If you're trying to learn Swahili Articles which is also called Kiswahili, check our courses about Definite and Indefinite Articles... to help you with your Swahili grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and notice the pattern that occurs each time the word changes its place. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Swahili. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!
Learning the Swahili Articles displayed below is vital to the language. Swahili articles are words that combine with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Generally articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun. Examples are "the, a, and an".
Definite Article:
UnlikeEnglish, which has only one definite article “the", Swahili has no definite and indefinite articles articlesand does not differentiate things/words according to gender.
For example:Mtu (Person) can either be a man or a woman, Mtoto( child) can be male orfemale.
When we say-Mtu mmoja amekuja( one person has come)- it can be either a man or a woman.
However,there are also specific names for men and women
For example;
mwanamme(man)mwanamke(woman), mvulana(boy) msichana(girl)
For thethings, there are not labeled according to gender
For example
Kitabu(book)nyumba( house) – plural Vitabu(books) Nyumba(houses)
You noticethat these are in another class as discussed in the section of nouns. Kitabu (book)is in the class of KI-VI and nyumba is in the class of I-ZI.
So we say:
kitabuni kizuri (a (the) book is good) and in plural vitabu ni vizuri(the books are good)
Nyumba imejengwa(a(the)house has been built) and in plural nyumba zimejengwa( the houses havebeen built)
You notice that in the second example the noun does not change but you can see the pluralin the sentence construction.
Here are some examples:
| English Articles | Swahili Articles |
|---|---|
| articles | makala |
| the | not normally used |
| a | not normally used |
| one | mmoja |
| some | baadhi |
| few | chache |
| the book | kitabu |
| the books | vitabu |
| a book | kitabu |
| one book | kitabu kimoja |
| some books | baadhi ya vitabu |
| few books | vitabu vichache |
Notice the structure of the Articles in Swahili.
Below is a list of vocabulary where you can use the Definite and Indefinite Articles in Swahili. Try to practice but also memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Swahili vocabulary.
| English Vocabulary | Swahili Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Food | chakula |
| almonds | almonds |
| bread | mkate |
| breakfast | kifungua kinywa |
| butter | siagi |
| candy | peremende |
| cheese | jibini/chizi |
| chicken | kuku |
| cumin | kisibiti |
| dessert | jangwa |
| dinner | chakula cha jioni |
| fish | samaki |
| fruit | matunda |
| ice cream | ice cream |
| lamb | mwana kondoo |
| lemon | ndimu |
| lunch | chakula cha mchana |
| meal | chakula |
| meat | nyama |
| oven | jiko |
| pepper | pilipili |
| plants | mimea |
| pork | nguruwe |
| salad | mchanganyiko wa mboga/matunda |
| salt | chumvi |
| sandwich | sandwichi |
| sausage | soseji |
| soup | supu |
| sugar | sukari |
| supper | karamu |
| turkey | bata mzinga |
| apple | tofaa |
| banana | ndizi |
| oranges | machungwa |
| peaches | mafyulizi |
| peanut | njugu |
| pears | mapea |
| pineapple | mananasi |
| grapes | zabibu |
| strawberries | jordgubbar |
| vegetables | mboga |
| carrot | karoti |
| corn | mahindi |
| cucumber | tango |
| garlic | kitunguu saumu |
| lettuce | kabeji |
| olives | mizaituni |
| onions | vitunguu |
| peppers | pilipili |
| potatoes | viazi |
| pumpkin | malenge |
| beans | maharagwe |
| tomatoes | nyanya |
Definite and Indefinite Articles have a very important role in Swahili. Once you're done with the Kiswahili Articles, you might want to check the rest of our Swahili lessons here: Learn Swahili. Don't forget to bookmark this page.
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