Nyumba Yangu

In this blog I try to describe my house using the language I know.

Nyumba Yangu

Nyumba yangu ni Bangalore. Anuani ni 197 Prestige Ozone, Bangalore, 560066, India.
Nyumba yango ina ukumbi mkubwa na sehemu ya kulia. Ukumbi ina runinga na meza. Ina viti nne.

Nyumba ina jiko kidogo.
Nyumba ina vyumba za kulala vitatu. Vyumba za kulala vyote zina vyoo. Chumba ya kulala changu ni kikubwa. Vyumba viingine ni vidogo. Vyumba viote zina kitanda lakini hazina runinga.
Nyumba ina bustani kijani. Ina sehemu ya kuliza magari. Nymba ina maji ya bomba, lakini haina jenerata.

Mimi nakuipenda nymba yangu.

N- Class Nouns

N- class nouns often begin with a strong "n-' nasal sound. Example of N- class nouns include;
nyumba house(s)
njia road(s)
mbwa dog(s)
ng'ombe cow(s)
ndizi banana(s)
There are many others that don't begin with the n sound such as
tembo elephant(s)
simba lion(s)
chupa bottle(s)

In all cases the singular and plural form are the same.

Subject prefixes used for verb agreement
ndizi inatoka Nairobi the banana comes from Nairobi
ndizi zinatoka Nairobi the bananas come from Nairobi

Demonstratives
hii (this)
ile (that)
hivi (these)
zile (those)

For example;
ndizi hii, ndizi ile, ndize hivi, ndizi zile
this banana, that banana, these bananas, those bananas

Possesives
yangu/zangu
yako/zako
yake/zake
yetu/zetu
yenu/zenu
yao/zao

The Ki-Vi Noun Class (II)

Verbs, adjectives, possessives must all agree with the noun class.

For Ki-Vi Nouns the subject prefix is "ki-" and "vi-"

The demonstrative forms (this, these, that and those) are "hiki", "hive", "kile" and "vile"

Examples

Kisu kirefu hiki kinatoka Kenya.
This long knife comes from Kenya


The possesive forms (my, your, his/her, our, your {p.}, their) are:

changu/vyangu
chako/vyako
chake/vyake
chetu/vyetu
chenu/vyenu
chao/vyao

Note that singular possession and plural possession are distinguished by the different prefixes "ch-" and "vy-"

Hiki ni kitanda changu
This is my bed

Hivi ni vitanda vyangu
These are my beds

Kile ni choo chetu
That is our bathroom

Hivi ni vitanda vyao
These are their beds

Vile ni vitanda vyenu
Those are your beds

Hiki ni kisu chako?
Is this your knife?

Hivi ni vijiko vyetu
These are our spoons.

The Ki-Vi Noun Class

The Ki-Vi noun class mostly includes inanimate objects.

If the root part of the noun does not begin with a vowel, the prefixes are "ki-" and "vi-"

The singular form begins with "ki-"

The plural form begins with "vi-"

Examples

kitanda/vitanda
bed(s)

kiti/viti
chair(s)

kitabu/vitabu
book(s)

kitu/vitu
thing(s)

kichwa/vichwa
head(s)

kikombe/vikombe
cup(s)



If the root part of the noun begins with a vowel the prefixes become "ch-" and "vy-"

chumba/vyumba
room(s)

chakula/vyakala
food(s)

Possessive pronouns like; "my", "your", "his", "our", and "their"

Possesive pronouns show ownership or belonging, like the words "my" and "your" in English.

In Swahili we have possesive roots which must be prefixed depending on the noun class.

-angu my
-ako your (s.)
-ake his
-etu our
-enu your (pl.)
-ao their

For the M-Wa class of nouns the prefix to be used is "w-" for both plurals and singular forms.

Examples

Hawa ni watoto wangu.
These are my children.

Yule ni mwalimu wetu.
That is our teacher.

Hawa ni wazazi wenu?
Are these your parents?

Hawa ni wazazi wetu.
These are our parents.

Wale ni watoto wao.
Those are their children.

Mume wake anasema Kiswahili
Her husband speaks Swahili

Demonstrative pronouns; this, these, that and those

Demonstratives are the words used to point to people or things; "this", "these", "that" and "those".

For nouns in the m-wa class the demonstratives are:-

huyu this
hawa these
yule that
wale those

Examples

Huyu ni Kevin. Yule ni Andrew.
This is Kevin. That is Andrew

Hawa ni Kevin na Fakiri.
These are Kevin and Fakiri

Negation of sentences using "hapana" and "si"

Mimi ni mwanafunzi.
Hapana, mini si mwanafunzi

Wewe ni Mmarekani
Hapana, wewe si Mmarekani

Yeye ni mwalimu
Hapana, yeye si mwalimu

Sisi ni wanfunzi
Hapana, sis si wanfunzi

Nyinyi ni Wamarekani
Hapana, nyinyi si Wamarekani

Wao ni Watanzania
Hapana, wao si Watanzania

Using subject pronouns mimi wewe yeye sisi nyinyi wao

mimi ninasoma Kiswahili
wewe unasoma Kiswahili
yeye anasoma Kiswahili
sisi tunasoma Kiswahili
nyiynyi mnasoma Kiswahili
wao wanasoma Kiswahili

Dialogue using nzuri hujambo tutaonana kwaheri sijambo langu gani nani

Dialogue using nzuri hujambo tutaonana kwaheri sijambo langu gani nani

A: Habari gani?
B: Nzuri!
A: Hujambo
B: Sijambo
A: Jina lako ni nani?
B: Jina langu ni John.
A: Kwaheri
B: Kwaheri
A: Tutaonana!
B: Tutaonana!

Swahili Examples

Mimi ninatoka Ingereza.
I come from England

Wewe unasema Kiswahili
You speak Swahili

Yeye anasoma Kiswahili
You are studying Swahili

Sisi tunakaa Bangalore
We are staying in Bangalore

Nyinyi mnapenda kusoma Kiswahili

You like to study Swahili

Wao wanalala.

They are sleeping

Mimi ninapenda kucheka na kucheza na kuimba.

I like to laugh, dance and sing

Wewe unaandika
You are writing

Yeye anasikia na anaona.

He is hearing and seeing