In the Swahili language, question words generally appear at the end of a sentence but they can
also be found at the start or middle of a sentence. It all depends on the
question being asked.
- Nini [What]
● Ulifanya
nini? [What did you do?]
● Unafanya
nini? [What are you doing?]
● Utafanya
nini? [What will you do?]
- Nani [Who]
● Unaitwa
nani? [What is your name?]
● Wewe
ni nani? [Who are you?]
● Ni
nani alivunja kikombe? [Who broke the cup?]
- Wapi [Where]
● Wewe
unaenda wapi? [Where are you going?]
● Umetoka
wapi? [Where are you coming from?]
● Mtoto
ameenda wapi? [Where has the child gone to?]
4.
Lini [When]
● Utakula
lini? Nitakula jioni. [When will you eat? I will eat in the evening]
● Walienda
lini? Walienda jana. [When did they go? They went yesterday]
● Utasoma
Kiswahili lini? Nitasoma Kiswahili wiki ijayo. [When will you study Swahili?I
will study Kiswahili next week]
5.
Gani [Which one/what kind]
● Hii
kikombe ni bei gani? [What is the price of this cup?]
● Wewe
unatoka nchi gani? [Which country do you come from?]
● Hii
ni kiti ya aina gani? [What kind of chair is this?]
6.
Kwa nini/ Mbona [Why]
● Kwa nini ulilala
mapema? [Why did you sleep early?]
● Kwa
nini hawakukuja shuleni? [Why didn’t they come to school?]
● Kwa
nini unaenda nje? [Why are you going outside?]
● Mbona
ulikunywa maji baridi? [Why did you drink cold water?]
7.
Je [How]
This is different to the other question words in that it is used
as an affix to a verb, to mean how or what.
It can also be used to inquire about the other person by asking na wewe je? [How about you?]
● Je,
unaenda dukani? [Are you going to the shop?]
● Unajuaje?
[How do
you know?]
● Nilikula
ndizi, na wewe je? [I ate a /banana, how about you?]
8.
-ngapi [How many]
This question word works like an adjective and comes after the noun and is used only with plural nouns. The answer to the question should be given in a numerical form.
● Uko
na kalamu ngapi? Niko na kalamu mbili. [How many pens do you have?
I have two pens]
● Una
miaka mingapi? Nina miaka kumi na miwili. [How old are you? I am
twelve years old]
● Ana
ndugu wangapi? Ana ndugu watano. [How many siblings does
he/she have? He/she has five siblings]
Exercise
1. Translate to Kiswahili: 'Who are you?'
a. Wewe ni nani?
b. Kwa nini?
c. Una nini?
d. Kwa sababu
2. Translate to Kiswahili: 'Who speaks Kiswahili?'
a. Kiswahili ni nani?
b. Nani anaongea Kiswahili?
c. Kiswahili ni wapi?
d. Kiswahili ni nini?
3. What is being said: Anafanya nini?
a. Where are you
b. Who are you
c. What are you
d. What is he doing?
4. Translate to Kiswahili: 'What are you doing?'
a. Anafanya nini?
b. Tunafanya nini?
c. Unafanya nini?
d. wewe ni nani?
5. What is being said: Utasoma lini?
a. What will you study?
b. When will you study?
c. What are you studying?
d. Why do you study?
6. What is being said: Amari anasoma wapi?
a. What is Amari reading?
b. Where is Amari going?
c. Where does Amari study?
d. who is Amari?
7. Translate to Kiswahili: 'Which person?'
a. Mtu gani?
b. Mtu wapi?
c. Mtu nani?
d. Mtu lini?
8. What is being said by the phrase 'kwa nini?'
a. What?
b. Why?
c. When?
d. Who?
9. What is being said by the phrase 'lini?'
a. What?
b. when?
c. why?
d. Who?
10. What is being said by the phrase 'nini?'
a. why?
b. what?
c. When?
d. Who?