maziwa
In Swahili, the word for milk is maziwa.
The noun maziwa refers to the liquid known as milk. It can also be used as a verb meaning to express or extract any liquid.
Meaning: liquid (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Because maziwa is a plural noun, any adjectives or verbs describing it must agree with the plural noun class. If you want to specify cow's milk, you use the phrase maziwa ya ng'ombe.
Did you know?
- Because maziwa belongs to a plural noun class, you must use plural adjectives to describe it, even though milk is an uncountable mass in English.
- The word maziwa has deep linguistic roots that link it to the Proto-Bantu-speaking ancestors of the region.
Examples in context
- Rafiki yangu anataka maziwa.My friend wants milk.This sentence shows how to express that someone wants maziwa.Tatoeba #3385253 by ecorralest101, translation #3385236 by Jesse
- Rafiki yangu hatumii maziwa.My friend doesn't use milk.This sentence shows how to express that someone does not use maziwa.Tatoeba #3385262 by ecorralest101, translation #3385244 by Jesse
- Wanaishi kwa kutegemea maziwa sana.They mainly live on milk.This sentence shows how to express that people rely on maziwa for living.Tatoeba #10884379 by ecorralest101, translation #6181889 by CarpeLanam
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a local market in Nairobi.
- FatumaJe, una maziwa leo?Do you have milk today?
- SaidNdiyo, nina maziwa freshi.Yes, I have fresh milk.
- FatumaNipe maziwa nusu lita, tafadhali.Give me half a liter of milk, please.
- SaidSawa, Fatuma, hapa kuna maziwa yako.Okay, Fatuma, here is your milk.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “milk” translations and entries maziwa, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries maziwa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
