Kiswahili

Swahili Adjectives
Swahili Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the
sentence.
Grammar Tips:
While in English an adjective doesn’t change when the noun changes, in Swahili an
adjective should agree with noun class. For example:
a) Mtoto mzuri amefika ( a good child has arrived)
b) Kiti kizuri kimetengenezwa( a good chair has been made)
c) Gari zuri limeletwa( a good car has been brought)

As you can realize, the stem is –zuri and after you add the prefixes of the noun
class.
English Adjectives Swahili Adjectives
colors rangi easy rahisi
black Nyeusi empty -tupu
blue bluu expensive -ghali
brown hudhurungi fast Haraka
gray kijivu foreign -Geni
green Kijani full Jaa
orange Chungwa good -jema
purple zambarau hard -gumu
red nyekundu heavy -zito
white nyeupe local Kienyeji
yellow manjano new Mpya
noisy kelele
sizes Kimo/Vimo
old -zee
big -kubwa
powerful hodari
deep -refu
quiet tulivu
long -refu
correct sahihi
narrow Wembamba
slow polepole
short -fupi
soft laini
small -dogo
very sana
tall -refu
weak dhaifu
thick -nene
wet loa
tastes ladha wrong makosa
bitter Chungu young Ujana
fresh upya
salty chumvi quantities kiasi
sour chacha few -Chache
spicy chenye viungo little -dogo
sweet tamu many -engi
much zaidi
qualities sifa part sehemu
bad -baya some baadhi
clean safi a few Chache
dark giza whole nzima
difficult -gumu
dirty -chafu
dry -kavu

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Swahili Adverbs
Grammar Tips:
While in English adverbs are usually formed by adding (-ly) to adjectives. In
Swahili many adverbs are words on their own. They derive their meaning from 4
different aspects.-how, time, place and quantity. For example:
1. Natalia aliandika polepole(Natalia wrote slowly)– how
2. Alonso atakuja kesho (Alonso will come tomorrow)-time
3. Juma alienda Mombasa (Juma went to Mombasa) –place
4. Rehema anakula mara mbili (Rehema eats twice) –quantity
Adverbs in Swahili are also used in adjectives and also other adverbs. For
Example
In adjectives- Natalia ni msichana mzuri sana( Natalia is a very good girl) Sana
explains further the adjective mzuri( good)
In adverbs- Alonso atakuja kesho jioni (Allonso will come tomorrow evening)
Jioni explains further the adverb kesho (Tomorrow)

List of Adverbs in Swahili

Below is a list of the Adverbs of time place manner and frequency in Swahili placed
in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to
your Swahili vocabulary.
English Adverbs Swahili Adverbs
adverbs of time Vielezi ya muda very sana
yesterday jana quite kabisa
today leo really kweli
tomorrow kesho fast haraka
now sasa well vizuri
then ndipo, Kiisha hard ngumu
later baadaye slowly polepole
right now sasa hivi carefully kwa makini
last night jana usiku hardly ugumu
this morning asubuhi ya leo mostly mara nyingi
next week wiki ijayo almost karibu
already tayari absolutely Kwa hakika
recently hivi majuzi together pamoja
lately siku hizi alone pekee
soon hivi karibuni
adverbs of frequency
immediately Hivi sasa/sasa
always kawaida
yet bado
sometimes mara kwa mara
ago muda uliopita/kale
seldom sio kawaida
adverbs of place Vielezi ya mahali rarely mara chache
here hapa never kamwe
there kule
everywhere kila mahali
anywhere mahali popote
nowhere mahali pasipo
home nyumbani
away ondoka
out nje
adverbs of manner
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English Questions Swahili Questions

Questions Maswali
how? vipi?
what? nini?
who? nani?
why? nini?
where? wapi?

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Swahili Prepositions
Learning the Swahili Prepositions displayed below is vital to the language. Swahili
prepositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word
or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. Here
are some examples:

English Prepositions Swahili Prepositions

about kuhusu under chini ya
above juu unlike tofauti
across katikati until mpaka
after baada ya via kupitia
against dhidi ya with na
among miongoni mwa within ndani ya
around karibu without bila
as kama according to kulingana na
before kabla because of kwa sababu ya
behind nyuma close to karibu
below chini except for isipokuwa
beside kando ya far from mbali na
between kati ya inside of ndani ya
beyond ng'ambo instead of badala ya
but lakini outside of nje ya
by na as far as mbali kama
despite licha ya as well as kama vile
down chini in addition to zaidi
during wakati in front of mbele ya
except ila in spite of licha ya
for kwa on behalf of kwa niaba ya
from kutoka on top of juu ya
in katika demonstrative pronouns
inside ndani demonstrative Vijina
into katika this hii
near karibu that hio
next kando these hii/hawa/haya/hizi
of ya those hao/hayo
on juu
opposite kinyume Days Siku
outside nje Monday Jumatatu
per kwa Tuesday Jumanne
plus kuongeza Wednesday Jumatano
round pande zote Thursday Alhamisi
since tangu Friday Ijumaa
than kuliko Saturday Jumamosi
through kupitia Sunday Jumapili
till mpaka
to kwa
toward kuelekea
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He ran" vs. "He has run". The "have + run"
form is the Past Perfect. This can also be
formed using "-me" verbs. For example,
take the verb "-soma" (to study). Here are
the following conjugations:

