The Swahili referential demonstrative series points to someone or something the listener can already identify. The referent may be near the listener, may have just been mentioned, or may already be salient in the situation. Thus kitabu hicho can mean “that book you have” or “that book we were talking about.”
These forms end in the referential -o family and agree with the noun class: mtu huyo, watu hao, gari hilo, magari hayo, kitabu hicho, vitabu hivyo, nyumba hiyo, and nyumba hizo. English normally translates all of them with that/those or sometimes the ... in question, but Swahili keeps the noun class visible.
The referential series by class
| Class | Model noun | Referential phrase | Typical translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mtu | mtu huyo | that person / the person in question |
| 2 | watu | watu hao | those people |
| 3 | mkoba | mkoba huo | that bag |
| 4 | mikoba | mikoba hiyo | those bags |
| 5 | gari | gari hilo | that car |
| 6 | magari | magari hayo | those cars |
| 7 | kitabu | kitabu hicho | that book |
| 8 | vitabu | vitabu hivyo | those books |
| 9 | barua | barua hiyo | that letter |
| 10 | barua | barua hizo | those letters |
| 11/14 | uzi / uji | uzi huo / uji huo | that thread / that porridge |
| 15 | kusubiri | kusubiri huko | that waiting in question |
| 16 | specific place | hapo | that spot / the spot mentioned |
| 17 | general area | huko | there / that area |
| 18 | interior | humo | in there / that interior |
Class 4 and class 9 share hiyo, but their other concords remain different. Class 9/10 barua does not visibly change for number, so hiyo/hizo may be the clearest number cue.
Barua hiyo imewekwa kwenye jalada la mradi.
That letter in question has been placed in the project file.
Barua hizo zimewekwa kwenye jalada la mradi.
Those letters in question have been placed in the project file.
The class 9 verb begins i- in imewekwa; the class 10 verb begins zi- in zimewekwa.
How the -o forms are built
In broad morphological analysis, the referential series extends the proximal pattern with referential -o: h-u-yu-o → huyo, h-a-wa-o → hao, h-i-li-o → hilo, h-i-ki-o → hicho, and h-i-vi-o → hivyo. The finished forms reflect regular historical sound combinations and are written as single words without hyphens.
The analysis helps you see why hiki and hicho belong to the same class 7 row, but it does not replace memorization. Forms such as huyo, hao, and hicho cannot be produced safely by attaching an invariant -o to whatever noun prefix is visible. Class 15 and class 17 both use huko; context distinguishes an infinitive noun such as kusubiri huko “that waiting” from general locative “there.”
Mahali hapo pamejaa; huko nyuma kuna nafasi, na humu ndani mna viti viwili.
That spot is crowded; there at the back is space, and inside there are two chairs.
The locative sequence shows class 16 hapo ... pa-, class 17 huko ... ku-, and class 18 humu ... m-. These are (neutral) Standard Swahili reference forms, though the fine locative distinctions can be reduced in spontaneous regional usage (regional: East Africa).
Near the listener
In a face-to-face setting, the referential series naturally identifies something in the listener’s area or possession.
Tafadhali nipatie kalamu hiyo iliyo karibu na mkono wako.
Please pass me that pen near your hand.
Usifungue sanduku hilo mpaka msimamizi afike.
Do not open that box there until the supervisor arrives.
Waambie watoto hao wakae upande wa kulia wa ukumbi.
Tell those children there to sit on the right side of the hall.
The demonstrative does not encode a precise number of centimeters. It organizes perspective: the identified item is on the addressee’s side rather than presented as proximal to the speaker or remote from both participants.
Retrieving something already mentioned
The most important nonspatial use is discourse-anaphoric. A speaker introduces a referent and then uses the referential series to say “that one just mentioned” or “the one in question.”
Asha alipendekeza gari la kukodi. Gari hilo lina nafasi ya watu saba.
Asha suggested a rental car. That car has room for seven people.
Mkurugenzi alitaja matatizo mawili ya bajeti. Matatizo hayo yatajadiliwa kesho.
The director mentioned two budget problems. Those problems will be discussed tomorrow.
Ulisema umepata kitabu kuhusu kilimo; kitabu hicho kinapatikana maktabani pia?
You said you found a book about farming; is that book available at the library too?
Class agreement follows the retrieved noun: class 5 gari hilo ... li-, class 6 matatizo hayo ... ya-, and class 7 kitabu hicho ... ki-.
The noun can remain bare when simple continuity is enough. Adding hilo, hayo, or hicho actively signals retrieval and can disambiguate among competing referents. It is therefore not an obligatory definite article.
A referent available from the situation
The listener may identify something even if it was not explicitly named in the preceding sentence. Shared attention, a task, or mutually known circumstances can make it available.
