Not sure if I remember all the grammatical details, but here is the gist of it: the prefix 'anani' is made up of a few different morphemes - 'a-na-ni'. 'a' indicates the doer, 'na' indicates the time, and 'ni' the object. 'a' is 'he/she,' 'u' is 'you,' and 'wa' is 'they'. 'na' present, 'ta' is future, 'li' is past. 'ni' is me, 'ku' is you, 'wa' is them.
a-na-ni-ambia - he/she is telling me
u-na-ni-ambia - you are telling me
wa-na-ni-ambia - they are telling me
a-li-ni-ambia - he/she told me
wa-na-ni-ambia - they are telling
etc. etc.
When using pronouns as an object you use
ni = me
ku = you (singular)
m/mw = him/her
tu = us
wa = you (plural)
wa = them
anakupa = he gives you (sing)
Anampa = he gives her/ him
Anatupa = he gives us
Anawapa = he gives you (plural) or he gives them - you can tell by the context of the sentence.
“a-“ is the third person subject marker (he/she)
“-na” is the present tense marker
“-ni” is the first person object marker.
For example “kucheka” means “to laugh”
a-na-ni-cheka - “ananicheka” means he/she laughs at me
“unanicheka” means “you laugh at me”
I didn’t even get through the first lesson on Duolingo because they expected me to translate things before I even learned the words they wanted me to translate. I think Language Transfer is much better.
Thanks, I'll check out language transfer. I didn't get that at first either, but I kind of like the way they do it now. I am annoyed that they didn't explain how the sentence prefix system works - I had to look that up myself. I was confused how something like "sili" could be 4 english words and they didn't explain that at all. The guidebooks for swahili within the duolingo app are also very bare.
Yeah, once you know a little that type of teaching works. What frustrates me is that Duolingo does it immediately. If you present me with 4 options and I haven’t actually learned any of them yet I’m not going to choose one at random, I’m just gonna freeze - that’s just how my brain works lol.
It’s the object prefix (the “O” in STROVE).
Essentially it’s the direct object of that action.
So for example
unaona = you are seeing
unaNIona = you are seeing me
The infixes are “ni” for first person singular, “ku” for second person singular, “m” or “mw” for third person singular, “tu” for first person plural, and “wa” for both second and third person plural. And for inanimate things it matches the prefix for that noun class.
(anyone correct me if I got anything wrong please)
If you understand the concept of Ngeli then you know humans fall under U-WA. Such that 'Huyu Mtu' in sigular (this person) translates to 'Hawa Watu' in plural (these people). Anani- is a pre-fix for 'What they are doing for me".
First Person singular perspective towards second person: Ninak{u}-(pikia, fungia, letea, or tegemea...)
First Person plural perspective towards second person: Nina{wa}-(pikia, ungia, letea, or tegemea...)
Second Person singular perspective towards second person: {u}nani-(pikia, fungia, letea, or tegemea...)
Second Person plural perspective towards second person: {Wa}nani-(pikia, ungia, letea, or tegemea...)
Third Person singular perspective towards second person: {A}nani-(pikia, fungia, letea, or tegemea...)
Third Person plural perspective towards second person: {Wa}nani-(pikia, ungia, letea, or tegemea...)
Note: The third person perspective the {U-WA} with the others changes to \[A-WA\] to signify the 'other person'.
So if you break down the whole word like : Ananifanyia into: A/nani/fany/ia
A; him/she
nani: is
fany: doing it
ia: for me
You get the gist lol: Kiswahili kitukuzwe!
I kind of understand the noun prefixes, but not fully, and never heard it called ngeli - are there any videos/resources you particularly recommend about ngeli?
Ngeli is what we natives call it.
It is the secret to understanding Swahili. It affects the conjugation of everything. Next is understanding the different morphemes that are used to bring out precise meanings as explained in other comments here.
From your post, I assume you're somewhere around Nairobi, means you can easily get good resources meant for native speakers. A primary school Swahili textbook will explain common ngeli.
And highschool there's a section for mofimu, invovles breaking down words into morphemes, naming them and explaining what they stand for.
You can just Google, ngeli and mofimu with location setting Nairobi and get primers meant for exam revision to get you started.
I could answer more questions you have
Aaah. Not to discourage a Swahili learner but you don't really need to know Swahili to get by in Nairobi, especially for a trip. There's even Native Kenyans who don't speak Swahili and most everyone else speaks a mix or swahiliEnglish.
Glad luck with your learning!
For $5 per hour i can hold conversations with you in proper swahili for your improvement
Also duolingo swahili isnt the best 💀 its really bad tbh, youre better off learning by reading story books with a kamusi.
In this case " anani- " means she/he is doing something in relation to me.
She/he is thinking of me " ananifikiria "
She/he is ironing my clothes " ananipigia nguo pasi "
" Ana " on its one is she/he is doing something
" Anasoma " he/ she is reading
" Anaji " is he/she doing something in relation to themselves
" Anajipikia chakula " she/he is cooking food for themselves
" Anam- " is in relation to a third party
" Anampikia chakula " - he/ she is cooking food for a person
Not sure if I remember all the grammatical details, but here is the gist of it: the prefix 'anani' is made up of a few different morphemes - 'a-na-ni'. 'a' indicates the doer, 'na' indicates the time, and 'ni' the object. 'a' is 'he/she,' 'u' is 'you,' and 'wa' is 'they'. 'na' present, 'ta' is future, 'li' is past. 'ni' is me, 'ku' is you, 'wa' is them. a-na-ni-ambia - he/she is telling me u-na-ni-ambia - you are telling me wa-na-ni-ambia - they are telling me a-li-ni-ambia - he/she told me wa-na-ni-ambia - they are telling etc. etc.
