kufundisha — to Teach | Swahili Grammar

Kufundisha means “teach,” “instruct,” or “cause someone to learn.” Its subject is the teacher or other cause of learning; its objects can identify the learner and the material taught. That direction matters because English learners often confuse it with kujifunza “learn,” whose subject is the learner.

The form belongs to the same word family as jifunza, but modern learners should memorize fundisha as a complete everyday verb. Its -ish- historically has causative force, yet the present-day relation is not a mechanical rule by which any occurrence of funza can replace it.

Practical paradigm

Form	I	you (sg.)	he/she	we	you (pl.)	they
present	ninafundisha	unafundisha	anafundisha	tunafundisha	mnafundisha	wanafundisha
past	nilifundisha	ulifundisha	alifundisha	tulifundisha	mlifundisha	walifundisha
perfect	nimefundisha	umefundisha	amefundisha	tumefundisha	mmefundisha	wamefundisha
future	nitafundisha	utafundisha	atafundisha	tutafundisha	mtafundisha	watafundisha
present negative	sifundishi	hufundishi	hafundishi	hatufundishi	hamfundishi	hawafundishi
past negative	sikufundisha	hukufundisha	hakufundisha	hatukufundisha	hamkufundisha	hawakufundisha
subjunctive	nifundishe	ufundishe	afundishe	tufundishe	mfundishe	wafundishe

The singular imperative is fundisha! and the plural is fundisheni! A useful polite request is tufundishe “teach us,” built tu-fundish-e. Regular forms segment as a-na-fundish-a, ha-fundish-i, and wa-fundish-e. Unless noted otherwise, these forms are neutral in (informal) and (formal) Standard Swahili.

Ninafundisha Kiswahili katika kituo cha jamii mara tatu kwa wiki.

I teach Swahili at the community center three times a week.

Hafundishi leo kwa sababu amepoteza sauti.

She is not teaching today because she has lost her voice.

Tufundishe jinsi ya kuhifadhi picha hizi kabla simu haijazima.

Teach us how to save these pictures before the phone switches off.

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Ask who is causing the knowledge to develop. That participant is the subject of fundisha. The learner is the subject of jifunza: Mwalimu anafundisha; wanafunzi wanajifunza.

The learner and the topic

Fundisha can take a learner, a subject matter, or both. With both present, the normal order is teacher + fundisha + learner + topic. A specific human learner is ordinarily indexed by an object marker even when the full noun follows.

Bi. Rehema anawafundisha wanafunzi wake jiografia ya Afrika Mashariki.

Ms. Rehema teaches her students the geography of East Africa.

The build a-na-wa-fundish-a has subject a-, present -na-, plural-human object -wa-, and base fundish-a. The full phrase wanafunzi wake identifies the learners, while jiografia ya Afrika Mashariki names the topic.

Mwalimu alinifundisha hesabu nilipokuwa katika darasa la tano.

The teacher taught me mathematics when I was in fifth grade.

Here a-li-ni-fundish-a contains first-person object -ni-. Swahili marks “me” inside the verb; English uses a separate pronoun.

When only the material matters, the topic follows directly:

Chuo hicho kinafundisha uhasibu, utalii na teknolojia ya habari.

That college teaches accounting, tourism, and information technology.

Class 7 chuo controls ki- in ki-na-fundish-a. There is no human learner object because the sentence describes the institution's curriculum generally.

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With two semantic objects, mark the specific human learner inside the verb and state the subject matter after that learner: anawafundisha watoto sayansi. This makes the participant structure immediately clear.

Teaching a skill or procedure

When what is taught is an action, use a full ku- infinitive. The learner may be overt or understood from context.

Mjomba anawafundisha watoto kuogelea kwenye sehemu isiyo na kina kirefu.

Uncle is teaching the children to swim in the shallow area.

Video hii itakufundisha kutumia programu bila kupoteza faili zako.

This video will teach you to use the program without losing your files.

The second example shows that the subject need not be human. Class 9 video controls i- in i-ta-ku-fundish-a, while object -ku- identifies the learner “you.”

