Prepositions help show relationships between people, objects, places and actions. They are essential for describing where something is, where someone is going, who something belongs to and how an action happens.
Table of Contents
hide
Common Swahili prepositions
Some frequently used prepositions and prepositional expressions include:
- katika — in/at
- kwenye — in/on/at
- kwa — to/for/by/with/at, depending on context
- kutoka — from
- mpaka — until/up to
- hadi — until/up to
- bila — without
- na — with/and/by
- kuhusu — about
- kati ya — between/among
- mbele ya — in front of
- nyuma ya — behind
- karibu na — near
- mbali na — far from
- juu ya — on/above
- chini ya — under/below
- ndani ya — inside
- nje ya — outside
- pamoja na — together with
Examples
Kitabu kiko kwenye meza.
The book is on the table.
Ninatoka Nairobi.
I am from Nairobi.
Anaenda kwa mwalimu.
He/she is going to the teacher.
Tuko ndani ya nyumba.
We are inside the house.
Gari liko mbele ya nyumba.
The car is in front of the house.
Watoto wako nyuma ya shule.
The children are behind the school.
Learn prepositions through phrases
Instead of memorising individual words, learn useful expressions:
- karibu na shule — near the school
- mbele ya nyumba — in front of the house
- ndani ya gari — inside the car
- kutoka sokoni — from the market
- pamoja na rafiki — together with a friend
- bila maji — without water