Doing Things to Each Other

01

The Pattern

Replace the final -a of the stem with -ana.

• -ona see, gives -onana see each other
• -kuta find, gives -kutana meet
• -penda like, gives -pendana love each other
• -saidia help, gives -saidiana help each other

• Tutaonana hivi karibuni.

  We will see each other soon.

• tu- we
• -ta- will
• onana see each other

Nothing in that word says each other except the ending, and nothing else needs to.

02

Two Parties, Always

The action has to run between two sides. Most often both are in the subject, which is then plural.

• Wanapendana sana.

  They love each other very much.

• Tunasaidiana kazini.

  We help each other at work.

03

Bringing in the Other Party with na

When only one side is the subject, the other is introduced with na, which here means with.

• Nimefurahi kukutana nawe.

  I am pleased to meet you.

• Tulikutana na marafiki zetu kwenye baa jioni.

  We met our friends at the bar in the evening.

The subject of the first is one person, and nawe with you supplies the second party the ending demands.

04

Farewells

The commonest reciprocal of all is the ordinary way of saying goodbye, and it is worth learning whole.

• Asante. Kwa heri Alex. Tutaonana hivi karibuni.

  Thank you. Goodbye Alex. We will see each other soon.

• Tutaonana mwakani wakati utakaporudi nyumbani.

  See you next year when you come back home.

05

Combining with Other Endings

The reciprocal can stack on a verb that has already been extended, which is how Swahili builds long verbs out of short ones.

• -saidia help someone, itself already an extended form
• -saidiana help each other, with the reciprocal added on top