easiest is to use the relative adjectival root AMBAwhich the following suffixes for the various noun classes:
Class
m/wa
m/mi
ki/vi
n
ji/ma
u
Singular
ye
o
cho
yo
lo
o
Plural
o
yo
vyo
zo
yo
zo
Examples
mtu ambaye/watu ambao.
mti ambao/miti ambayo.
kiti ambacho/viti ambavyo
nyumba ambayo/nyumba ambazo.
neno ambaloimaneno ambayo.
uma ambao/nyuma ambazo.
An alternative way is to use these suffixes as infixes in the normal subject-verk form, SO that we end up with Subject
+ Tense + Relative + Verb, or 'STOVE":
Class
m/wa
mimi
ki/vi
n
ji/ma
u
Singular
ye
o
cho
yc
lo
o
Plural
o
yo
vyo
zo
yo
zo
Examples
mwizi anqyeiba; wizi wanaoiba.
mt~a unaojengw~; mitaa inayojengwa.
kisu kilichokata; visu yiliyyokata.
tea iliyozimika; tan zilizozimika
embe litakaloiva, maembe yatakayoiya.
uzi utakaotosha; nyuzi zitakazoto~ha.
And if there is also an object, "STROVE":
YULE ANAYENIPENDA; WALE WANAONICHUKIA; etc.
A final way of using the relative is by affixing these suffixes to the verb. In this case, no tense marker is used, and we
get "the sleeping child," "students who make effort", etc.:
MSICHANA ALALAYE; WANAFUNZI WAFANYAO BIDII.
To make the negatives of all of these relatives, simply insert SI before the relative infix (or suffix):
YULE ASIYEJUR; WALE WASIOJUA.
♦ Comparison of Adjectives
All comparatives and superlatives are cove red by one word, KULIKO, meaning as compared with/to. (Sometimes
KU=HINDA is used in the same way.):
kikoi chako hi kirefu kuliko changu. nywele zake hi ndefu kuliko zangu. jump ni mpefu kumshinda ali.
The word ZQIDI, meaning more (or "exceedingly ) is usually used when the second subject is not mentioned, as well
as in other ways:
wazungu wanaoji'unza kiswarili si wengi zaidi. ndege iliruka mbali zaidi. ningependa ku=ema zaidi.
♦ Some Adverbs
As in English, Swahili adverbs qualify adjectives and verbs or other ad verbs, and are usually placed immediately after
the word they modify, except when they qualify a verb, when they may come slightly later:
yule myulana ni mchokozi sana.alifanya kazi yake vizuri kabisa.
Common Adverbs:
sana very
vizuri nicely, well
vibaya badly
mara moja at once
kawaida usually
kidogo a bit, somewhat
krbisa completely
Note also that certain adjectives can be made into adverbs by adding the prefix VI- to the adjectival stem (VI+ZURI,
VI+GUMU, etc.), while certain nouns can be made into adverbs by adding the prefix KI-, to give the mean ing of "in
the same way as":
anaishi kienyenji. wanrkulr kifisi.anasema kiswahili.
The Negative With The Verb Of Action
♦ Present and Future Tenses
In order to form negative sentences, add the syllable HA to the positive verb form (e.g.; WATALIA - HRWATALIA).
This applies for all classes, singular and plural, and for all persons, with two exceptions, the singular of the first and
second person, for which the negatives are formed by changing NI to SI (first person) and U to HU (second person):
st
1 Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
NINAKATAA SIKATAI
UNAKRTAA HUKATAI
ANQKATAA HAKATRI
Plural
TUNAKRTAA
MNAKATAA
WANAKATRA
HATUKRTAI
HAMKATAI
HAWRKATRI
Two helpful points to remember are that:
• All verbs that end with the latter R change to I in the present negative, but verbs that end with other
vowels do not change:
ninajaribu - sijaribu; rnramini - haamini.
•
Verbs having only one syllable (in addition to the KU of the infinifive) worm (e.g.; KULA, KUNYWR,
etc.) drop the KU in the present negative although they may retain them in the positive, and do so in
nearlyall cases; in the future tense, the KU is always retained for both positive and negative:
ninakula - sili, tunrkunywa - hatunywi.
Past and Perfect Tenses
In both the past and perfect negative tenses, in addition to prefixing the syllable HA (or SI or HU) before the verb, LI
changes to KU (past tense) and ME changes to JA (perfect tense):
iliharibika - haikuharibikr; limeiva - halijai''a.
