bora
adjective · conjunction
excellent; better or best; as long as or provided that.
Use bora for something excellent, better, or best. Before a condition, bora or bora tu means “as long as” or “provided that.”
Also better or best. (adjective)
Context supplies the comparison; bora ... kuliko expresses “better than.”
Also as long as; provided that. (conjunction)
Put bora or bora tu before the condition that must be met.
Lyric usage
Origins
Bora has long been used in Swahili for excellence and comparison. Its deeper history remains under review.
Sources5
Kelvin Mathayo, Speaker-audience Convergence and Divergence in Tanzanian Campaign Discourse (Dar es Salaam: University of Dar es Salaam, 2019), printed 130, excerpt 6.
Quotes bora tu in Tanzanian campaign speech and translates the construction as “so long as.”
Anne Wangari Munuku, Code switching in the contemporary Kiswahili rap song (Nairobi: Kenyatta University, 2005), printed 136, example 4.18(a).
Documents a Kenyan rap example in which clause-initial bora is translated “as long as.”
Timammy Rayya, Mombasa Swahili Women's Wedding Songs: A Stylistic Analysis (Nairobi: University of Nairobi, 2002), printed 160.
Translates two clause-initial bora examples from Mombasa Swahili wedding songs as “as long as.”
TUKI, Kamusi ya Kiswahili–Kiingereza: bora (Dar es Salaam: Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili, University of Dar es Salaam, 2000), entry: bora.
Records bora for excellence and for comparative “better” usage.
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), printed 30.
Records bora as an adjective for high quality, excellence, and comparison.
Examples
Hoteli hii ni bora.
This hotel is excellent.
Huduma yao ni bora sana.
Their service is excellent.
Tulipata bidhaa bora.
We found a high-quality product.
Chaguo hili ni bora kuliko lile.
This choice is better than that one.
Ni bora kusubiri kuliko kukimbilia.
It is better to wait than to rush.
Njia hii ni bora kwa familia.
This route is better for the family.
Hili ndilo jibu bora.
This is the best answer.
Walichagua mpango bora zaidi.
They chose the very best plan.
Ni bora tuanze mapema.
It is better that we start early.
