jina
noun
name.
The plural is majina. Ask jina lako ni nani? to find out someone’s name.
Forms
- majina
- names
Origins
The word’s earlier history is still under review.
Sources3
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), PDF page 143.
Records jina as a name and illustrates possessive name questions. 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 324.
Lists jina and plural majina, with a name question. Historical Zanzibar evidence.
University of Kansas Open Language Resource Center, University of Kansas Kiswahili Glossary (University of Kansas Open Language Resource Center), jina glossary rows.
Illustrates questions about someone’s name using jina and possessives.
Examples
Jina lako ni nani?
What’s your name?
Jina langu ni Amina.
My name is Amina.
Jina la rafiki yangu ni Ali.
My friend’s name is Ali.
Unaweza kuandika jina lako hapa?
Can you write your name here?
Sikumbuki jina lake.
I don’t remember their name.
Jina la hoteli ni nini?
What is the hotel’s name?
Nimesahau jina la barabara.
I’ve forgotten the street’s name.
Majina yetu yako kwenye orodha.
Our names are on the list.
Tafadhali sema jina lako tena.
Please say your name again.
