Language/Kinyarwanda/Grammar/Noun-Classes
| ◀️ Introducing Yourself — Previous Lesson | Next Lesson — Personal Pronouns ▶️ |
Noun classes are an important and unique feature of Kinyarwanda. In Kinyarwanda, every noun belongs to a specific class, and the choice of class affects the form of other words that interact with it in a sentence, such as adjectives, verbs, and pronouns.
There are a total of sixteen noun classes in Kinyarwanda, which are identified by a prefix that is attached to the noun. In this lesson, you will learn about the different noun classes in Kinyarwanda and how they affect agreement with other words in a sentence.
Overview
All Kinyarwanda nouns belong to one of the sixteen classes. These classes are organized according to semantics, which means that nouns with similar meanings but different forms belong to the same class. The classes are indicated by a class marker that precedes the noun.
Noun classes also affect the form of adjectives, verbs, and pronouns that interact with them in a sentence. These words must agree with the noun in both class and number.
Singular and Plural
In Kinyarwanda, nouns have both singular and plural forms. To form the plural of a noun, the class marker is replaced with a different marker, or the entire prefix may change.
For example, the singular prefix for Class 1 is umu-, and the plural prefix is aba-. Thus, the word for "man" in Kinyarwanda is umugabo, and its plural form is abagabo. Likewise, the singular prefix for Class 3 is i-, and the plural prefix is ama-. The word for "cow" in Kinyarwanda is inka, and its plural form is amanika.
It is important to note that the plural forms of some nouns do not follow a predictable pattern, and must be memorized.
The Sixteen Noun Classes
Each Kinyarwanda noun belongs to one of sixteen classes. Some classes have only a few nouns in them, while others have many. The following table shows each of the sixteen classes and a sample of nouns that belong to them:
| Class | Marker | Example Nouns |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | mu- / m- | umugabo (man), umugore (woman), umuntu (person) |
| Class 2 | ba- | abana (children), abakobwa (girls), abagabo (men) |
| Class 3 | i- / y- | inka (cow), imfura (goat), igihombo (fish) |
| Class 4 | zi- / z- | zirafiti (bicycle), zimyitiri (motorcycle), zitubutse (eyebrows) |
| Class 5 | bi- / by- | ibijumba (carrots), ibitoki (bananas), ibiribwa (beans) |
| Class 6 | u- / bw- | ubwoko (tribe), ubwoba (fear), ubwishingizi (thief) |
| Class 7 | ku- / kw- | ku nshuti (friendship), ku bija (neighborhood), kwihangana (competition) |
| Class 8 | tu- / tw- | tugiye (journey), tukore (work), tuja (future) |
| Class 9 | mu- / m- | mu mucyo (hearth), mu gitsina (bed), mu murima (garden) |
| Class 10 | i- / y- | inka (house), igiti (tree), igihe (time) |
| Class 11 | ka- / k- | kabuga (market), kazoza (bottle), kaguru (ship) |
| Class 12 | tu- / tw- | turamye (exile), turarana (meeting), turugendo (journey) |
| Class 13 | ka- / k- | kamwe (one), kadege (bird), karubanda (hockey) |
| Class 14 | e- / j- | egetsi (electricity), ejo (yesterday), ejiji (engineer) |
| Class 15 | ku- / kw- | ku cyumba (house), ku isugi (sugar cane), kwigira (arrival) |
| Class 16 | mu- / m- | mu ishuri (school), mu mujyi (city), mu rugo (home) |
Agreement in Kinyarwanda
In Kinyarwanda, adjectives, verbs, and pronouns must agree with the noun in both class and number. This means that the form of these words changes depending on the class and number of the noun they are associated with.
For example, consider the following sentence:
"Umugabo wanjye ni mukirezi."
This sentence means "My husband is a teacher." The subject of the sentence is "umugabo" (husband), which belongs to Class 1. The predicate "is a teacher" is expressed by the verb "ni", which must agree with the subject in both class and number. Because "umugabo" is singular, the verb takes the prefix "mu-", resulting in "mukirezi" (teacher).
Similarly, if we change the subject to "abagabo" (men), the sentence becomes:
"Abagabo banjye ni bakirezi."
This sentence means "My men are teachers." The subject is now plural and belongs to Class 2. The predicate must reflect this by using the plural prefix "ba-" and the plural form of the word for "teacher", resulting in "bakirezi".
Conclusion
Noun classes are an important feature of Kinyarwanda, and mastering them is essential to understanding how Kinyarwanda works. By now, you should be familiar with the sixteen different classes and how they are used, as well as how agreement works in Kinyarwanda.
In the next lesson, we will continue studying Kinyarwanda nouns and pronouns by exploring personal pronouns, including subject and object pronouns, as well as possessive pronouns.
Other Lessons
- Past Tense
- Gender
- Questions
- Pronouns
- Negating Sentences
- 0 to A1 Course
- Present Tense
- Asking Questions
- Adjectives
Sources
- A.) Noun Class One - Learning Kinyarwanda
- A Quantitative Study of Noun Classes in Kinyarwanda
- 3.) Noun Classes - Learning Kinyarwanda
Template:Kinyarwanda-Page-Bottom
| ◀️ Introducing Yourself — Previous Lesson | Next Lesson — Personal Pronouns ▶️ |