ona
verb
to see; to perceive; to feel (in some constructions).
Ona is the bare stem, and kuona is its infinitive. It most often means seeing with your eyes, but it can stretch into perceiving or feeling something in a few familiar constructions.
Forms
- kuona
- infinitive
- jiona
- reflexive · see oneself
Origins
Ona is an inherited Bantu verb with deep roots in Swahili rather than a later loanword. Older Swahili dictionaries already show its wide reach, from ordinary sight to the broader sense of perceiving or feeling something.
Sources3
M. Haspelmath and U. Tadmor, World Loanword Database · Swahili profile (Max Planck Institute / Lexibank, 2009), Swahili profile; forms.csv (-ona).
Lists Swahili -ona for to see and to find with no evidence for borrowing.
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), related perception constructions.
Attests ona in perception and feeling constructions.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), alphabetical entry: Ona.
Records Ona ku- as to see, perceive, or feel.
Examples
Nakuona.
I see you.
Tumeona nyumba.
We have seen the house.
Je, unaona tofauti?
Do you see the difference?
Sikuona chochote gizani.
I did not see anything in the dark.
Nilimwona sokoni.
I saw him at the market.
Ona hii picha.
Look at this picture.
Watu wengi waliiona ajali.
Many people saw the accident.
Tutaonana kesho.
We will see each other tomorrow.
Nimeona ujumbe wako.
I have seen your message.
