damu
/ˈɗɑ.mu/
The Swahili word for blood is damu.
damu refers to the vital liquid flowing in human and animal bodies. Interestingly, the same word damu is also used as a verb meaning to cause to be covered with blood.
Meaning: vital liquid flowing in human and animal bodies (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun damu is an invariant noun, which means it does not change its form when you want to express a plural.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 2 syllables, with the stress on the 1st syllable. It is pronounced /ˈɗɑ.mu/.
Did you know?
- In East African culture, the phrase damu moja meaning 'one blood' is often used to describe a deep, unbreakable bond between siblings or close kin.
- The Swahili word damu is a direct relative of the Arabic word dam, which also means 'blood'.
- While damu is the general term for blood, Swahili speakers may use specific descriptive phrases to distinguish between menstrual blood and blood from an injury.
Examples in context
- Moyo hutumikia kusukuma damu.The heart serves to pump blood.This sentence shows how the heart is used to pump damu.Tatoeba #10835639 by ecorralest101, translation #945551 by spockofvulcan
- Tukio hilo liligandisha damu yangu.The scene made my blood chill.This sentence uses damu in a metaphorical sense regarding a chilling scene.Tatoeba #10893792 by ecorralest101, translation #7283101 by gcaplan
- Damu ya O+ ndiyo aina maarufu zaidi.O positive is the most common blood type.This sentence refers to the most common type of damu.Tatoeba #10875063 by ecorralest101, translation #5153926 by CK
- Nahitaji kuchangia damu.I need to donate blood.
- Madaktari walipima damu yangu.The doctors tested my blood.
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Omari has a small cut on his finger while cooking.
- OmariFatuma, angalia, kuna damu kidogo.Fatuma, look, there is a little blood.
- FatumaPole Omari, ni jeraha dogo sana.Sorry Omari, it is a very small wound.
- OmariNahitaji kitambaa cha kufuta damu hii.I need a cloth to wipe this blood.
- FatumaNitakuletea kitambaa safi sasa hivi.I will bring you a clean cloth right now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “blood” translations and entries damu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries damu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
