Place Words and the -ni Ending

01

How It Works

• nyumba house becomes nyumbani at home, in the house, to the house
• kazi work becomes kazini at work
• soko market becomes sokoni at the market
• duka shop becomes dukani in the shop

• Mary, huyu ni mwenzangu kazini.

  Mary, this is my colleague at work.

• Nahitaji kwenda sokoni.

  I need to go to the market.

02

At, In, or To, All at Once

The ending does not say which of those is meant. The verb decides.

• Rafiki yangu anafanya kazi ofisini.

  My friend works in an office.

• Nataka kwenda nyumbani sasa.

  I want to go home now.

The first is where somebody is, the second where somebody is heading, and ofisini and nyumbani are built exactly alike.

03

What Never Takes -ni

Three groups refuse the ending. Names of places are already places; people are not places at all; and a few recent loanwords resist it.

• place names: Nairobi, Italia, never Nairobini
• people: for at my friend's Swahili says kwa rafiki yangu

• Natokea China. Mimi ni Mchina.

  I come from China. I am Chinese.

• Nitasafiri kwenda Ulaya mwezi Oktoba.

  I will travel to Europe in October.

04

Where the Place Word Is the Subject

A word ending in -ni can be the subject of a sentence, and then the verb takes a place prefix: pa- for a definite spot, ku- for a general area, mu- for inside something.

• Mahali hapa panachosha.

  This place is boring.

mahali place is a place word already and needs no ending. Both hapa here and the pa- opening panachosha agree with it.

05

A Place Word Can Own Things

Once a noun ends in -ni it can be possessed and described like any other, using the place linking words pa, kwa and mwa.

• Kuna kituo cha mafuta mwishoni mwa barabara.

  There is a petrol station at the end of the road.

06

Places Without the Ending

The ending is not always there. A place introduced by a phrase like ndani ya inside of takes none, and a few loanwords are often used bare.

• Niliweka viatu ndani ya kabati.

  I put the shoes inside the wardrobe.

• Wazazi wangu wanafanya kazi benki.

  My parents work at a bank.