-liwa

Passive After Vowel-Final Roots

Level 3

In Swahili, the passive voice changes a sentence from 'X did Y' to 'Y was done (by X)'. For verbs ending in double vowels, Arabic loans ending in -au, and short one-syllable verbs, the passive suffix is -liwa or -lewa.

How It Works

The Extended Passive Forms are highly productive and essential for everyday Swahili.

The 'Double Duty' Ambiguity:
A major source of confusion is that the passive of a base verb (e.g., nunua → nunuliwa) and the passive of its applicative form (e.g., nunulia → nunuliwa) are morphologically identical. This means nunuliwa does double duty. The meaning is distinguished by context and the subject prefix. For example, Kitabu kilinunuliwa means 'The book was bought' (base passive), whereas Nilinunuliwa kitabu means 'I was bought a book' (applicative passive).

The Human Beneficiary Rule:
A crucial nuance in Swahili syntax occurs when a verb has both a direct object (like a book) and a human beneficiary (like me). In the passive voice, Swahili dictates that the human beneficiary must be promoted to the subject position. You cannot directly translate 'A book was bought for me.' Instead, you must say 'I was bought a book' (Nilinunuliwa kitabu).

Passive vs. Stative:
Learners often confuse the passive with the Stative -ika extension. The passive (-liwa) implies that an external agent performed the action, even if they aren't mentioned (e.g., 'it was broken [by someone]'). The stative describes a state or potentiality without an agent (e.g., 'it is broken / breakable').

Historical Note:
The 'l' in -liwa and -lewa has multiple origins. In some verbs, it is a historical Proto-Bantu root consonant that was lost in the active verb but resurfaces when suffixes are added. In others, like fungua, it stems from a historical suffix. For Arabic loanwords like sahau, the 'l' is an inserted epenthetic consonant used to prevent phonological merging of vowels.

Examples (5)

  1. Chakula kililiwa na watoto.

    The food was eaten by the children.

    Word by Word: Food it-past-be-eaten by children.

    The monosyllabic verb root '-la' (eat) takes '-liwa' to become '-liwa' (be eaten).

  2. Kitabu kimenunuliwa na mwalimu.

    The book has been bought by the teacher.

    Word by Word: Book it-perfect-be-bought by teacher.

    The verb '-nunua' (buy) ends in a double vowel with a preceding 'u', so it takes '-liwa'.

  3. Siri ilitolewa nje.

    The secret was revealed (let out).

    Word by Word: Secret it-past-be-put-out outside.

    The verb '-toa' (put out/remove) has a preceding 'o', so vowel harmony dictates using '-lewa'.

  4. Simu yangu imesahauliwa.

    My phone has been forgotten.

    Word by Word: Phone my it-perfect-be-forgotten.

    Arabic loanwords ending in '-au', like '-sahau' (forget), take '-liwa'.

  5. Nilinunuliwa kitabu.

    A book was bought for me. (Literally: I was bought a book.)

    Word by Word: I-past-be-bought-for book.

    This demonstrates the human beneficiary rule. The human ('I') becomes the subject, not the book. Here, '-nunuliwa' acts as the passive of the applicative.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the inanimate object the subject when there is a human beneficiary.

    Kitabu kilinunuliwa kwa mimi.
    Nilinunuliwa kitabu.

    English speakers often try to translate 'A book was bought for me' directly. In Swahili, if an action is done for a person, that human beneficiary usually becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

  • Applying -liwa to Arabic loan verbs ending in -i or -u.

    Swali lilijibuliwa.
    Swali lilijibiwa.

    Not all vowel-final verbs take -liwa. Arabic loanwords ending in -i or -u (like 'jibu' or 'rudi') take the standard '-iwa' suffix, not '-liwa'.

How It Connects

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

-liwaLevel 3Passive After Vowel-Final Roots

Learn This First

To understand the -liwa passive, you first need to be familiar with the basic passive extension (-wa) and how Swahili verbs use extensions to change meaning. Additionally, since many verbs that take -liwa are monosyllabic or have specific vowel endings, understanding the behavior of short verb roots is helpful.

Words in This Pattern

-liwa-lewa