sawa
adjective · interjection
okay; fine; equal.
Use sawa to agree (‘okay’), say something is fine or correct, or describe things that are equal.
Origins
Sawa is the Swahili word for okay, fine, or equal. It entered from Arabic سَوَاء (sawāʾ), carrying senses of equality, fairness, and correctness. Historical records show comparison patterns such as sawa na and sawa kama.
Sources3
Sergio Baldi, Dictionary of Arabic Loanwords in the Languages of Central and East Africa (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021), entry 1407, 158.
Traces sawa to Arabic سَوَاء (sawāʾ) and documents the Swahili senses of similarity and equality.
Charles Sacleux, Grammaire des dialectes Swahilis (Paris: Procure des Pères du Saint-Esprit, 1909), 305.
Documents historical comparison patterns including sawa sawa, sawa na, and sawa kama.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), 409.
Records early senses including equal, right, and just, with related forms.
Examples
Sawa, tutaonana kesho asubuhi.
Okay, see you tomorrow morning.
Sawa basi, tufanye ulivyopendekeza.
All right then, let us do as you suggested.
Hiyo ni sawa kwangu.
That is fine with me.
Bei hizi ni sawa.
These prices are equal.
Je, kila kitu kiko sawa?
Is everything all right?
Jibu lako ni sawa.
Your answer is correct.
Sheria inapaswa kuwa sawa kwa wote.
The rule should be fair for everyone.
Vikombe hivi vina ukubwa sawa.
These cups are the same size.
Ninalipwa sawa na mwenzangu.
I am paid the same as my colleague.
