amka
To say 'wake up' in Swahili, use amka.
The term amka refers specifically to the act of waking up from sleep.
Meaning: to (become) awake (verb)
Which one should you use?
While amka refers to waking up yourself, the causative form amsha is used when you want to say you are waking someone else up.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb amka is an intransitive verb, which means it does not take a direct object. If you are giving a command to a group of people to wake up, you should use the form amkeni.
Did you know?
- The concept of 'waking up' in Swahili is linguistically framed as a departure, as if sleep were a physical location that you are leaving.
- The grammar of amkeni allows a speaker to address a whole crowd with one word, bypassing the need for a plural pronoun like 'you all'.
Examples in context
- Wakati umefika, tafadhali amka sasa.The time has come, please wake up now.
- Tafadhali niambie jinsi ya kumfanya mtoto wangu amke kwa wakati.Please tell me how to get my child to wake up on time.
- Rafiki yangu tuliyeenda kambini, tafadhali amka sasa.My friend we went camping with, please wake up now.
- Tafadhali, ni wakati wako wa kuamka.Please, it's time for you to wake up.
- Amka, mwalimu anakuita.Wake up, the teacher is calling you.
- Amka sasa.Wake up now.
Example conversation
Omari is waking up Aisha in the morning.
- OmariAisha, amka! Ni asubuhi.Aisha, wake up! It is morning.
- AishaSijataka kuamka bado.I didn't want to wake up yet.
- OmariChakula kiko tayari.The food is ready.
- AishaSawa, ninakuja sasa hivi.Okay, I am coming right now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry amka, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries amka, CC BY-SA 4.0.
