msichana
The Swahili word for girl is msichana.
msichana refers to a young female person.
Meaning: young female person (noun)
Which one should you use?
While msichana is the standard term, Dada is used to mean sister but also serves as an informal way to refer to or address a girl. In Kenyan Swahili, the slang word dem is also used to mean girl.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Kenya, the slang term dem is used to mean girl.
How does it change in a sentence?
msichana belongs to the M-WA noun class. The prefix m- denotes a singular person, while the prefix wa- is used for multiple people. Therefore, to change the word from singular to plural, you change the prefix to wasichana.
Did you know?
- The word msichana is inherited from the Proto-Bantu word *mʊ̀cɪ̀kàjánà, showing its deep ancestral roots across many African languages.
- In the street slang of Nairobi, you might hear the word dem used to refer to a girl, which is a loanword adapted from English.
- The transition from msichana to wasichana changes the entire grammatical agreement of the sentence, affecting verbs and adjectives that follow.
Examples in context
- Msichana anataka kujua ukweli.The girl wants to know the truth.This sentence shows the use of msichana to describe a person wanting truth.Tatoeba #3172742 by ecorralest101, translation #3172728 by Ricardo14
- Je, umewahi kumbusu msichana mwingine?Have you ever kissed another girl?This sentence uses msichana in a question about a relationship.Tatoeba #10848507 by ecorralest101, translation #2275719 by Hybrid
- Msichana alijaribu sana kufungia machozi.The girl tried hard to hold back her tears.This sentence demonstrates how msichana is used when describing someone's emotional struggle.Tatoeba #10818441 by ecorralest101, translation #267860 by CK
- Msichana ni mwerevu.The girl is clever
- Binti yanguMy daughter
- Binti ni mzuriThe girl is beautiful
- Ninaenda kumsalimia msichana.I am going to greet the girl.
- Binti huyu ni mwerevu sana.This girl is very clever.
- Leo nitakutambulisha kwa mrembo wangu.Today I will introduce you to my beautiful girl.
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Aisha and Omari are watching children playing in a park.
- AishaOmari, tazama msichana yule.Omari, look at that girl.
- OmariNi msichana mrembo sana.She is a very beautiful girl.
- AishaMsichana huyo anafurahi sana.That girl is very happy.
- OmariNdiyo, Aisha, anaonekana mchangamfu.Yes, Aisha, she looks cheerful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “girl” translations and entries msichana, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries msichana, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