Some Other Tenses
♦ The HU Tense
This tense is sometimes called the habitual tense, and is translated as "usually" or "generally", as it "I usually get up at
6 a.m.", or "Oows (by their nature) eat grass." It is formed by using the prefix HU before the verb stem. Neither
pronoun prefixes nor tense markers are used; the form is the same for all subjects of all classes. This means the noun or
pronoun subject must be specified:
mimi huamka saa kumi na mbili ya a=ubuni; ng'ombe hula nya=i.
There is no negative of the HU tense; instead, the present negative is used, together, perhaps with the adverb
KAWAIDA ("usually'). This tense is most commonly used in aphorisms and advertisements:
kawaida mimi siamki saa hiyo; ng'ombe hawali nyama. watu wenye akili hutumia aspro
♦ The KI Tense
This tense has two main uses:
•
Use it to say "if" something happens (will happen) as a conditional tense:
UKI=OMA KWA BIDII UTAPITA MTIHANI VYEMA. UKICHELEWA UTAWAKUTR
WAMESHAPUKUlWA.
Use it to say 'when' something happens:
nikirudi nyumbani nitampigia simu.akijr nitampa habari.
The word KAMA ("if" or "whether") may be used for emphasis at the beginning of such sentences.
The negative in either case is formed by using the relativ2 -SIPO- as the tense infix:
tu~ipoeala tutakuwa na u=ingizi mwingi ~ana. u<iponipenda nitampenda mwengine.
•
We also use ths KI tense (as a gerun~, representing an on-going action) following a verb in the past or future tense
meaning "whenfif he was~will be doing something":
nilimwona akiiba. utanikuta nikilima ~hambani mwetu.
•
Finally, we often see the form -KIWA where the KI tense is used with the very to be (KUWA) meaning if/when it
is/happens. It can also be used with a personal prefix (NIKIWA, UKIWA, etc.) meaning if I am," "if you are," etc.:
ikiwa mvua tusitoke nje.wakiwa wavivu hawatapata cho chote. simba akiwa na njaa huenda kuwinda.
♦ The KA Tense
This tense is used when giving accounts or telling stories. The syllable -KA- then replaces the usual past tense (LI). It
is a narrative tense and therefore gives the sense "and then" something happened. The passage al-most always starts in
the past tense and then continues in the KA tense:
yule alifika nyumbani kwao, akapiga hodi, akaingia, akapewa chai, anywa. kisha akawambia mambo
yote alikuwa nayo.
♦ The Permissive/Request/Obligatory Tense (Subjunctive)
Verb forms in this tense can be translated as "may", "should"/"ought to", 'must" or “in order to" (or their negatives). It
is made simply by changing the last ~ to E; if the verb ends in any other vowel, it remains unchanged. To form the
negative, -si- is added as the second syllable. Notice that in the second person singular and plural the negative is the
same as the negative imperative). It has two main uses.
•
It may be used to ask or tell someone to do something (who may be either present or not) and is a far more
polite form than the imperative (especially when prefaced by TAFADHALI):
tupe habari; arudi madukani sasa?; usiseme kizungu, wasije tena.
It MUST be used when a wish/request/order faction is being relayed to/done to a third party:
nikupe ruksa?; twaambie jina lako; tusiwakaribishe nyumbani.
MWISHO!
S. M. Shululu, 1966, and T. P. Wolf 1972 and 1989
Vocabulary For "Swahili Made Easy!”
Note:
Words are listed only the first time they appear, in the order in which they appear in examples. Nouns appear
only in the singular, except where their only form is plural. Adjectives are given in their root form only;
verbs in their stem form only (without tense markers and uninflected, except where some form such as the
stative is most commonly used). Adjectives and ad-verbs found in the translated short list (in Section III) are
excluded.
