kwa
preposition
with; for; by; or at.
Use kwa with people, means, manner, or a rate. For an ordinary place, use -ni or kwenye in standard Swahili.
at, in colloquial Kenyan place expressions.
Kenyan urban speech may use kwa with ordinary place words, such as kwa gym. In standard Swahili, prefer kwenye or a locative -ni form.
Forms
- kwangu
- at or to my place; my, with a verbal nounkwa + -angu · first person singular
- kwako
- at or to your place; your, with a verbal nounkwa + -ako · second person singular
- kwake
- at or to his or her place; his or her, with a verbal nounkwa + -ake · third person singular
- kwetu
- at or to our place; our, with a verbal nounkwa + -etu · first person plural
- kwenu
- at or to your place; your, with a verbal noun (plural)kwa + -enu · second person plural
- kwao
- at or to their place; their, with a verbal nounkwa + -ao · third person plural
Origins
Inherited from earlier Bantu languages, the family Swahili belongs to.
Sources4
Beatrice Grace Munala, Spoken Word Poetry as a Postmodern Urban Genre in Kenya (University of Nairobi, 2024), Poet Teardrops performance transcription, line “Kuinua machuma kwa gym”.
Attests kwa gym in Kenyan urban spoken word; does not establish how widely the construction is used.
M. Haspelmath and U. Tadmor, World Loanword Database · Swahili profile (Max Planck Institute / Lexibank, 2009), Swahili profile; forms.csv.
Earlier Bantu classification cross-check.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), alphabetical entry: kwa.
Historical prepositional uses.
University of Kansas Department of African and African-American Studies, Kiswahili lessons 1–10 (University of Kansas), PDF p. 217, possessive pronouns with noun classes.
Tabulates kwangu, kwako, kwake, kwetu, kwenu, kwao under the ku class.
Examples
Nitaenda kwa Aisha kesho.
I will go to Aisha’s place tomorrow.
Tutakutana kwake jioni.
We will meet at his or her place in the evening.
Nyumbani kwa Aisha kuna wageni.
There are guests at Aisha’s home.
Kusoma kwake kunamsaidia.
His or her reading helps.
Ninasoma mara tatu kwa wiki.
I study three times a week.
Kwa mfano, tunaweza kwenda kwa basi.
For example, we can go by bus.
Barua hii ni kwa mama yangu.
This letter is for my mother.
Alifungua mlango kwa ufunguo.
They opened the door with a key.
Tunashukuru kwa msaada wako.
We are grateful for your help.
