mtoto wa kike
The Swahili phrase for baby girl is mtoto wa kike.
You can use mtoto wa kike to refer to a baby girl. The word Msichana can also be used to mean either a baby girl or a little girl.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase mtoto wa kike is composed of mtoto (child), wa (of) and kike (female/feminine).
Did you know?
- The word mtoto can also be used colloquially to refer to a boyfriend or girlfriend, regardless of their age.
- The word wa in mtoto wa kike evolved from a Proto-Bantu root meaning 'to become'.
- Unlike English, Swahili nouns are categorized by classes rather than grammatical gender, meaning kike describes the quality of being female rather than assigning a gender to the noun itself.
Examples in context
- Mtoto huyu ni msichana.This baby is a girl.
- Mtoto wa kike analia sana.The baby girl is crying a lot.
- Tunasherehekea kuzaliwa kwa mtoto wa kike.We are celebrating the birth of a baby girl.
- Huyu ni mtoto wa kike mrembo.This is a beautiful baby girl.
Example conversation
Zuwena and Bakari are discussing a new arrival in the family.
- ZuwenaBakari, umeona mtoto wa kike wa jirani?Bakari, have you seen the neighbor's baby girl?
- BakariHajawaonekana bado, Zuwena.She hasn't been seen yet, Zuwena.
- ZuwenaNi mtoto wa kike mzuri sana.She is a very lovely baby girl.
- BakariNitafurahi sana kumwona.I will be very happy to see her.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries wa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
