Kufunga has a compact physical core—bring parts together and secure them—from which Standard Swahili develops “close, shut, tie, fasten, lock, pack,” and several conventional meanings. It can close a door, tie a rope, fasten a seat belt, close a business, score a goal, or mean “fast” in a religious context.
The transitive base contrasts with stative fungika “close/be closable,” reversive funguka “open/come loose,” and passive fungwa “be closed/tied by someone.” English often translates several of these as “be closed,” so participant structure is more reliable than translation alone.
Complete practical paradigm
| Form | I | you (sg.) | he/she | we | you (pl.) | they |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present | ninafunga | unafunga | anafunga | tunafunga | mnafunga | wanafunga |
| past | nilifunga | ulifunga | alifunga | tulifunga | mlifunga | walifunga |
| perfect | nimefunga | umefunga | amefunga | tumefunga | mmefunga | wamefunga |
| future | nitafunga | utafunga | atafunga | tutafunga | mtafunga | watafunga |
| present negative | sifungi | hufungi | hafungi | hatufungi | hamfungi | hawafungi |
| past negative | sikufunga | hukufunga | hakufunga | hatukufunga | hamkufunga | hawakufunga |
| subjunctive | nifunge | ufunge | afunge | tufunge | mfunge | wafunge |
The regular builds are ni-na-fung-a → ninafunga, si-fung-i → sifungi, and ni-fung-e → nifunge. Imperatives are funga/fungeni; prohibitions are usifunge/msifunge.
Ninafunga madirisha kwa sababu upepo umeongezeka.
I am closing the windows because the wind has picked up.
Hawakufunga duka jana licha ya mvua kubwa.
They did not close the shop yesterday despite the heavy rain.
Tufunge geti kabla mbwa hajatoka nje.
Let us close the gate before the dog gets out.
Close, tie, fasten, and lock
The object determines the physical interpretation.
Tafadhali funga mlango kwa ufunguo unapoondoka.
Please lock the door when you leave.
Alifunga mzigo kwa kamba mbili ili usianguke.
She tied the load with two ropes so that it would not fall.
Abiria wote wafunge mikanda yao kabla gari halijaondoka.
All passengers should fasten their seat belts before the vehicle departs.
Funga mlango can mean close or lock; kwa ufunguo makes locking explicit. Funga kamba/mzigo selects tying, and funga mkanda selects fastening.
A topical object takes its class marker:
Lango hili tumelifunga, lakini lile la nyuma bado liko wazi.
We have closed this gate, but the one at the back is still open.
Tu-me-li-fung-a indexes class 5 lango with -li-.
Perfect nimefunga often implies a maintained result, but it still attributes the act to the subject.
Nimefunga ofisi na funguo nimeziacha kwa mlinzi.
I have locked the office and left the keys with the guard.
If only the current state matters, ofisi imefungwa is the passive/result expression; if ability is at issue, use inafungika.
Established abstract and lexical uses
| Collocation | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| funga biashara/duka | close a business/shop | neutral |
| funga ndoa | contract a marriage/get married | formal/neutral |
| funga bao | score a goal | sports/neutral |
| funga virago | pack one's belongings | neutral |
| funga safari | set out on a journey | literary/formal |
Timu ya nyumbani ilifunga bao la ushindi dakika ya mwisho.
The home team scored the winning goal in the final minute.
Baada ya kupata kazi mpya, alifunga virago na kuhamia Iringa.
After getting a new job, she packed her belongings and moved to Iringa.
These are lexical collocations; English “tie” will not predict them. Kufunga safari is (literary) or elevated (formal) compared with ordinary kuanza safari/kuondoka.
Fungika, funguka, and fungwa
Stative fungika says that something closes, is capable of closing, or has reached a closed state without profiling an agent.
Dirisha hili halifungiki kwa sababu fremu imepinda.
This window cannot close because the frame is bent.
Hali-fung-ik-i contains stative -ik- and present-negative final -i. It evaluates the window’s ability, not anyone’s effort.
Reversive/intransitive funguka expresses opening or coming loose:
Kifungo cha begi kimefunguka wakati tukitembea.
The bag's fastener has come undone while we were walking.
Passive fungwa reports a closing or tying event and permits an agent.
Barabara ilifungwa na polisi baada ya ajali.
The road was closed by the police after the accident.
Compare barabara imefungika “the road is blocked/not passable in its state” with barabara imefungwa na polisi “the road has been closed by the police.” See stative versus passive.
Religious fasting
In the fasting sense, kufunga can stand without an object or take the observance as its complement: kufunga Ramadhani “fast during Ramadan.” Once that class 9 referent is established, object-marked kuifunga Ramadhani is also standard.
Waislamu wengi wanafunga katika mwezi wa Ramadhani.
Many Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan.
Leo sifungi, lakini ndugu yangu anafunga.
I am not fasting today, but my sibling is fasting.
This use is neutral and respectful across (informal) and (formal) contexts. Context keeps it distinct from closing: a person anafunga during an observance; a shop inafungwa by someone or inafungika successfully.
Common Mistakes
Confusing close and open
⚠️ Fungua dirisha kabla ya kuondoka usiku.
Grammatical as ‘open the window,’ but the wrong verb if the intended instruction is to close it.
✅ Funga dirisha kabla ya kuondoka usiku.
Close the window before leaving at night.
Using funguka for ability to close
⚠️ Mlango haufunguki kwa sababu bawaba imepinda.
Grammatical for ‘cannot open’; for ‘cannot close,’ use fungika.
✅ Mlango haufungiki kwa sababu bawaba imepinda.
The door cannot close because the hinge is bent.
Adding an agent to the stative
❌ Barabara imefungika na polisi.
Incorrect — stative fungika does not license police as closing agent.
✅ Barabara imefungwa na polisi.
The road has been closed by the police.
Treating food as the object of fasting
⚠️ Leo ninafunga chakula.
Grammatical only in a closing or packing sense; it does not mean ‘I am fasting today.’
✅ Leo ninafunga kwa sababu ni mwezi wa Ramadhani.
I am fasting today because it is the month of Ramadan.
Key Takeaways
- Kufunga covers closing, tying, fastening, locking, lexical collocations, and fasting.
- Object context selects the physical or idiomatic meaning.
- Fungika expresses closability/state, funguka opening, and fungwa a passive event.
- The fasting sense can stand alone or take Ramadhani/saumu, including object-marked kuifunga when the observance is established.
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Start learning Swahili →Related Topics
- kufungua — to OpenA2 — Conjugate kufungua and distinguish transitive opening, spontaneous funguka, passive funguliwa, and the lexical reversive relation to kufunga.
- kununua — to BuyA2 — Conjugate kununua, preserve its vowel sequence, identify sellers and sources, and use benefactive nunulia naturally.
- Forming the Stative in -ik-/-ek-B1 — Form Swahili statives with -ik-/-ek- to express potential, spontaneous result, and an intransitive state without an external agent.
- Stative versus PassiveB2 — Distinguish stative possibility or spontaneous state from a passive event with an understood or expressed agent.
- Reversive and Separative ExtensionsC1 — Recognize the -u-/-ul- and -o-/-ol- families in established verbs of opening, extracting, and undoing without treating them as freely attachable English un-.