kula
verb
to eat; to consume.
Kula is both the infinitive and the form learners most often meet on its own. Its short stem is -la, but Swahili keeps ku- in many ordinary verb forms, such as anakula and alikula.
Forms
- -la
- one-syllable verb stem
- anakula
- third-person singular present
- amekula
- third-person singular perfect
- kuliwa
- passive · be eaten or consumed
Origins
Kula comes from the inherited Bantu verb -la rather than a later loanword. Older Swahili dictionaries already note its special shape: because the stem is only one syllable, the infinitive kula also stays visible in many everyday tense forms.
Sources3
M. Haspelmath and U. Tadmor, World Loanword Database · Swahili profile (Max Planck Institute / Lexibank, 2009), Swahili profile; forms.csv (-la; concept “to eat”).
Lists Swahili -la for eating as earlier Bantu with no evidence for borrowing.
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), 191, alphabetical entry: La.
Records -la for eating and consuming, and explains that kula is retained as the root form in certain tenses because the stem is monosyllabic.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), 324, alphabetical entry: La ku-.
Records la ku- for eating and consuming, noting that ku- bears the accent and is retained in the usual tenses.
Examples
Ninakula wali na maharagwe.
I am eating rice and beans.
Watoto wanakula matunda.
The children are eating fruit.
Tulikula pamoja jana.
We ate together yesterday.
Unataka kula nini?
What do you want to eat?
Kula polepole.
Eat slowly.
Sijala bado.
I have not eaten yet.
Amekula chakula chote.
She has eaten all the food.
Usile sana usiku.
Do not eat too much at night.
Gari hili linakula mafuta mengi.
This car uses a lot of fuel.