For a procedure with several stages, jinsi ya + infinitive means “how to” and can package the procedure as the taught content.

Fundi ametufundisha jinsi ya kufunga kichujio kipya kwa usalama.

The technician has taught us how to install the new filter safely.

A-me-tu-fundish-a indexes “us.” The phrase jinsi ya kufunga specifies the procedure, rather than introducing another finite clause.

Fundisha and jifunza face opposite directions

The two verbs can describe the same learning event from different viewpoints:

Zawadi anawafundisha wafanyakazi kutumia mfumo mpya, nao wanajifunza haraka.

Zawadi is teaching the employees to use the new system, and they are learning quickly.

In the first clause, Zawadi causes learning and is the subject of fundisha. In the second, the employees acquire the skill and are the subject of jifunza. English keeps “teach” and “learn” separate too, but English transfer still commonly produces reversed participant roles in longer Swahili sentences. The guide to kujifunza develops this contrast.

Do not treat jifunza as merely “teach oneself” whenever no teacher is named. Its ji- is lexicalized, and an ordinary student learning in class still anajifunza.

Applicative fundishia

Applicative fundishia has build fundish-i-a. It adds a salient location, means, or circumstance to teaching. One frequent use names a regular workplace without katika.

Kaka yangu anafundishia shule ya msingi iliyo karibu na ziwa.

My older brother teaches at a primary school near the lake.

Basic anafundisha katika shule hiyo is also grammatical. Anafundishia shule hiyo packages the school as the setting associated with his teaching work. This use is neutral and especially common when discussing where a teacher works.

The applicative can also foreground the means used for instruction:

Mwalimu anatumia ramani kubwa kufundishia historia ya mji.

The teacher uses a large map to teach the history of the town.

Here kufundishia makes the map's instructional purpose explicit. The phrase is not a new tense: the applicative extension belongs next to the root, before final -a. See the applicative formation guide.

Register and useful combinations

Everyday neutral combinations include fundisha somo “teach a subject,” fundisha watoto “teach children,” and fundisha kuendesha gari “teach [someone] to drive.” (formal) educational language also uses kutoa mafunzo “provide training” and mkufunzi “trainer,” especially for professional instruction. Those expressions do not make ordinary fundisha informal; they simply classify an organized training event more explicitly.

Shirika litawafundisha wakulima mbinu za kuhifadhi udongo mwezi ujao.

The organization will teach farmers soil-conservation techniques next month.

This is natural (formal) project language. Object -wa- indexes wakulima, and mbinu names what they will be taught.

Common Mistakes

Introducing the learner with kwa

❌ Ninafundisha Kiswahili kwa watoto hawa kila jioni.

Incorrect for directly teaching these children — make the learners objects of fundisha.

✅ Ninawafundisha watoto hawa Kiswahili kila jioni baada ya chakula.

I teach these children Swahili every evening after dinner.

Reversing teach and learn

❌ Wanafunzi wanafundisha kutumia darubini mpya.

Incorrect if the students are acquiring the skill — fundisha makes them teachers.

✅ Wanafunzi wanajifunza kutumia darubini mpya katika maabara.

The students are learning to use the new microscope in the laboratory.

Using the basic verb for a teaching workplace

❌ Shangazi yangu anafundisha shule ya kijiji.

Incorrect for ‘teaches at the village school’ — shule sounds like the material taught.

✅ Shangazi yangu anafundishia shule ya kijiji tangu mwaka jana.

My aunt has taught at the village school since last year.

Keeping final -a in present negation

❌ Hafundisha darasa hili siku za Ijumaa.

Incorrect for present negative — change final -a to -i.

✅ Hafundishi darasa hili siku za Ijumaa kwa sababu huwa safarini.

She does not teach this class on Fridays because she is usually away.

Key Takeaways

The subject of fundisha causes learning; a specific human learner is object-marked.
A subject matter follows the learner, while a taught action appears as a ku- infinitive.
Fundisha and jifunza describe the teaching event from opposite participant viewpoints.
Applicative fundishia can foreground a workplace or means associated with teaching.
Imperatives are fundisha and fundisheni; the present negative ends in -i: hafundishi.

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