If you’ve started learning Swahili, you’ve probably run into a common hurdle for beginners: Noun Classes.

In Swahili, we call this Ngeli.

When I talk to new learners, this is the number one thing they complain about. They say, “Khadija, why does the word for ‘my’ change five different times in one paragraph?”

But here’s the secret: You don’t need to memorize a complex academic chart to start speaking.

You just need to understand the logic behind the groups.

What are noun classes?

In languages like French or Spanish, you have gender (masculine and feminine). You say el chico (the boy) but la chica (the girl).

Swahili doesn’t have gender. Instead, it groups words based on what they are.

There are groups for human beings, groups for trees, groups for tools, and groups for abstract ideas.

The “Noun Class” determines how you change the beginning of the verb and the adjective to match the noun. This is called agreement.

Keep reading, and I’ll break this down into simple, manageable pairs.

How noun classes work

Before we look at the specific groups, you need to understand the pattern.

In English, we usually add an ‘s’ to the end of a word to make it plural (Car becomes Cars).

In Swahili, we change the prefix (the beginning of the word).

For example, in the “Thing” class, the singular starts with Ki- and the plural starts with Vi-.

• Kiti (Chair)
• Viti (Chairs)

But it doesn’t stop there. The noun class affects the whole sentence. If the noun starts with Ki-, the verb and adjective usually have to agree with it.

Do you see the pattern? The sentence rhymes. This is called alliteration, and it is the key to sounding like a native speaker.

Let’s look at the specific groups.

The living class (m-wa)

This is technically called Class 1 and 2. It is the most important class because it contains all human beings.

If a word refers to a person, it almost always belongs here.

Singular prefix: M- / Mw- Plural prefix: Wa-

Here are common examples:

• Mtu (Person) -> Watu (People)
• Mtoto (Child) -> Watoto (Children)
• Mwalimu (Teacher) -> Waalimu (Teachers)

When you use a verb with these nouns, you use A- for one person and Wa- for many people.

The tree and nature class (m-mi)

This is Class 3 and 4. These words look just like the “Living” class in the singular (they start with M), but they change differently in the plural.

This group includes trees, plants, and often things that are active or spread out (like fire or rivers).

Singular prefix: M- Plural prefix: Mi-

Examples:

• Mti (Tree) -> Miti (Trees)
• Mkono (Hand) -> Mikono (Hands)
• Mto (River/Pillow) -> Mito (Rivers/Pillows)

The things class (ki-vi)

This is Class 7 and 8. This is my favorite class for beginners because it is very distinct and easy to hear.

It usually includes inanimate objects, tools, and artifacts. It is also used for languages (like Kiswahili).

Singular prefix: Ki- / Ch- (before a vowel) Plural prefix: Vi- / Vy- (before a vowel)

Examples:

• Kitabu (Book) -> Vitabu (Books)
• Kiatu (Shoe) -> Viatu (Shoes)
• Chakula (Food) -> Vyakula (Foods)

The fruits and big things class (ji-ma)

This is Class 5 and 6. This group can be a little tricky because sometimes the singular word doesn’t have a prefix at all!

This class contains fruits, large objects, and things that come in pairs or groups (like eyes or teeth).

Singular prefix: Ji- (or no prefix) Plural prefix: Ma-

Examples:

• Jiicho (Eye) -> Macho (Eyes)
• Tunda (Fruit) -> Matunda (Fruits)
• Gari (Car) -> Magari (Cars)

Note: Gari (Car) is in this class because it is a large machine.

The animals and loanwords class (n)

This is Class 9 and 10. We call this the N class because many words start with N, but frankly, it is the “lazy” class!

Why? Because the noun does not change between singular and plural.

This group includes almost all animals, and many “loanwords” (words borrowed from English, Arabic, or Portuguese).

Singular prefix: N/A (Word stays the same) Plural prefix: N/A (Word stays the same)

Examples:

• Simba (Lion) -> Simba (Lions)
• Ndege (Bird/Airplane) -> Ndege (Birds/Airplanes)
• Kompyuta (Computer) -> Kompyuta (Computers)

Even though the word stays the same, the verb changes so we know if it is plural.

Note on Regional Variation: In standard grammatical Swahili, animals fall into the “N” class for the noun itself, but they take “Living Class” agreement for the verb because they are alive. However, in some colloquial street Swahili, you might hear people mix this up.

The abstract class (u)

This is Class 11 (and 14). These words usually start with U- or W-.

They refer to abstract concepts (like love or freedom) or substance nouns (like flour or soil) that cannot be counted. Because they are abstract or uncountable, they typically don’t have a plural.

Prefix: U- / W-

Examples:

• Upendo (Love)
• Uhuru (Freedom)
• Wali (Cooked rice)

The action class (ku)

This is Class 15. This is very easy to spot. These are verbs that are being used as nouns. In English, we call these “Gerunds” (words ending in -ing).

They always start with Ku-.

Prefix: Ku- / Kw-

Examples:

• Kusoma (Reading / To read)
• Kuimba (Singing / To sing)
• Kula (Eating / To eat)

Summary table

Here is a quick reference table to help you memorize the pairs.

One final tip for learning:

Don’t try to memorize all these rules in one day. Start with the M-Wa (People) and Ki-Vi (Things) classes. These are the most common. Once you master those, the others will start to make sense naturally as you listen to more Swahili.

The more you listen, the more you will “hear” the alliteration, and incorrect grammar will start to sound strange to your ears.

Do you have trouble with a specific noun class?