alafu
adverb
Then; afterwards. An alternative form of halafu.
Use it to move from one action to the next. Write halafu in formal standard spelling.
Forms
- halafu
- standard spelling
Origins
Alafu is a form of halafu with the opening h left out. Halafu was already recorded for “afterwards” in nineteenth-century Swahili. Its deeper borrowing history remains under review.
Sources4
Hellen Njagi, Jinsi athari za lugha ya kwanza zinavyochangia makosa ya hijai (2026), 26 August 2026, formal spelling guidance.
Alafu drops the h of halafu; formal spelling guidance prefers halafu.
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (1903), alafu, page 116.
Then; afterwards. Halafu has Arabic origin.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (1884), 242.
Halafu was recorded with afterwards meaning in 1884.
Harvard University, Department of African and African American Studies, ELIAS Dictionary, Dictionary, (and) then.
Then; afterwards.
Examples
Tutakula alafu tutaondoka.
We will eat, then leave.
Nitaoga alafu nitalala.
I will shower, then sleep.
Soma ujumbe alafu unipigie simu.
Read the message, then call me.
Chukua begi alafu twende.
Take the bag, then let’s go.
Kwanza kunywa maji, alafu kula.
First drink water, then eat.
Alifika alafu akakaa.
She arrived, then sat down.
Ninunue tiketi alafu nisubiri hapa?
Should I buy a ticket, then wait here?
Pika wali alafu andaa meza.
Cook the rice, then set the table.
Nitamaliza kazi alafu nitakuja.
I will finish work, then come.
