Noun Classes: The LI-YA Class

Learn about the different noun classes in Kiswahili.

📚 The LI-YA noun class [Ngeli ya LI-YA]

Nouns in this noun classes can start with any letter in their singular form but their plural forms take 'ma'. Let's look at some examples.

Kiswahili Noun (Singular)	English Noun (Singular)	Kiswahili Noun (Plural)	English Noun (Plural)
Jiko limeharibika	The stove is spoiled	Majiko yameharibika	The stoves are spoiled
Jembe limepotea	The hoe is lost	Majembe limepotea	The hoes are lost
Chungwa limeharibika	The orange is spoiled	Machungwa yameharibika	The oranges are spoiled

Grammar note: See how the verbs take 'li' in singular and 'ya' in plural? That's where the name of this noun class comes from.

📚 More on The LI-YA noun class.

Here are some other examples of nouns in this class:

Kiswahili Noun (Singular)	English Meaning (Singular)	Kiswahili Noun (Plural)	English Meaning (Plural)
Gari	Car	Magari	Cars
Duka	Shop	Maduka	Shops
Daraja	Bridge	Madaraja	Bridges
Soko	Market	Masoko	Markets

📚 More on The LI-YA noun class.

Not all the nouns in this class form their plural by adding 'ma' in front of the singular form. There are a few exceptions:

Kiswahili Noun (Singular)	English Meaning (Singular)	Kiswahili Noun (Plural)	English Meaning (Plural)
Jino	Tooth	Meno	Teeth
Jiko	Stove	Meko	Stoves
Jiwe	Stone	Mawe	Stones
Jicho	Eye	Macho	Eyes

📚 Adjectives in Example Sentences With LI-YA nouns.

Let's take a look at how to form adjectives with nouns in LI-YA. When forming adjectives, nouns in the this class don't add any prefix to the adjective in singular form. However, the plural form takes 'ma' as the prefix.

Kiswahili Root Adjective	English Meaning (Root)	Kiswahili Adjective (Singular)	English Meaning (Singular)	Kiswahili Adjective (Plural)	English Meaning (Plural)
-zuri	good	Jina zuri	A good name	Majina mazuri	Good names
-baya	bad	Daraja baya	A bad bridge	Madaraja mabaya	Bad bridges
-kubwa	big	Chungwa kubwa	A big orange	Machungwa makubwa	Big oranges
-dogo	small	Jicho dogo	A small eye	Macho madogo	Small eyes
-refu	tall	Jino refu	A long tooth	Meno marefu	Long teeth
-pya	new	Gari jipya	A new car	Magari mapya	New cars

Grammar note: See how the adjectives take no prefix in singular and 'MA' in plural? Did you notice the exception?

📚 Possessives and Noun Agremeents in the LI-YA noun class

This is how possessives work for the LI-YA noun class.

Kiswahili (Singular - Ngeli ya LI-YA)	English Meaning (Singular - Ngeli ya LI-YA)	Kiswahili (Plural - Ngeli ya LI-YA)	English Meaning (Plural - Ngeli ya LI-YA)
Gari langu	My car	Magari yetu	Our cars
Gari lako	Your car	Magari yenu	Your cars
Gari lake	His/Her car	Magari yao	Their cars

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