If you’ve started learning Kiswahili, you’ve likely heard the word “Ngeli” (Noun Classes) and felt a bit of a headache coming on. It’s often called the hardest part of the language, but it doesn’t have to be.
The secret? Think of Noun Classes as “Vowel Harmony.” The language wants to sound musical, so the noun “commands” the rest of the sentence to rhyme with it.
Today, we are looking at the most important class: The A-WA Class.
🦁 What is the A-WA Noun Class?
In Kiswahili, we group nouns based on their characteristics. The A-WA class (or Ngeli ya A-WA) is reserved for living beings—specifically human beings and animals.
It is called “A-WA” because of the Subject Prefix added to the verb:
- A is used for Singular.
- WA is used for Plural.
Example in Action:
| Kiswahili (Singular) | English | Kiswahili (Plural) | English |
| 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 |
Grammar Note: Notice how the verbs take -a- and -wa-? That’s the “harmony” in action!
🧑🤝🧑 The “Standard” Human Nouns (M-WA)
Most nouns in this class describe people and follow a very predictable pattern: they start with M- in singular and change to WA- in plural.
- Mtoto (Child) → Watoto (Children)
- Mgeni (Visitor) → Wageni (Visitors)
- Mfaransa (French person) → Wafaransa (French people)
- Msichana (Girl) → Wasichana (Girls)
- Mkulima (Farmer) → Wakulima (Farmers)
- Mzee (Old person) → Wazee (Old people)
🦒 The “Trick” Nouns (Animals & Irregulars)
This is where most students get stuck. Some nouns in this class do not start with M- or WA-. In fact, some stay exactly the same in singular and plural!
The Golden Rule: If it is a human or an animal (dog, bird, insect, fish), it uses A-WA sentence agreement, no matter how the word is spelled.
Animals and Family
| Kiswahili (Singular) | English | Kiswahili (Plural) | English |
| 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 |
Export to Sheets
Look at the Sentence Harmony:
Even though “Mama” doesn’t start with M-, and “Kijana” starts with KI-, they still follow the A-WA rule for verbs:
- Mama anakuja (Mother is coming) → Mama wanakuja (Mothers are coming)
- Kifaru anakimbia (The rhino is running) → Kifaru wanakimbia (The rhinos are running)
- Nyuki ana asali (The bee has honey) → Nyuki wana asali (The bees have honey)
🎯 Quick Knowledge Check
1. Which of these does NOT belong in the A-WA class?
- A) Fish
- B) Insects
- C) Plants
- D) Doctors
(Answer: C. Plants belong to the U-I class!)
2. Translate: “The girl is walking.”
- A) Msichana anatembea
- B) Wasichana wanatembea
(Answer: A. “Anatembea” uses the ‘A’ prefix for one person.)
✍️ Challenge: Build Your Vocabulary!
Knowing the rules is one thing, but you need words to use them. Can you find five new nouns for these groups?
- Land animals
- Birds
- Insects
- Fish
Try writing them in a sentence using “anasoma” (is reading/studying) or “anacheza” (is playing) and see if the harmony clicks!
For more simplified Kiswahili guides and interactive practice, visit letslearnswahili.com.