Funga mlango huo unaogonga kwa sababu ya upepo.
Close that door there that is banging because of the wind.
Meneja huyo ndiye aliyesaini mkataba wa awali.
That manager we have in mind is the one who signed the original contract.
The relative clause can reinforce the identification. In mlango huo unaogonga, class 3 appears in demonstrative huo and relative unaogonga. In meneja huyo ndiye aliyesaini, human class 1 appears in huyo, ndiye, and aliye-.
Position among other modifiers
Postnominal placement is the neutral baseline. With several modifiers, a useful order is noun + possessive + referential demonstrative + numeral + adjective.
Vitabu vyako hivyo viwili vipya vimehifadhiwa kwenye kabati la ofisi.
Those two new books of yours have been stored in the office cabinet.
Magari yetu hayo mawili makubwa yatawabeba wageni wa mkutano.
Those two large cars of ours will carry the conference guests.
Ripoti yetu hiyo moja ndefu bado haijakamilika.
That one long report of ours is still not complete.
The chains are class 8 vyako–hivyo–viwili–vipya–vi-, class 6 yetu–hayo–mawili–makubwa–ya-, and class 9 yetu–hiyo–moja–ndefu–i- in negative haijakamilika. The demonstrative does not cause the other modifiers to stop agreeing.
Long stacks are most likely where several alternatives must be distinguished. In ordinary (informal) speech, speakers often name fewer properties and distribute the rest into another clause.
Referential versus proximal and distal
The three series express viewpoints, not a simple two-distance translation:
| Class 7 phrase | Core perspective |
|---|---|
| kitabu hiki | this book here with me / immediate in attention |
| kitabu hicho | that book with you, just mentioned, or contextually identified |
| kitabu kile | that book over there or more remote in discourse |
Nitasoma kitabu hiki leo; wewe urudishe kitabu hicho ulichoazima, na kile cha zamani kibaki kabatini.
I will read this book today; you should return that book you borrowed, and let the old one over there remain in the cabinet.
The class stays constant while perspective changes. Physical position can motivate the contrast, but referential hicho also works without visible distance when the book has just been discussed.
Independent use and hivyo
Once the noun is recoverable, the demonstrative may stand alone: huyo “that person,” hicho “that class 7 one,” hizo “those class 10 ones.” Nothing meaning English one/ones must be added. That independent use is covered on Demonstratives Used without a Noun.
The class 8 form hivyo also has an established adverbial use meaning “thus, that way, so.” Context distinguishes adverbial Fanya hivyo “Do it that way” from a class 8 demonstrative in vitabu hivyo “those books.” Do not infer a silent class 8 noun every time hivyo occurs.
Register
The referential series is (neutral) in conversation, journalism, narrative, and formal prose. (Formal) writing often uses it to maintain an explicit reference chain across sentences. (Informal) conversation uses it frequently for items near the listener or salient in the shared situation. Its form and agreement remain standard across registers.
Common Mistakes
Using hiyo for every that
❌ Kitabu hiyo kimepotea tena.
Incorrect — class 7 kitabu requires hicho, not class 9 hiyo.
✅ Kitabu hicho kimepotea tena.
That book in question has gone missing again.
Ignoring plural agreement
❌ Magari hilo limeondoka bandarini.
Incorrect — plural class 6 magari requires hayo and ya-.
✅ Magari hayo yameondoka bandarini.
Those cars have left the port.
Using the distal series for something beside the listener
❌ Nipatie kalamu ile iliyo mkononi mwako.
Mismatched perspective — ile presents the pen as remote, although it is in the listener's hand.
✅ Nipatie kalamu hiyo iliyo mkononi mwako.
Pass me that pen in your hand.
Leaving a class-agreeing numeral bare
❌ Vitabu hivyo mbili vipya ni vya maktaba.
Incorrect — class 8 vitabu requires numeral viwili.
✅ Vitabu hivyo viwili vipya ni vya maktaba.
Those two new books belong to the library.
Key Takeaways
Referential demonstratives end in the -o series and identify a referent near the addressee, previously mentioned, or otherwise available in context. They normally follow the noun and agree with its class. They are stronger and more informative than an English definite article: use them to retrieve or point, not mechanically whenever English says the.
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Start learning Swahili →Related Topics
- Proximal Demonstratives: This and TheseA1 — Choose the class-agreeing proximal forms huyu, hiki, hii, and their partners for referents near the speaker or immediate in attention.
- Distal Demonstratives: That over ThereA2 — Use the class-agreeing -le demonstrative series for physically remote referents and people or things presented as distant in the discourse.
- Demonstrative Concord: All Three SeriesA2 — Choose proximal, referential, and distal Swahili demonstratives for every noun class and place them naturally after the noun.
- 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.
- 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.