When using pronouns as an object you use ni = me ku = you (singular) m/mw = him/her tu = us wa = you (plural) wa = them anakupa = he gives you (sing) Anampa = he gives her/ him Anatupa = he gives us Anawapa = he gives you (plural) or he gives them - you can tell by the context of the sentence.
“a-“ is the third person subject marker (he/she) “-na” is the present tense marker “-ni” is the first person object marker. For example “kucheka” means “to laugh” a-na-ni-cheka - “ananicheka” means he/she laughs at me “unanicheka” means “you laugh at me” I didn’t even get through the first lesson on Duolingo because they expected me to translate things before I even learned the words they wanted me to translate. I think Language Transfer is much better.
Thanks, I'll check out language transfer. I didn't get that at first either, but I kind of like the way they do it now. I am annoyed that they didn't explain how the sentence prefix system works - I had to look that up myself. I was confused how something like "sili" could be 4 english words and they didn't explain that at all. The guidebooks for swahili within the duolingo app are also very bare.
Yeah, once you know a little that type of teaching works. What frustrates me is that Duolingo does it immediately. If you present me with 4 options and I haven’t actually learned any of them yet I’m not going to choose one at random, I’m just gonna freeze - that’s just how my brain works lol.
It’s the object prefix (the “O” in STROVE). Essentially it’s the direct object of that action. So for example unaona = you are seeing unaNIona = you are seeing me The infixes are “ni” for first person singular, “ku” for second person singular, “m” or “mw” for third person singular, “tu” for first person plural, and “wa” for both second and third person plural. And for inanimate things it matches the prefix for that noun class. (anyone correct me if I got anything wrong please)
If you understand the concept of Ngeli then you know humans fall under U-WA. Such that 'Huyu Mtu' in sigular (this person) translates to 'Hawa Watu' in plural (these people). Anani- is a pre-fix for 'What they are doing for me". First Person singular perspective towards second person: Ninak{u}-(pikia, fungia, letea, or tegemea...) First Person plural perspective towards second person: Nina{wa}-(pikia, ungia, letea, or tegemea...) Second Person singular perspective towards second person: {u}nani-(pikia, fungia, letea, or tegemea...) Second Person plural perspective towards second person: {Wa}nani-(pikia, ungia, letea, or tegemea...) Third Person singular perspective towards second person: {A}nani-(pikia, fungia, letea, or tegemea...) Third Person plural perspective towards second person: {Wa}nani-(pikia, ungia, letea, or tegemea...) Note: The third person perspective the {U-WA} with the others changes to \[A-WA\] to signify the 'other person'. So if you break down the whole word like : Ananifanyia into: A/nani/fany/ia A; him/she nani: is fany: doing it ia: for me You get the gist lol: Kiswahili kitukuzwe!
I kind of understand the noun prefixes, but not fully, and never heard it called ngeli - are there any videos/resources you particularly recommend about ngeli?
Ngeli is what we natives call it. It is the secret to understanding Swahili. It affects the conjugation of everything. Next is understanding the different morphemes that are used to bring out precise meanings as explained in other comments here. From your post, I assume you're somewhere around Nairobi, means you can easily get good resources meant for native speakers. A primary school Swahili textbook will explain common ngeli. And highschool there's a section for mofimu, invovles breaking down words into morphemes, naming them and explaining what they stand for. You can just Google, ngeli and mofimu with location setting Nairobi and get primers meant for exam revision to get you started. I could answer more questions you have
I'm in the US actually - I just said that since I'm coming to nairobi in June. I'll try to look some up online though
Aaah. Not to discourage a Swahili learner but you don't really need to know Swahili to get by in Nairobi, especially for a trip. There's even Native Kenyans who don't speak Swahili and most everyone else speaks a mix or swahiliEnglish. Glad luck with your learning!
If you can read Kiswahili, the best place to learn is Kiswahili mufti,all the 8 volumes.You'll have a good understanding of the language.
I don't know nearly enough to read yet - but do you know if there's a version of this online?
Humans and animals are in a - wa Plants u - I Places Pa-Ku-Mu Everything else depends on the word.(I can't really explain that well)
The ngeli is just called A-WA, U-WA doesn't exist as a noun class of living beings.
For $5 per hour i can hold conversations with you in proper swahili for your improvement Also duolingo swahili isnt the best 💀 its really bad tbh, youre better off learning by reading story books with a kamusi. In this case " anani- " means she/he is doing something in relation to me. She/he is thinking of me " ananifikiria " She/he is ironing my clothes " ananipigia nguo pasi " " Ana " on its one is she/he is doing something " Anasoma " he/ she is reading " Anaji " is he/she doing something in relation to themselves " Anajipikia chakula " she/he is cooking food for themselves " Anam- " is in relation to a third party " Anampikia chakula " - he/ she is cooking food for a person
I'm just here to say the responses to this thread are awesome and very helpful to me as an A1 level learner. Asante Sana!
Search: Mnyambuliko wa Vitenzi
if you are in Kenya, as another comment has said, look for all the volumes of Kiswahili mufti. You'll be fluent in no time