Noun Classes: The A-WA Class
Learn about the different noun classes in Kiswahili.
📚 The A-WA noun class.
Kiswahili groups nouns into several noun classes either because of their characteristics as a noun, or for vowel harmony. The first noun class (called 'ngeli' in Kiswahili) is the A-WA noun class. Nouns representing human beings or animals belong in this class. It's called the 'A-WA' noun class (or 'ngeli ya A-WA') because the nouns are represented by A in singular and WA in plural. Let's look at some examples.
| Kiswahili (Noun Singular) | English (Noun Singular) | Kiswahili (Noun Plural) | English (Noun Plural) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mwanafunzi anasoma | The student is reading | Wanafunzi wanasoma | The students are reading |
| Mwalimu anaimba | The teacher is singing | Walimu wanaimba | The teachers are singing |
| Mpishi anapika | The cook is cooking | Wapishi wanapika | The cooks are cooking |
📚 More on The A-WA noun class.
Most of the nouns in this class start with the letter 'm' in singular, which changes to 'wa' in plural. For example:
| Kiswahili (Noun Singular) | English (Noun Singular) | Kiswahili (Noun Plural) | English (Noun Plural) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mtoto | Child | Watoto | Children |
| Mgeni | Visitor | Wageni | Visitors |
| Mfaransa | A French person | Wafaransa | French people |
| Msichana | A girl | Wasichana | Girls |
| Mkulima | A farmer | Wakulima | Farmers |
| Mvulana | A boy | Wavulana | Boys |
| Mzee | An old person | Wazee | Old people |
📚 More on The A-WA noun class.
Not all the nouns in this class will start with 'm' in singular and 'wa' in plural. Some of the nouns in this class remain the same in both singular and plural. Others start with different letters that would suggest that they belong to different noun classes. The important thing to note is that as long as the noun is a human being or an animal, then it belongs in this class.
| Kiswahili (Noun Singular) | English (Noun Singular) | Kiswahili (Noun Plural) | English (Noun Plural) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mama | Mother | Mama | Mothers |
| Rafiki | Friend | Rafiki | Friends |
| Kijana | Youth | Vijana | Youths |
| Mbwa | Dog | Mbwa | Dogs |
| Kuku | Hen | Kuku | Hens |
| Nyuki | Bee | Nyuki | Bees |
| Papa | Shark | Papa | Sharks |
| Kuku anataga yai | The hen is laying an egg | Kuku wanataga mayai | The hens are laying eggs |
| Kijana anatafuta kazi | The youth is looking for employment | Vijana wanatafuta kazi | The youth are looking for employment |
| Rafiki anacheza | The friend is playing | Rafiki wanacheza | The friends are playing |
| Mama anakuja | Mother is coming | Mama wanakuja | Mothers are coming |
| Nyuki ana asali | The bee has honey | Nyuki wana asali | The bees have honey |
🎯 Practice Exercises
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You've seen the basics of the A-WA noun class, but there’s a whole world of words to discover! Challenge yourself to find five new nouns for each group: humans, land animals, birds, insects, and fish. Let’s see how many unique words we can collect together!
Example: Shangazi/Shangazi - Aunt/Aunts.
- Read back through previous lessons to see if you can find any nouns that belong in this class.
Suggested length: up to 200 words.
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