Swahili Gender

Welcome to the fifth Swahili lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Swahili to help you practice your daily phrases.

man   mwanamme	woman   mwanamke	husband   mume	wife   mke
boy   mvulana	girl   msichana	father   baba	mother   mama

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules	Swahili
my son is a student [masculine + noun]	mwanangu ni mwanafunzi
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun]	binti yake ni mwanafunzi
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine]	ana ndugu mrefu
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine]	ana dada mrefu
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective]	ndugu zake ni vijana
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective]	dada zake ni vijana

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son   mwana	daughter   binti	brother   ndugu	sister   dada
grandfather   babu	grandmother   nyanya	child   mtoto	children   watoto

Expressions in Swahili

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Swahili, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English	Swahili
What do you mean?	una maanisha nini?
I don't understand	sielewi
I don't know	sijui
What is that called in Swahili?	kile kinaitwaje kwa kiswahili
What is this?	nini hii?
What does that word mean in English?	nini maana ya neno hili kwa kiingereza?
Sorry (if you made a mistake)	pole

Source: www.learn101.org