Swahili distal demonstratives identify someone or something presented as remote: mtu yule “that person over there,” gari lile “that car over there,” kitabu kile “that book over there,” and nyumba ile “that house over there.” The distance may be physical, but it can also be temporal or discourse distance when a speaker reintroduces a person, event, or object that is no longer central to the conversation.
The distal series contains final -le and agrees with noun class. It contrasts with the referential -o series, which points near the listener or retrieves something already salient. Both often translate as English that/those, so the Swahili choice requires a viewpoint rather than word-for-word substitution.
The distal series by class
| Class | Model noun | Distal phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mtu | mtu yule | that person over there |
| 2 | watu | watu wale | those people over there |
| 3 | mti | mti ule | that tree over there |
| 4 | miti | miti ile | those trees over there |
| 5 | gari | gari lile | that car over there |
| 6 | magari | magari yale | those cars over there |
| 7 | kiti | kiti kile | that chair over there |
| 8 | viti | viti vile | those chairs over there |
| 9 | nyumba | nyumba ile | that house over there |
| 10 | nyumba | nyumba zile | those houses over there |
| 11/14 | uzi / uji | uzi ule / uji ule | that thread / that porridge over there |
| 15 | kusubiri | kusubiri kule | that remote instance of waiting |
As elsewhere, identical noun forms need not have identical number. Nyumba ile imeuzwa is singular class 9; nyumba zile zimeuzwa is plural class 10.
Nyumba ile imezungukwa na miti ya miembe.
That house over there is surrounded by mango trees.
Nyumba zile zimezungukwa na miti ya miembe.
Those houses over there are surrounded by mango trees.
The subject markers i-/zi- continue the singular/plural contrast beyond the demonstrative.
Final -le and class concord
The distal forms can be analyzed as class-shaped concord plus -le: yu-le → yule, wa-le → wale, u-le → ule, li-le → lile, ki-le → kile, vi-le → vile, and zi-le → zile. These analytic hyphens expose the pieces; ordinary Standard Swahili writes each demonstrative as one word.
The pattern is clearer than some proximal forms, but the surface words still need to be learned. Class 4 and 9 share ile, while classes 3, 11, and 14 share ule. A shared demonstrative form does not erase the different subject, object, and modifier concords elsewhere in the sentence.
Physical distance from both participants
Distal forms are the natural choice when pointing beyond both speaker and listener.
Unamwona mtu yule anayesimama karibu na lango la pili?
Do you see that person over there standing near the second gate?
Usikate mti ule; bado unatoa maembe mengi kila mwaka.
Do not cut down that tree over there; it still produces many mangoes every year.
Tutaegesha gari lile chini ya mti baada ya mzigo kushushwa.
We will park that car over there under the tree after the load is unloaded.
Vipeleke viti vile upande wa pili wa ukumbi.
Take those chairs over there to the other side of the hall.
Each distal form agrees locally: human class 1 yule, class 3 ule, class 5 lile, and class 8 vile. In the object sentence Vipeleke viti vile, class 8 object marker -vi- appears inside vipeleke.
Discourse and temporal distance
Distance can be conceptual rather than measured in meters. A distal phrase may revive an earlier topic after attention has moved elsewhere, or evoke a remote time familiar to both participants.
Unamkumbuka mwalimu yule aliyetufundisha mwaka wa kwanza?
Do you remember that teacher who taught us in our first year?
Siku zile tulitembea hadi mtoni kila jioni baada ya kazi.
In those days, we walked to the river every evening after work.
Baada ya kujadili miradi mingine, tulirudi kwenye pendekezo lile la soko jipya.
After discussing other projects, we returned to that earlier proposal for a new market.
The teacher, days, and proposal are not necessarily visible. Distal forms present them as removed from the current center—by past time, an intervening topic, or shared memory. This use is (neutral) in conversation and narrative, not inherently literary.
Distal versus referential
The referential series usually says “that one available to you or already in focus.” The distal series says “that one over there” or reactivates something more remote.
Nipe daftari hilo ulilo nalo; daftari lile juu ya kabati ni la Asha.
Give me that notebook you have; the notebook over there on top of the cabinet belongs to Asha.
Waite wageni hao walioko mapokezi, si wale wanaosubiri nje ya lango.
Call those guests at reception, not those over there waiting outside the gate.
Class 5 contrasts hilo/lile; human plural contrasts hao/wale. English uses that/those for both, but Swahili encodes how each group is situated relative to the participants and discourse.
