Reference > Adjectives

Adjectives

An adjective provides more information about a noun.

True adjectives

Kinyarwanda has only a few true adjectives. These must always agree with the noun they modify. For example, we say umugabo munini 'big man', but igitabo kinini 'big book'. The prefix for adjectives is the same as the normal noun prefix for each class, minus the initial vowel.

# Nouns Adjectives Example (-nini) Example (-iza)
1 umu-, umw- mu- umugabo munini - big man umukobwa mwiza - nice girl
2 aba-, ab- ba- abagore banini - big women abana beza - good children
3 umu-, umw- mu- umusozi munini - big mountain umuti mwiza - good medicine
4 imi-, imy- mi- imibu minini - big mosquitos imihanda myiza - good roads
5 i-, iri- ri- ijambo rinini - big word ijoro ryiza - good night
6 ama-, am- ma- amarira manini - big tears amata meza - good milk
7 iki-, icy-, igi- ki- ikintu kinini - big thing igitabo cyiza - good book
8 ibi-, ibi- bi- ibintu binini - big things ibitabo byiza - good books
9 i-, in-, inz- n- inka nini - big cow(s) ihene nziza - nice goat(s)
10 n-
11 uru-, urw- ru- urwego runini - big ladder urugendo rwiza - good journey
12 aka-, ak-, aga- ka- akanwa - big mouth akazi keza - good work
13 utu-, utw-, udu- tu- utugari tunini - big cells utuyoga twiza - good banana beers
14 ubu-, ubw- bu- ubwato bunini - big boat ubwana bwiza - good childhood
15 uku-, ukw-, ugu- ku- ugutwi kunini - big ear ukwezi kwiza - good month
16 aha-, ah- ha- ahantu hanini - big place ahantu heza - nice place

Possessive adjectives

These are used to show ownership of a noun like 'my' or 'your' in English (see possessives for a full explanation). For example:

  • umugore wawe - your wife
  • inzu ye - his house
  • ibintu byabo - their things

Denominal adjectives

These are adjectives which are formed from other nouns using the possessive participle. For example:

  • umujyi w'amateka - an historical city, i.e. a city of (wa) history (amateka)
  • inshuti y'ukuri - a true friend, i.e. a friend of (ya) truth (ukuri)
  • ikizamini cy'ubuvuzi - a medical examination, i.e. an examination of (cya) medicine (ubuvuzi)

Verbal adjectives

Some adjectives in English only exist as verbs in Kinyarwanda. For example:

  • ifanta ikonje - cold Fanta (using the verb gukonja)
  • amazi ashyushye - hot water (using the verb gushyuha)
  • umugabo ushaje - old man (using the verb gusaza)

Nominal adjectives

These are nouns which are formed from adjectives. There is an implied noun, like in English we can say 'the old' which implies 'the old people'. In Kinyarwanda such a noun is formed by retaining the initial vowel of the prefix. For example:

  • umunini - the big (person)
  • abeza - the good (people)
  • icyiza - the good (thing)

Adjective order

Adjectives always follow the noun and usually occur in the following order: possessive → descriptive → quantitative. For example:

  • abana babo beza benshi - their many good children
  • inka ze mbi nke - his few bad cows