Swahili Noun Classes

Swahili nouns are grouped into classes (ngeli) based on their prefixes. Each class has its own agreement pattern for verbs, adjectives, and pronouns. This is the most important grammatical feature of Swahili!

The Main Noun Classes

Class 1/2 (M-/Wa-) — People

Singular (M-)	Plural (Wa-)	English
mtu	watu	person / people
mwalimu	walimu	teacher(s)
mwanafunzi	wanafunzi	student(s)
mtoto	watoto	child / children
mzungu	wazungu	foreigner(s)

Class 3/4 (M-/Mi-) — Plants, Natural Phenomena

Singular (M-)	Plural (Mi-)	English
mti	miti	tree(s)
mto	mito	river(s)
mlima	milima	mountain(s)
mwaka	miaka	year(s)

Class 5/6 (Ji-/Ma-) — Augmentatives, Collections

Singular	Plural (Ma-)	English
jicho	macho	eye(s)
jua	mawazo	sun
tunda	matunda	fruit(s)
gari	magari	car(s)

Class 7/8 (Ki-/Vi-) — Artifacts, Diminutives

Singular (Ki-)	Plural (Vi-)	English
kitabu	vitabu	book(s)
kiti	viti	chair(s)
kichwa	vichwa	head(s)
kijana	vijana	youth(s)

Class 9/10 (N-/N-) — Animals, Loanwords

Singular	Plural	English
nyumba	nyumba	house(s)
ndizi	ndizi	banana(s)
simba	simba	lion(s)
shule	shule	school(s)

Note: Class 9/10 nouns have the same form for singular and plural — context tells you which!

Class 11 (U-) — Abstract, Long/Thin Objects

Swahili	English
ubao	board / plank
ubaya	badness
upendo	love
uso	face

Agreement Example

The verb and adjective must agree with the noun class:

Mtoto mdogo anacheza — The small child plays (Class 1)
Watoto wadogo wanacheza — The small children play (Class 2)
Kitabu kipya kiko mezani — The new book is on the table (Class 7)
Vitabu vipya viko mezani — The new books are on the table (Class 8)

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