Murakoze
In Kinyarwanda, 'thank you' is said as Murakoze.
Murakoze is used as an expression of gratitude in most social settings. To intensify your gratitude and say 'thank you very much', you can add the adverb cyane to the end of the phrase to get Murakoze cyane.
Meaning: an expression of gratitude (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
Murakoze is derived from the verb gukora, which means to do or work. The prefix mu- indicates a plural subject and the suffix -koze indicates a completed action, literally translating to 'You all have done well'.
How does it change in a sentence?
Although the form Murakoze uses a plural subject prefix, it functions as both a plural 'you' and a polite singular 'you' when expressing thanks.
When do people say it?
A common way to return a thank you or a well-wish is to add nawe (and you) to the expression, resulting in Murakoze kandi nawe (Thank you and you too).
Did you know?
- In Rwanda, saying Murakoze is often accompanied by a slight nod of the head or a gentle lowering of the gaze to show respect to elders.
- While Murakoze is the standard phrase, in very formal or royal contexts, different honorific structures are used to show a higher level of deference than a standard 'thank you'.
- Kinyarwanda uses an agglutinative structure where the meaning of 'thank you' is built by gluing prefixes and suffixes onto a root, rather than using a standalone word for 'thanks'.
Examples in context
- Murakoze cyane.Thank you very much.
- Murakoze ku ntsinzi.Thank you for the victory.
Example conversation
Eric gives Claudine a gift.
- EricClaudine, ngi ibi gifu.Claudine, here is this gift.
- ClaudineMurakoze cyane, Eric!Thank you very much, Eric!
- EricKugira ngo uryishime.I hope you enjoy it.
- ClaudineNdabyishimira pe!I really appreciate it!