Tense Swahili English

Tenses Present ninasoma I am studying.
Past, Present, Future Past nilisoma I studied.
A helpful trick to remember the Future nitasoma I will study.
tense prefixes is by using the common Past Perfect nimesoma I have studied.
girls name "Natalie". Except in our "-ja" Tense
case, its "na-ta-li".
The "-ja" tense is basically the
Tense Verb Prefix opposite of the "-me" tense from above.
Present na It is colloquially referred to as the "not
Future ta yet" tense.
Past li
You use this tense to say that some
event has not yet taken place, or some
action is not done yet.  The word
Here is an example of the "bado" (yet, still) is often used in
conjugations of "-lala" the verb for conjunction with this tense.
"sleep". The pronoun prefix is in blue.
The tense prefix is in red. For example, we will use the verb "-
Pronoun Past Present Future fika" (to arrive):
mimi nililala ninalala nitalala Pronoun Swahili English
wewe ulilala unalala utalala mimi sijafika I have not arrived (yet).
yeye alilala analala atalala wewe hujafika You have not arrived
sisi tulilala tunalala tutalala (yet).
ninyi mlilala mnalala mtalala yeye hajafika He has not arrived (yet).
wao walilala wanalala watalala sisi hatujafika We have not arrived (yet).
"-me" Tense ninyi hamjafika You all have not arrived
This is often referred to as the (yet).
"Present Perfect" tense. wao hawajafika They have not arrived
(yet).
The opposite/negation of this, is the -
*NOTE: For single syllable words (kuja,
ja tense found below.
kula, etc) they generally DROP the "ku"
Translations of "-me" verbs will vary
(unlike other language constructs, which
based on the verb definition. However,
usually keep the "ku"):
we can group "-me" verbs into two
categories: Swahili English
1. Passive Verbs: sijala I have not eaten.
With positive-passive verbs, this is similar
to saying "is currently in      the state of". "-mesha" Tense
What I mean by this, is best explained with The "-mesha" tense is very similar to the -
example.      Take the verb -potea" (to be me tense above. (Technically, it is an
lost). extension of the -me tense. The main
If you wish to say "he is lost", you will difference is, this tense specifies something
use amepotea. this moment." that "has already" happened.
Tense Kiswahili English
Tense Swahili English present Ninaenda I am going
Present anapotea He is becoming lost.
-me Nimeenda I am gone.
Past alipotea He got lost.
Future atapotea He will get lost. -mesha Nimeshaenda I have already gone.
Present amepotea He is lost. This form is actually a contraction. It
Perfect combines: "-me" + "kwisha" to get mesha
Active verbs:
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Greetings
Keep in mind, this follows the same
patterns as verb negation.
Pronoun Greeting
mimi sijambo
wewe hujambo
yeye hajambo
sisi hatujambo
ninyi hamjambo
wao hawajambo

Kuwa na
"Kuwa na" meaning "to have" also
conjugates a little weird in the present
tense. Its conjugation can be found below:
Negation Pronoun Past Present Future
Keep in mind, this follows the same mimi nilikuwa na nina nitakuwa na
patterns as the -jambo greetings. Note: In wewe ulikuwa na una utakuwa na
present tense, verbs ending with "a" yeye alikuwa na ana atakuwa na
change the final "a" to an "i". The present sisi tulikuwa na tuna tutakuwa na
tense also drops the tense prefix. The past ninyi mlikuwa na mna mtakuwa na
tense uses "ku" instead of "li" as the tense wao walikuwa na wana watakuwa na
prefix.
Pronou Past Present Future The present negation of "kuwa na"
n is NOT the same for all pronouns.
mimi sikucheza sichezi sitacheza            In past tense, the negation prefix
wewe hukucheza huchezi hutacheza "ku" is optional as it's redundant.
yeye hakucheza hachezi hatacheza Pronou Past Present Future
n
sisi hatukucheza hatuchezi hatutacheza
mimi sikuwa na sina sitakuwa na
ninyi hamkucheza hamchezi hamtachezawewe hukuwa na huna hutakuwa na
wao hawakucheza hawachezi hawatachezayeye hakuwa na hana hatakuwa na
Kuwa sisi hatukuwa na hatuna hatutakuwa na
"Kuwa" is the word for "to be" in ninyi hamkuwa na hamna hamtakuwa na
Kiswahili. Note: In the present tense, "ni" wao hawakuwa na hawana hawatakuwa na
is used with every pronoun.
Pronoun Past Present Future Reflexive
mimi nilikuwa ni nitakuwa This form is almost identical to the
wewe ulikuwa ni utakuwa Object Prefixes above. Pronoun Prefix +
yeye alikuwa ni atakuwa Tense Prefix + Object Prefix + Modified
sisi tulikuwa ni tutakuwa Verb
ninyi mlikuwa ni mtakuwa
wao walikuwa ni watakuwa To refer to oneself, you use the Object
"Kuwa" also behaves strangely in the Prefix of ji.
present tense for negations: Note: In the
present tense, "si" is used with every Root Verb Vowel Ending
pronoun. i, a, u -ia
Pronoun Past Present Future e, o - ea
mimi sikuwa si sitakuwa The same notes about adding an L also
wewe hukuwa si hutakuwa apply.
yeye hakuwa si hatakuwa
sisi hatukuwa si hatutakuwa For example: to "cook FOR oneself",
ninyi hamkuwa si hamtakuwa you will start with "-pika". Examine the
wao hawakuwa si hawatakuwa root vowel "-pika". Then update the
ending to "-pikia". To use this in a
sentence:
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I cook for myself. Mimi ninajipikia.
English Kiswahili

