urefu
The Swahili word for height is urefu.
urefu refers to the distance from bottom to top.
Meaning: distance from bottom to top (noun)
Which one should you use?
urefu is used for both 'height' and 'length' because both terms refer to the dimension of extent.
How does it change in a sentence?
urefu is an uncountable noun in its standard usage and does not typically take a plural form to indicate multiple measurements.
Did you know?
- The word urefu is derived from the root -refu, which can simultaneously describe something that is 'long', 'high' or 'deep'.
- While urefu describes the measurement, a person who is tall is described using the adjective mrefu, changing the prefix to match the person noun class.
- The word urefu belongs to a noun class that typically denotes qualities or states, meaning it is grammatically grouped with words like 'beauty' or 'truth'.
Examples in context
- Urefu wa jengo hili ni mita 50The height of this building is 50 meters
- Kimo chake ni futi tanoHis height is five feet
- Una kimo gani?What's your height?
- Je, unajua urefu wa mnara huu?Do you know the height of this tower?
- Urefu wa mti umeanza kuongezeka.The height of the tree has started to increase.
Example conversation
Fatuma and Bakari are discussing a new bookshelf.
- FatumaBakari, urefu wa rafu hii ni gani?Bakari, what is the height of this shelf?
- BakariIna urefu wa mita mbili, Fatuma.It has a height of two meters, Fatuma.
- FatumaItafaa sana katika chumba hiki.It will fit very well in this room.
- BakariNadhani utapenda sana.I think you will like it a lot.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry urefu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries urefu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