Section I
Nouns:
uvumilivu (perseverance)
kichwa (heady)
mwalimu (teacher)
chungwa (orange)
kazi (work, employment)
Adjectives:
ema (good)
gonjwa (ill)
masikini (impoverished)
Verbs:
chelewa (be late)
faulu (succeed)
some (read, study)
safiri (travel)
kaa (sit, reside)
ita (call)
pa (give)
danganya (deceive, rip-off)
ona (see, feel, perceive)
tuma (send, dispatch)
umiza (cause pain, injury)
jisaidia (help's oneself; urinate,
defecate)
pata (obtain)
Section II
Nouns: maziwa (milk)
Verbs:
sema (say, speak)
andika (write)
cheka (laugh)
la (sat)
ja (come)
nywa (drink)
fika (arrive)
mwagika (be spilt)
fanya (do, make)
cheza (play, dance)
pond (recover, heal)
shinda (win, overcome)
Section III
Nouns:
mtoto (child)
mbuzi (goat)
mti (tree)
habari (news)
kitabu (book)
mlango (door)
ua (flower)
chumvi (salt, exaggeration)
mahali (place)
choo (toilet, outhouse)
swali (question)
hadithi (story, tale)
mpishi (cook)
kikapu (basket)
shida (problem, trouble)
nanasi (pineapple)
kifaru (rhinocerous)
mkeka (floor mat)
nguo (cloth, clothing)
bei (price)
mkulima (farmer, peasant)
Section IV
Verbs:
funga (close)
fungua (open)
enda (go)
jaribu (try)
rudi (return)
jibu (reply)
ogalea (swim)
pumlika (rest)
Section V
Nouns:
mtu (person)
mnyama (animal)
askari (police, guard)
daktari (doctor)
rafiki (friend)
mti (tree)
mgomba (banana tree)
nyumba (house)
saa (watch, clock, hour)
moto (fire)
mto (stream, river)
mwaka (year)
kitu (thing)
kikombe (cup)
chumba (room)
kisahani (small dish)
nohodha (skipper)
ng'ombe (cow)
tunda (fruit)
mapenzi (love-making)
mali (water)
jicho (eye, envy)
uzuri (beauty)
usawa (equality)
uso (face)
uzi (thread)
Adjectives:
jingo (foolish)
janja (clever, deceitful)
pole (gentle, easy-going, amiable)
kali (rough, sharp, violent, fierce)
zuri (good, beautiful)
poteyu (lost, missing)
Verbs: potea (be lost)
Section VI
Nouns:
mbuyu (baobab tree)
mwiba (thorn)
kiti (chair)
kijiko (spoon)
kalamu (pen)
pesa (money)
jiwe (stone)
dafu (unripened coconut)
nyakati (periods of time)
kiatu (shoe)
mfuko (pocket, sachet)
ubaya (evil)
Verbs:
pasua (split)
sumbua (disturb, bother, trouble)
iva (ripen)
katika (be broken)
osha (wash)
ondoa (remove)
kauka (become dry)
ancuka (fall down)
badalika (be changed)
Section VII
Nouns:
mtalii (tourist)
uzee (old age)
ugonjwa (illness, a disease)
wali (cooked rice)
kuku (chicken)
homa (fever)
bahati (luck, good fortune)
mouu (leg, foot)
Adjectives:
pumbavu (foolish, stupid)
Verbs:
Nouns: huluni (sorrow, grief)
furaha (joy)
Adjectives:
shtaki (accuse)
lipa (pay)
Section VIII
tajiri (wealthy)
kiss (narrative, tale)
mwisho (end)
shoka (axe)
•
Section IX
Nouns:
Adjectives:
Verbs:
barabara (road)
barua (letter)
enyeji (local, indigenous)
kasirika (be angry)
andika (write)
udhi (torment)
ondoka (depart)
Verbs: kimbia (run)
ambia (tell)
heshimu (respect)
take (want, need)
Section X
Nouns:
jino (tooth)
neno (word, concern, complaint)
uma (fork)
mwizi (thief)
mtaa (quarter/section of a town)
kisu (knife)
Verbs:
iba (steal)
jenga (build)
kata (cut)
zimika (be extinguished)
Adjectives:
tan (lamp)
embe (mango)
msichana (girl)
mwanafunzi (student)
bidii (effort)
kikoi (male loin-cloth/skirt)
nywele (hair)
mzungu (white person, European)
ndege (bird, airplane)
mvulana (boy)
mlima (hill, mountain)
fisi (hyena)
tosha (be sufficient)
enda (like, love)
chukia (hated
lala (sleep)
jua (know)
jifunza (learn)
chokozi (troublesome)
Section XI
Verbs:
lia (cry)
kataa (refuse, deny)
• Nouns:
asubuhi (morning)
nyasi (grass)
nyama (meat)
aspro (aspirin)
mtihani (examination)
simu (wire, telephone)
usingizi (fatigue, drowsiness)
mvua (rain)
nje (outside)
simba (lion)
njaa (hunger)
chai (tea)
kizungu (english)
jaribu (try)
amini (believe)
haribika (be ruined)
Section XII
hodi (a door-knock greeting made
before entry)
habari (news, information)
ruksa (also, ruhusa; permission)
shamba (farm, piece of agricultural
land)
• Adjectives:
vivu (lazy)
• Adverbs:
vyema (well)
kisha (finally, and then)
Verbs:
amka (wake up)
tumia (use)
pita (pass)
kuta (come upon)
fukuza (chase away
piga (hit)
lima (cultivate)
toka (go out, come from)
winda (hunt)
ingia (enter)
karibisha (welcome)