 | Chapter 13 - The JI-/MA- Gender |
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The JI-/MA- gender (Classes 5 / 6) includes nouns of persons, nouns of manufactured objects, of parts of the human body, of fruits and natural products, nouns of built or natural places, abstract concepts, etc..
They are often loanwords, particularly of Arabic origin.
This gender is very particular, for although it is named "JI-/MA-", only a very small number of nouns take the prefix JI- in the singular.
The majority of the nouns of class 5 (singular) do not have a prefix, while some other nouns only exist in class 6 (plural).
| Cl 5 (Singular) : | prefix Ø- | TUNDA | = a fruit, the fruit |
| prefix JI- | JICHO | = an eye, the eye | |
| Cl 6 (Plural) : | prefix MA- | MATUNDA | = fruits, the fruits |
| MACHO | = eyes, the eyes | ||
1. NOUNS TAKING THE PREFIX JI- IN THE SINGULAR :
| NOUN | TRANSLATION | NOUN | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jicho, macho | an eye, eyes | Jambo, mambo | a matter, matters |
| Jiko, meko | a cooker, cookers | Jiwe, mawe | a stone, stones |
| Jino, meno | a tooth, teeth | ||
2. NOUNS WHICH EXIST ONLY IN THE PLURAL :
| NOUN | TRANSLATION | NOUN | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maafa | a misfortune | Majivu | ashes |
| Mafuta | oil | Matata | problems |
| Mahindi | corn (on the cob) | Matusi | insults |
| Majani | grass | Mavi | excrement |
| Maji | water | Maziwa | milk |
3. OTHER NOUNS GROUPED BY TOPICS :
1. MANUFACTURED OBJECTS :
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| Blanketi | mablanketi | a blanket, blankets |
| Debe | madebe | a 4 gallon tin can |
| Dirisha | madirisha | a window, windows |
| Gari | magari | a car, cars (also in classes 9 / 10) |
| Gazeti | magazeti | a newspaper, newspapers |
| Godoro | magodoro | a mattress, mattresses |
| Gunia | magunia | a coarse bag, a sack |
| Jembe | majembe | a hoe, hoes |
| Sanduku | masanduku | a box, a trunk, boxes |
| Shoka | mashoka | an axe, axes |
2. FRUITS, NATURAL PRODUCTS :
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| Chungwa | machungwa | an orange, oranges |
| Dafu | madafu | a coconut with milk, coconuts |
| Embe | maembe | a mango, mangoes |
| Jani | majani | a leaf, leaves |
| Limau | malimau | a lemon, lemons |
| Nanasi | mananasi | a pineapple, pineapples |
| Papai | mapapai | a pawpaw, pawpaws |
| Tunda | matunda | a fruit, fruits |
| Yai | mayai | an egg, eggs |
3. NATURAL OR BUILT PLACES :
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| Baraza | mabaraza | a veranda, verandas |
| Daraja | madaraja | a bridge, bridges |
| Duka | maduka | a shop, shops |
| Pori | mapori | the bush |
| Shamba | mashamba | a field, a farm, fields |
| Soko | masoko | a market, markets |
4. NOUNS OF PEOPLE :
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| Bibi | mabibi | young lady, grandmother, ladies |
| Bwana | mabwana | Sir, master, gentlemen |
| Fundi | mafundi | a craftsman, craftsmen |
| Karani | makarani | a clerk, clerks |
| Rais | marais | a president, presidents |
| Seremala | maseremala | a carpenter, carpenters |
| Shangazi | mashangazi | an aunt (paternal), aunts |
| Tajiri | matajiri | a rich person, rich people |
| Waziri | mawaziri | a minister, ministers |
5. PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY :
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| Bega | mabega | a shoulder, shoulders |
| Goti | magoti | a knee, knees |
| Sikio | masikio | an ear, ears |
| Tumbo | matumbo | the stomach, the bowells |
6. ABSTRACT OR CONCRETE CONCEPTS :
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| Jina | majina | a name, names |
| Jua | majua | the sun, suns |
| Kosa | makosa | a mistake, mistakes |
| Neno | maneno | a word, words |
| Shauri | mashauri | an advice, advices |
| Somo | masomo | a lesson, lessons |
| Wazo | mawazo | a thought, thoughts |
| Zungumzo | mazungumzo | a conversation, conversations |
4. THE AUGMENTATIVE PREFIX JI- :
The prefix JI- can possess an augmentative value. In that case, we replace the normal noun class prefix with the prefix JI- (or the prefix Ø- in some cases). In the plural, the prefix MA- is placed in front of the augmentative prefix.
