nina

I Have Nina

Level 1

Nina means I have. It is used to talk about things you own, your age, and physical feelings like hunger or thirst.

How It Works

While English uses 'I am' for age and certain physical states or emotions, Swahili often uses nina (I have) followed by a noun.

  • Possession: Nina gari (I have a car).
  • Physical States: Nina njaa (I have hunger = I am hungry). Note that many other feelings use the perfect tense instead (such as nimechoka for 'I am tired').
  • Age: Nina miaka ishirini (I have twenty years = I am twenty years old).

Important Notes:

  • Other Subjects: Nina is made of the first-person prefix ni- and na. You can swap the prefix for other subjects, like una (you have) or ana (he/she has).
  • Negation: The negative form of nina is sina (I do not have). The negative prefixes change for other subjects as well, such as hana (he/she does not have) or hatuna (we do not have).
  • Tense: Nina is strictly for the present tense. To say 'I had' or 'I will have', you must use the full verb kuwa na (to have), such as nilikuwa na or nitakuwa na.
  • Not a tense marker: Do not confuse the na in nina with the present tense marker. Here, na means 'with'.
  • Not a helping verb: Never use nina to say 'I have eaten'—Swahili uses the perfect tense for that.

Examples (4)

  1. Nina kitabu kipya.

    I have a new book.

    Word by Word: I-with book new.

    Used to express basic possession of an object.

  2. Nina njaa sana leo.

    I am very hungry today.

    Word by Word: I-with hunger very today.

    Used to express a physical state. Swahili says 'I have hunger' instead of 'I am hungry'.

  3. Nina miaka ishirini.

    I am twenty years old.

    Word by Word: I-with years twenty.

    Used to express age. Swahili says 'I have years' instead of 'I am years old'.

  4. Nina swali.

    I have a question.

    Word by Word: I-with question.

    Used to express having an abstract concept or idea.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'nina' as a helping verb for the present perfect tense (e.g., 'I have eaten').

    Nina kula.
    Nimekula.

    Swahili does not use 'to have' as an auxiliary verb for tenses. To say 'I have done something,' use the perfect tense marker -me-.

  • Using the copula 'ni' (I am) instead of 'nina' (I have) for physical states.

    Mimi ni njaa.
    Nina njaa.

    In Swahili, you don't say 'I am hunger' or 'I am cold.' You must say 'I have hunger' or 'I have cold' using nina.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ninaLevel 1I Have Nina

Learn This First

To understand 'nina' (I have), you need to recognize the first-person subject prefix 'ni-' and understand how Swahili expresses possession using the '-na' element derived from the verb 'kuwa na'.

Words in This Pattern

ni-