Difference between revisions of "Language/Swahili-individual-language/Grammar/Questions"
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!English | !English | ||
!Examples | !Examples | ||
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| -je ? | | -je ? | ||
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Because the stress is (almost) always on the penultimate syllable of a word, this means that unajua becomes unajuaje, with the stress on the ‘a’ rather than the ‘u’. | Because the stress is (almost) always on the penultimate syllable of a word, this means that unajua becomes unajuaje, with the stress on the ‘a’ rather than the ‘u’. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
* | * Nani ? | ||
* | * Yupi ? | ||
|Who? | |||
| | |||
* Question: Jina lako ni nani? What is your name? (literally ‘who is your name’?) | |||
* Answer: Jina langu ni Amina. My name is Amina. | |||
|- | |- | ||
|Nini ? | |Nini ? | ||
|What? | |What? | ||
| | | | ||
* Unafanya nini? What are you doing? | * Question: Unafanya nini? What are you doing? | ||
* Ninafanya kazi. I am working. | * Answer: Ninafanya kazi. I am working. | ||
|- | |||
|Lini ? | |||
|When? | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|Wapi ? | |||
|Where? | |||
| | |||
* Question: Unatoka wapi? Where do you come from? | |||
* Answer: Ninatoka Uganda. I come from Uganda. | |||
|- | |||
|Vipi? | |||
|How? | |||
| | |||
* Question: Vipi hali? How are you (literally ‘how is your state’?) | |||
* Answer: Nzuri sana. Very well. | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | | -pi ? | ||
|Which? | |Which? | ||
| | | | ||
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How much? | How much? | ||
| | | | ||
* Ni shillingi ngapi? How much is it? (literally ‘how many shillings is it?’) | * Question: Ni shillingi ngapi? How much is it? (literally ‘how many shillings is it?’) | ||
* Shillingi elfu tano. 5000 shillings. | * Answer: Shillingi elfu tano. 5000 shillings. | ||
Ngapi is the only question word which changes form to agree with the class of the noun it describes. So you would ask ‘watoto wangapi?’ (how many children) or ‘miaka mingapi?’ (how many years). Don’t worry about this for now, and just use ‘ngapi’ until you learn the correct form with each noun class. | Ngapi is the only question word which changes form to agree with the class of the noun it describes. So you would ask ‘watoto wangapi?’ (how many children) or ‘miaka mingapi?’ (how many years). Don’t worry about this for now, and just use ‘ngapi’ until you learn the correct form with each noun class. | ||
|- | |||
|Gani? | |||
|What type of? | |||
| | |||
* Question: Unafanya kazi gani? What (kind of work) do you do? | |||
* Answer: Mimi ni mwalimu. I’m a teacher. | |||
|- | |- | ||
|Ni bei gani ? | |Ni bei gani ? | ||
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|What is the price? | |What is the price? | ||
It's free | It's free | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
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|Why? | |Why? | ||
| | | | ||
* Kwa nini unasoma Kiswahili? Why are you learning Swahili? | * Question: Kwa nini unasoma Kiswahili? Why are you learning Swahili? | ||
|- | |- | ||
|Kwa sababu ... | |Kwa sababu ... | ||
|Because ... | |Because ... | ||
| | | | ||
* Kwa sababu ninataka kuishi Tanzania. Because I want to live in Tanzania. | * Answer: Kwa sababu ninataka kuishi Tanzania. Because I want to live in Tanzania. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|jibu / majibu | |jibu / majibu | ||
Revision as of 15:38, 1 January 2022
swali / maswali - questions in Swahili
Hi Swahili Learners! 😃
➡ In today's lesson we will learn how to ask QUESTIONS in Swahili.
Happy learning!
Listed below are nine commonly used question words:
- Je? – Well, how about?
- Nani? – Who?
- Nini? – What?
- Lini? – When?
- Wapi? – Where?
- Vipi? – How?
- -pi? – What?, Which?, or Where?
- -ngapi? – How many?
- Gani? – What?, What kind (of), How? or Which?
The majority of question words listed above can appear at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the sentence. The question word Gani? is the only one which appears either in the middle or at the end of the sentence but NEVER at the beginning of the sentence.
Question words in Swahili
| swahili | English | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -je ? | How? | Unlike the other question words, ‘je’ is used as an affix of a verb, for example:
Because the stress is (almost) always on the penultimate syllable of a word, this means that unajua becomes unajuaje, with the stress on the ‘a’ rather than the ‘u’. |
|
Who? |
|
| Nini ? | What? |
|
| Lini ? | When? | |
| Wapi ? | Where? |
|
| Vipi? | How? |
|
| -pi ? | Which? | |
| Ngapi ?
Kiasi gani ? |
How many?
How much? |
Ngapi is the only question word which changes form to agree with the class of the noun it describes. So you would ask ‘watoto wangapi?’ (how many children) or ‘miaka mingapi?’ (how many years). Don’t worry about this for now, and just use ‘ngapi’ until you learn the correct form with each noun class. |
| Gani? | What type of? |
|
| Ni bei gani ?
Ni bure |
What is the price?
It's free |
|
| Kwa nini ? Mbona ? | Why? |
|
| Kwa sababu ... | Because ... |
|
| jibu / majibu | the answer(s) |
Examples
More Examples
Below is a list of the Questions and interrogative expressions in Swahili placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Swahili vocabulary.
| English Questions | Swahili Questions |
|---|---|
| where is he? | yuko wapi? |
| what is this? | ni kitu gani? |
| why are you sad? | mbona una huzuni? |
| how do you want to pay? | wataka kulipa vipi? |
| can I come? | naweza kuja? |
| is he sleeping? | amelala? |
| do you know me? | wanijua? |
| do you have my book? | je, una kitabu changu? |
| how big is it? | waweza kueleza ukubwa wake? |
| can I help you? | ninaweza kukusaidia? |
| can you help me? | Unaweza kunisaidia? |
| do you speak English? | Waongea kiingereza |
| how far is this? | waweza kueleza umbali wake? |
| what time is it? | ni saa ngapi? |
| how much is this? | ni kiasi gani? |
| what is your name? | Jina lako? |
| where do you live? | Unaishi wapi? |