je
particle
A particle that draws attention to a question; attached to a verb as -je, it asks how.
Use Je, ...? to introduce a question. Attached -je belongs at the end of a verb and asks how something happens.
Also how, attached to a verb as -je. (interrogative suffix)
Use Je, ...? to introduce a question. Attached -je belongs at the end of a verb and asks how something happens.
Forms
- -je
- attached interrogative form; how
Origins
The attached question form -je has a history traced to Proto-Sabaki, an earlier stage of the language family. It asks “how” after a verb. The separate question particle je is also attested in older Swahili.
Haspelmath and Tadmor / Lexibank, World Loanword Database CLDF (2009), wold-master/cldf/forms.csv row 51014.
The attached question form -je has a history traced to Proto-Sabaki, an earlier stage of the language family. It asks “how” after a verb. The separate question particle je is also attested in older Swahili.
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (1903), je, page 140.
A particle that draws attention to a question; attached to a verb as -je, it asks how. Use Je, ...? to introduce a question. Attached -je belongs at the end of a verb and asks how something happens. The attached question form -je has a history traced to Proto-Sabaki, an earlier stage of the language family. It asks “how” after a verb. The separate question particle je is also attested in older Swahili.
Examples
Je, una muda?
Do you have time?
Je, hii ni hoteli?
Is this a hotel?
Je, unataka chai?
Would you like tea?
Je, basi limefika?
Has the bus arrived?
Je, tunaweza kuingia?
Can we come in?
Utafikaje huko?
How will you get there?
Unapikaje wali?
How do you cook rice?
Tutalipaje?
How will we pay?
Alijuaje jina lako?
How did she know your name?
