4 min read
Mathew Wahome
Parts of Speech (Aina za Maneno)
Introduction
In the Junior School CBC (KICD), the Kiswahili Grammar strand teaches aina za maneno (word classes). This note is in English with Kiswahili glosses.
The main word classes
| Kiswahili | English | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Nomino | Noun | mwalimu (teacher), kitabu (book), Nairobi |
| Kitenzi | Verb | soma (read), kula (eat), kimbia (run) |
| Kivumishi | Adjective | mrefu (tall), mzuri (good/beautiful) |
| Kielezi | Adverb | haraka (quickly), polepole (slowly) |
| Kiwakilishi | Pronoun | yeye (he/she), sisi (we) |
| Kihusishi | Preposition | kwa (with/to), katika (in) |
| Kiunganishi | Conjunction | na (and), lakini (but) |
| Kihisishi | Interjection | Lo!, Ee! |
Nouns (Nomino)
Names of people (Amina), places (Mombasa), animals (simba, lion), things (meza, table) and ideas (upendo, love). Kiswahili nouns are grouped into classes, such as M-WA for people: mtoto (child), watoto (children).
Verbs (Vitenzi)
Verbs often have the infinitive form ku-: kusoma (to read). A verb carries a subject, tense and root: ni-na-soma = I am reading (ni = I, na = present tense, soma = read).
Adjectives (Vivumishi)
They agree with the noun's class: mtoto mdogo (small child), watoto wadogo (small children), kitabu kidogo (small book).
Worked example
Sentence: "Mwalimu mrefu anasoma kitabu kizuri haraka."
- Mwalimu - noun
- mrefu - adjective
- anasoma - verb
- kitabu - noun
- kizuri - adjective
- haraka - adverb Meaning: The tall teacher reads a good book quickly.
Try it
- Write five nouns and five verbs in Kiswahili with English meanings.
- Identify the parts of speech in: "Wanafunzi wazuri wanacheza uwanjani."
- Make a sentence using na, lakini and kwa.