| ORIGIN | SINGULAR | PLURAL | TRANSLATION | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mdudu | (insect) | -> Dudu | madudu | a large insect, large insects |
| Mtu | (person) | -> Jitu | majitu | a giant, giants |
| Nyoka | (snake) | -> Joka | majoka | a large snake, large snakes |
| Nyumba | (house) | -> Jumba | majumba | a building, buildings |
| Moto | (fire) | -> Joto | majoto | the heat |
5. CLASS AGREEMENTS :
Adjective : The adjective takes prefixes of class agreements identical to those of the noun :
(See : Chapter 11 - Concordant Adjectives.)
Class 5 : Tunda kubwa / dogo / zuri / baya / jipya / ... a big / small / beautiful / bad / new / ... fruit Class 6 : Matunda makubwa / madogo / mazuri / mabaya / mapya / ... big / small / beautiful / bad / new / ... fruits
Possessive Adjectives :
Class 5 : Tunda langu / lako / lake / letu / lenu / lao = my / your / his - her / our / your / their fruit Class 6 : Matunda yangu / yako / yake / yetu / yenu / yao = my / your / his - her / our / your / their fruits
| NOTE : | The adjective that qualifies a class 5 / 6 noun of person, must take class 1 / 2 agreements. | |
| Karani mzuri (instead of karani zuri) | A good clerk | |
| Makarani wazuri (instead of makarani mazuri) | Good clerks | |
| Yule bwana mkubwa | That big man | |
| Wale mabwana wakubwa | Those big men | |
VOCABULARY
| Barazani | on the veranda | Mlangoni | at the door |
| Dukani | in the shop | Mlimani | on the mountain |
| Jikoni | in the kitchen | Mtoni | in the river |
| Mfukoni | in the bag | Porini | in the bush |
| Mkononi | in the hand | Shambani | on the farm |
| Mjini | downtown | Sokoni | at the market |
EXERCISES
EXERCISE 1 : Translate into Swahili :
Corn, oil, water, mangoes, lemons, eggs, oranges, pawpaws, milk, a can, a coarse bag, a hoe, newspapers, an axe, cars, a shop, a market, craftsmen, ministers, clerks.
I drink water, I eat corn, he takes a pawpaw, he sells oil, buy oranges ! Take blankets ! Don't forget the newspaper ! Drink your milk ! They work on the farm, they play on the veranda, she eats in the kitchen, mind the large snake ! Cook some eggs ! Cut the pineapple ! Tell your name !
EXERCISE 2 : Translate into English :
Rais, shangazi, makarani, magoti, tumbo, masikio, maneno, mawazo, sokoni, shambani, porini, majani, blanketi, dirisha, jembe, jicho, jino, jina, jikoni, makosa.
Waziri mkuu, maziwa mazuri, godoro jipya, blanketi manjano, daraja refu, jua kali, mazungumzo marefu, mapapai madogo, limau bovu, mayai machache, mahindi tele, matusi ovyo, bibi mkali, fundi hodari, baraza kubwa, shauri lako, jina langu, mawazo yangu, joka mrefu, machungwa mabichi.
EXERCISE 3 : Translate into English :
- Nenda dukani ununue maziwa !
- Mama anakwenda jikoni kupika chakula.
- Watoto wapenda kula maembe mabichi.
- Maseremala wanafanya kazi barazani.
- Leo sokoni, machungwa ni ghali kuliko maembe.
- Ninahitaji blanketi safi na godoro jipya.
- Mama wanauza mayai na mafuta sokoni.
- "Bibi Majivu" afanya kazi chafu tele.
- Mkunyweni maji safi tu, msinywe maji machafu !
- Naogopa joka kali porini !
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