How to Say "Princess" in Swahili

binti mfalme

The Swahili word for princess is binti mfalme.

The term binti mfalme is used to refer to a female member of a royal family.

Meaning: female member of royal family (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase binti mfalme is composed of binti, meaning daughter and mfalme, meaning king.

While binti mfalme is used for a princess, the term malkia is used specifically for a reigning queen.

In many Swahili-speaking cultures, binti is often used as a polite way to address any young woman, regardless of whether she has royal blood.
The word binti for daughter is a direct loan from the Arabic word bint, showing the deep historical influence of Arabic on the Swahili language.
In some poetic Swahili contexts, binti is used to describe a woman of exceptional beauty and grace, effectively treating her as a 'princess' in spirit.

Zawadi kubwa ni busu kutoka kwa binti mfalme.
The grand prize is a kiss from the princess.
This sentence shows how to use binti mfalme in the context of a prize.
Tatoeba #10845744 by ecorralest101, translation #2038382 by JarHead54321
Binti mfalme akatoka katika ngome ya shaba na kuwa Malkia, hilo lilimfurahisha sana.
The Princess came out of the copper castle, and became Queen, and that pleased her very much.
This sentence illustrates the use of binti mfalme when describing a person transitioning from a princess to a queen.
Tatoeba #10866458 by ecorralest101, translation #3884993 by Hybrid
Binti mfalme alionekana mbele ya watu wengi.
The princess appeared before many people.

Juma and Fatuma are reading a storybook together.

Sources

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