hapa
adverb
here.
Use it to point out a place near you, as in kaa hapa, sit here.
Origins
Hapa is the “here” form of hii, “this,” built with the pa- locative class marker. That marker is inherited from Proto-Bantu pá-, cognate with Comorian pva-, Digo pha-, Kinyarwanda ha-, and Shona pa-.
Sources4
Charles Sacleux, Grammaire des dialectes Swahilis (Paris: Procure des PP. du Saint-Esprit, 1909), PDF page 173.
Uses hapa in an example translated with “here”. Historical evidence; not a survey of current Kenyan speech.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), PDF page 144, printed page 114.
Explains hapa in a table of near demonstratives and place expressions. Historical Zanzibar evidence.
- hii (Wiktionary)
Lists hapa as the pa-class (locative) inflected form of hii.
- pa- (Wiktionary)
Traces the pa- locative class prefix to Proto-Bantu *pá- / Proto-Sabaki *pa-, with cognates.
Examples
Njoo hapa.
Come here.
Kiti kiko hapa.
The chair is here.
Tafadhali kaa hapa.
Please sit here.
Duka liko wapi? Liko hapa.
Where is the shop? It is here.
Hapa ni pazuri sana.
It is very beautiful here.
Weka kitabu hapa mezani.
Put the book here on the table.
Tutakutana hapa kesho asubuhi.
We will meet here tomorrow morning.
Hapa kuna watu wengi leo.
There are many people here today.
Je, unaishi hapa karibu?
Do you live near here?