When simple prior mention keeps a noun active, a bare noun may suffice. Do not use distal -le merely as a fancy equivalent of the; it adds remoteness or contrast.
Position among other modifiers
The neutral baseline places the distal demonstrative after its noun. With a possessive, numeral, and adjective, a useful order is noun + possessive + distal demonstrative + numeral + adjective.
Nyumba zetu zile mbili kubwa zitakarabatiwa baada ya msimu wa mvua.
Those two large houses of ours over there will be renovated after the rainy season.
Magari yao yale matatu meupe yanasubiri upande wa pili wa barabara.
Those three white cars of theirs are waiting on the other side of the road.
Watoto wetu wale wawili wadogo wanacheza karibu na uwanja wa shule.
Those two small children of ours over there are playing near the school field.
The full chains are class 10 zetu–zile–mbili–kubwa–zi-, class 6 yao–yale–matatu–meupe–ya-, and human class 2 wetu–wale–wawili–wadogo–wa-.
Long stacks are most useful when several candidates must be distinguished. In ordinary (informal) conversation, pointing plus a shorter phrase such as nyumba zile is often enough.
Marked prenominal use
A distal demonstrative can precede the noun for forceful pointing, contrast, or reintroduction of a less active topic.
Yule dereva ndiye anayejua njia ya kwenda bandarini.
That driver over there is the one who knows the way to the port.
Zile nyumba tulizoziona jana zimeuzwa tayari.
Those houses we saw yesterday have already been sold.
Prenominal yule and zile foreground the act of selecting or reactivating the referent. The order is grammatical across registers when its discourse effect is warranted. It does not replace the postnominal teaching baseline dereva yule, nyumba zile.
Distal locative forms
Locative classes preserve the three spatial frames:
| Class | Distal form | Perspective |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | pale | that specific spot over there |
| 17 | kule | that broader area or direction |
| 18 | mle | inside that place |
Tutapumzika pale penye kivuli, kisha tutatembea kule na kuweka vifaa mle ndani.
We will rest at that shaded spot over there, then walk in that direction and put the equipment inside that place.
Pale can trigger pa- agreement, kule general locative ku-, and mle interior m- where a predicate makes the concord visible. These forms are (neutral) Standard Swahili; finer locative choices can vary in spontaneous usage (regional: East Africa).
Common Mistakes
Using ile as an invariant that
❌ Gari ile imeondoka.
Incorrect — class 5 gari requires distal lile and subject li-.
✅ Gari lile limeondoka.
That car over there has left.
Keeping a singular distal form with a plural noun
❌ Viti kile kimevunjika.
Incorrect — plural class 8 viti requires vile and vi-.
✅ Viti vile vimevunjika.
Those chairs over there have broken.
Choosing distal for something held by the listener
❌ Nipe kitabu kile ulicho nacho mkononi.
Mismatched viewpoint — kile presents the book as remote although the listener is holding it.
✅ Nipe kitabu hicho ulicho nacho mkononi.
Give me that book you are holding.
Failing to agree the numeral
❌ Magari yale tatu meupe yanasubiri nje.
Incorrect — class 6 magari requires numeral matatu.
✅ Magari yale matatu meupe yanasubiri nje.
Those three white cars over there are waiting outside.
Key Takeaways
Distal demonstratives combine class concord with final -le and present a referent as remote in space, time, or discourse. They normally follow the noun, but fronting can strongly point or reactivate a topic. Contrast them with the referential -o series, and keep possessives, numerals, adjectives, object markers, and verbs in the same noun-class chain.
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Start learning Swahili →Related Topics
- Referential Demonstratives: That One MentionedA2 — Use the class-agreeing -o demonstrative series for a referent near the listener, already mentioned, or otherwise available in the conversation.
- Demonstrative Position and CombinationsB1 — Place demonstratives after the noun in the neutral pattern, front them for discourse emphasis, and combine them coherently with possessives, numerals, and adjectives.
- Demonstrative Concord: All Three SeriesA2 — Choose proximal, referential, and distal Swahili demonstratives for every noun class and place them naturally after the noun.
- Locative Demonstratives hapa, hapo, pale, huku, huko and humoB1 — Choose Swahili locative demonstratives by both distance and spatial viewpoint, including their pointing, directional, and discourse-anaphoric uses.
- Demonstratives Used without a NounA2 — Use huyu, hiyo, vile, and the rest of the demonstrative system as independent noun-phrase heads while preserving noun class and distance.