Passive Voice
Passive Voice is described as a sentence in which the object is the subject.
Take the following example: The child cooks pizza.
As you can see, the subject is the "child". The verb is the action of "cooking". And the
object is the "pizza" (the thing being cooked).
Another way you could say this would be by reversing the subject/object and using
introducing the verb "to be": The pizza is cooked by the child.
Now, as you can clearly see, the subject is the pizza and the object is the child. This is
called the Passive Voice. The child is still technically doing the "cooking", except now the
thing being cooked (pizza) is the subject of the sentence.
Instead of adding "to be" as seen in the examplse above, Kiswahili adds a suffix to the
verb.
The passive voice is formed by adding the one of the following suffixes to your verb: -
wa, -liwa, and lewa. This vary based on the root vowel of the verb.
1. If the root-verb ends in a consonant:
Consonant Ending
Any Consonant Ending -wa

2. If the root-verb ends in a vowel

Root Verb Ending
Vowel
i, a, u -liwa
e, o -lewa

Here is an active/passive example in Kiswahili using the same sentence as the English ones
above:
Active/Passive Kiswahili English
Active Mtoto anapika piza. The child cooks pizza.
Passive Piza anapikwa na mtoto. The pizza is cooked by the child.

Class Noun Adj. Prefix Negation -a (of) Poss.

1 mtu mzuri a-/yu-* ha-/hayu-* wa wangu
2 watu wazuri wa- hawa- wa wangu
3 mti mzuri u- hau- wa wangu
4 miti mizuri i- hai- ya yangu
5 *Ø-jina *Ø-zuri li- hali- la langu
6 majina mazuri ya- haya- ya yangu
7 kitu kizuri ki- haki- cha changu
8 vitu vizuri vi- havi- vya vyangu
9 **ndizi nzuri i- hai- ya yangu
10 **ndizi nzuri zi- hazi- za zangu
11 ulimi mzuri u- hau- wa wangu

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14 uhuru mzuri u- hau- wa wangu
15 kutaka kuzuri ku- haku- kwa kwangu
16 mezani pazuri pa- hapa- pa pangu
17 mezani kuzuri ku- haku- kwa kwangu
18 mezani mzuri m(u)- ham(u)- mwa mwangu

Places
To talk about location, you will use three types of words. Their roots are "-po", "-ko", and
"-mo".

Kiswahil Meaning/Usage
i
-po Specific location ("is right
here")
-ko General location ("is at/is
on")
-mo Internal location ("is inside
of")

The format for these are:

    pronoun prefix + -po/-ko/-mo
Here are some examples in present tense:

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Pronou -po/- Present Negation
n ko/- (+) (-)
mo
mimi -po nipo sipo
wewe -ko uko huko
yeye* -mo yumo* hayumo*
sisi -po tupo hatupo
ninyi -ko mko hamko
wao -mo wamo hawamo

*NOTE: In the third-person singular (i.e. "yeye" case), the prefix changes from "a" to
"yu" ("ha" to "hayu") for locations

For the past tense, and future tense you use the past tense or future of kuwa merged with
-po/-ko/-mo as a single word:
Pronoun - Past (+) Negation (-) Pronoun po/ Future (+) Negation (-)
po/- -
ko/- ko/
mo -
mimi -po nilikuwa(po) sikuwa(po) mo
wewe -ko ulikuwa(ko) hukuwa(ko) mimi -po nitakuwa(po) sitakuwa(po)
yeye -mo alikuwa(mo) hakuwa(mo) wewe -ko utakuwa(ko) hutakuwa(ko)
sisi -po tulikuwa(po) hatukuwa(po) yeye - atakuwa(mo) hatakuwa(mo)
ninyi -ko mlikuwa(ko) hamkuwa(ko) mo
wao -mo walikuwa(mo) hawakuwa(mo) sisi -po tutakuwa(po) hatutakuwa(po)
ninyi -ko mtakuwa(mo) hamtakuwa(mo)
wao -ko watakuwa(ko) hawatakuwa(ko)
Here is the future tense. It is formed
similarly to the past tense:

Lastly, I will provide you with some example sentences:

Pron Tense Kiswahili English
oun
Mimi Present (+) Nipo hapa. I am here.
Sisi Past (-) Hatukuwa(ko) nyumbani. We were not at home.
Yeye Present (+) Yumo nyumbani. He is at home.
Wao Future (+) Watakuwa(po) kazini. They will be at work.