ki- / vi- (kivumishi)

KI-VI Adjective Agreement

Level 2

When describing inanimate things in Class 7 (singular) or Class 8 (plural), Bantu adjectives take the prefixes ki- and vi-.

How It Works

The ki-/vi- adjective agreement pattern has a few important rules to remember:

  • Consonant Stems: Attach ki- and vi- directly. For example, -zuri (good) becomes kizuri or vizuri.
  • Vowel Stems: To avoid awkward sounds, the prefixes change to ch- and vy- before vowels (usually a, e, o). For example, -ekundu (red) becomes chekundu or vyekundu. However, before the vowels i and u, the prefix remains ki-/vi-. With i, the vowels merge (for example, -ingi (many/much) becomes kingi or vingi, and -ingine (other/another) becomes kingine or vingine). With u, they attach directly (for example, -ume (male) becomes kiume or viume). This is known as Concord Before Vowel Stems.
  • Invariable Adjectives: Arabic loanwords like safi (clean) or ghali (expensive) are Loan Adjectives Without Concord. They never take these prefixes.
  • The Animacy Rule: These prefixes are generally for inanimate nouns. If a standard Class 7/8 noun is a living person or animal (like kijana / youth or kiboko / hippo), it usually uses Human Agreement Across Classes (m-/wa-). However, diminutives are an exception: when a noun is put into Class 7/8 to make it small or cute (like kitoto / small child), it can take ki-/vi- agreement (kitoto kizuri).

Examples (4)

  1. Kitabu kizuri kiko mezani.

    The good book is on the table.

    Word by Word: Book good is table-at.

    The consonant stem '-zuri' takes the standard 'ki-' prefix to agree with the singular Class 7 noun 'kitabu'.

  2. Viti vyekundu vimevunjika.

    The red chairs are broken.

    Word by Word: Chairs red are-broken.

    The vowel stem '-ekundu' causes the plural prefix 'vi-' to change to 'vy-'.

  3. Chakula safi ni muhimu.

    Clean food is important.

    Word by Word: Food clean is important.

    Even though 'chakula' is Class 7, 'safi' is an invariable Arabic loanword and takes no prefix.

  4. Kisu kipya kinakata.

    The new knife is sharp.

    Word by Word: Knife new is-cutting.

    The adjective stem '-pya' takes 'ki-' to agree with 'kisu'.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding ki-/vi- prefixes to invariable loanwords.

    Kitabu kisafi kiko hapa.
    Kitabu safi kiko hapa.

    Invariable adjectives like 'safi', 'ghali', and 'muhimu' never take noun class prefixes, regardless of the noun they describe.

  • Using ki-/vi- for animate nouns in Class 7/8.

    Kijana kizuri anasoma.
    Kijana mzuri anasoma.

    Living things (humans and animals) in Class 7/8 must take Class 1/2 (m-/wa-) adjective agreement due to animacy rules.

How It Connects

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ki- / vi- (kivumishi)Level 2KI-VI Adjective Agreement

Learn This First

To learn Class 7/8 adjective agreement, you first need to recognize nouns belonging to the KI-VI class and understand the general rule that Swahili adjectives follow the noun and must change their prefix to match that noun's class.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ki-vi-