Originally posted by: davidvdb https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/33438939
Meaning
The M-Wa noun class is generally used to refer to human beings. Singular words get the m- prefix and plural words get the wa- prefix.
Singular | Plural | English |
---|---|---|
mtu | watu | person |
mtoto | watoto | child |
mgeni | wageni | guest |
mgonjwa | wagonjwa | sick person |
mpishi | wapishi | cook |
mkulima | wakulima | farmer |
This also includes nationalities and ethnical and religious identities.
Singular | Plural | English |
---|---|---|
Mtanzania | Watanzania | Tanzanian |
Mchina | Wachina | Chinese |
Mreno | Wareno | Portuguese |
Mswahili | Waswahili | a Swahili person |
Mkikuyu | Wakikuyu | a Kikuyu person |
Mkristo | Wakristo | Christian |
Myahudi | Wayahudi | Jew |
Notable exceptions, M-Wa words that don't refer to humans, include mnyama (animal) and mdudu (insect).
Formation
Disclaimer: only for people who love morphology. Some people might prefer to study these rules by heart, while others might unconsciously acquire the rules by a lot of practice and input. Do whatever you feel comfortable with.
M- & Wa-
The M-Wa nouns in all previous examples have a stem starting a consonant. These words follow this basic rule m- for singular words and wa- for plural words. The following formation rules will apply to word stems starting with a vowel.
M- + -U = Mu-
Words with stems starting with -u follow the normal M-Wa pattern, for example mume - waume (husband).
M- + vowel = Mw-
If the first letter of the stem is another vowel than -u, the m- usually becomes mw-.
Examples are Mwingereza (Brit), Mwarabu (Arab), mwalimu (teacher), mwizi (thief) and mwenyeji (inhabitant).
Wa- + -A = Wa-
Because waanafunzi would be too long
Singular | Plural | English |
---|---|---|
mwana | wana | child |
mwalimu | walimu | teacher |
mwanafunzi | wanafunzi | student |
! Exception: Mwarabu (Arab) --> Waarabu
Wa- + -I/E = We-
Singular | Plural | English | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mwizi | wezi | thief\nmwenyewe | wenyewe | owner\nmwenyeji | wenyeji | inhabitant |
! Exceptions: Mwislamu (Muslim) --> Waislamu (not Weslamu) and Mwingereza (Brit, Englishman) --> Waingereza (not Wengereza)
Remarks
*The Swahili word for woman, mwanamke, is a compound word. It is derived from the words mwana (child/daughter) and mke (wife). The plural form is wanawake, in which you can recognize the words wana (plural of mwana) and wake (plural of mke).
*tAn alternative for the word mwanaume (man, pl. wanaume) is mwanamume, derived from mwana (child/son) and mume (husband). Its plural form is the same as the plural of mwanaume (wanaume)