 | Chapter 12 - Invariable Adjectives |
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Most of the invariable adjectives are borrowed from the Arabic. Like the concordant adjectives, they are always placed AFTER the noun. A few of them can be both noun and adjective. For example : maskini = poor, a poor, and tajiri (ma-) = rich, a rich person.
1. THE MOST COMMON INVARIABLE ADJECTIVES :
| ADJECTIVE | TRANSLATION | ADJECTIVE | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| bora | excellent, better | manjano | yellow |
| bure | useless, free | maskini | poor |
| ghali | expensive | muhimu | important |
| haba | few, little | ovyo | bad, valueless |
| hafifu | weak | rahisi | cheap, easy |
| hai | alive | rasmi | official |
| halali | pure, legitimate | safi | clean |
| haramu | forbidden | sahihi | correct |
| hodari | brave, intelligent, clever | sawa | equal, same |
| imara | strong | shwari | calm |
| kamili | complete, exact | tajiri | rich |
| kijani | green | tayari | ready |
| kweli | true | tele | plenty |
| laini | soft, smooth | wazi | open, obvious |
| maalum | special |
2. SOME EXAMPLES :
Bwana tajiri A rich man Mtoto maskini A poor child Kazi bure / ovyo A useless / slapdash piece of work Safari rasmi An official journey Wanafunzi hodari Clever pupils Mambo muhimu Important matters Chakula ni haba There is little food Chakula ni tele There is plenty of food Chakula tayari The food (is) ready Mlango ni wazi The door is open Kila kitu sawa Everything is equal / fine Habari gani ? - Safi sana ! How are you ? - Very fine ! Habari za kazi ? - Shwari ! What about your work ? - It's O.K. !
3. THE COMPARATIVE OF SUPERIORITY :
To translate "more than" we use in Swahili the expression KULIKO (= where there is), or alternatively KUZIDI (= to increase), KUPITA (= to overtake), or KUSHINDA (= to defeat). All these different expressions are equivalent and interchangeable.
EXAMPLES :
| Ali ni mrefu kuliko Juma |
| Ali is taller than Juma (Ali is tall more than Juma) |
| Nguo yangu ni safi kupita yako |
| My cloth is cleaner than yours (... is clean more than yours) |
| Abdallah ni hodari kushinda Omari |
| Abdallah is more intelligent than Omari (... is intelligent more than Omari) |
| Zanzibar ni mji mzuri kuzidi Dar es Salaam |
| Zanzibar is a more beautiful town than Dar es Salaam (... is a town beautiful more than Dar es Salaam) |
SAYING :
Damu nzito kuliko maji
VOCABULARY
| Ku-amka | to wake up | Ku-nuka | to smell bad |
| Ku-anza | to start, to begin | Ku-nukia | to smell good |
| Ku-futa | to wipe | Ku-ota | to grow, to dream |
| Ku-gonga | to hit, to knock | Ku-sahau | to forget |
| Ku-hitaji | to need | Ku-tosha | to be sufficient |
| Ku-lipa | to pay | Ku-vaa | to wear |
EXERCISES
EXERCISE 1 : Translate into Swahili :
A poor child, rich travellers, an expensive car, a useless piece of work, an important job, an open door, forbidden games, a clever pupil, an official journey, a clean river, a weak patient, a ready luggage, an easy job, important matters, forbidden food, cheap bread, plenty of food, better food, complete matters, clean clothes.
EXERCISE 2 : Translate into English :
Shwari, sawa, laini, kweli, haramu, halali, bora, bure, tayari, tajiri, maskini, ghali, rahisi, imara, hafifu, rasmi, tele, haba, wazi, muhimu, ovyo, manjano, kijani, hai, hodari.
EXERCISE 3 : Translate into English :
- Mizigo yako (ni) tayari.
- Mwalimu anaanza safari rasmi.
- Kipofu mzee anaomba mkate.
- Yeye ni maskini. Hawezi kulipa.
- Anavaa nguo safi.
- Usifanye kazi bure !
- Hamisi ni mwanafunzi hodari.
- Chakula (ni) tayari. Karibu chakula !
- Kila siku (ni) sawa.
- Chakula ni haba. Hakitoshi.
- Tunahitaji mikate mengine.
- Amina ni msichana mwema kuliko Fatuma.
- Nairobi ni mji mkubwa kupita Dar es Salaam.
- Mkate wako ni bora kuliko wangu.
- Habari za kazi ? - Shwari !
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