kusafiri — to Travel | Swahili Grammar

Kusafiri means “travel” or “make a journey.” It is historically an Arabic-origin verb, but it is fully integrated into current Standard Swahili. Its lexical stem ends in -i, so it does not replace final -a with -i or -e: present negative is sisafiri, and subjunctive is also nisafiri.

The verb is normally intransitive. Destinations, sources, routes, means of transport, and companions appear in phrases around it: safiri kwenda Arusha, kutoka Dodoma, kupitia Singida, kwa basi, and na familia. English “travel Nairobi” or “travel by bus” should not be copied as a direct-object pattern.

Practical paradigm

Form	I	you (sg.)	he/she	we	you (pl.)	they
present	ninasafiri	unasafiri	anasafiri	tunasafiri	mnasafiri	wanasafiri
past	nilisafiri	ulisafiri	alisafiri	tulisafiri	mlisafiri	walisafiri
perfect	nimesafiri	umesafiri	amesafiri	tumesafiri	mmesafiri	wamesafiri
future	nitasafiri	utasafiri	atasafiri	tutasafiri	mtasafiri	watasafiri
present negative	sisafiri	husafiri	hasafiri	hatusafiri	hamsafiri	hawasafiri
past negative	sikusafiri	hukusafiri	hakusafiri	hatukusafiri	hamkusafiri	hawakusafiri
subjunctive	nisafiri	usafiri	asafiri	tusafiri	msafiri	wasafiri

The singular imperative is safiri! and the plural is safirini! The plural adds -ni to a non-a ending; it is not safirieni. In the subjunctive, mood is shown by the absence of an ordinary TAM marker and by the selecting context, not by final -e.

Ninasafiri kwenda Mbeya kesho asubuhi kwa treni.

I am traveling to Mbeya tomorrow morning by train.

Hasafiri usiku kwa sababu haoni vizuri gizani.

He does not travel at night because he cannot see well in the dark.

Ni muhimu msafiri mapema kabla barabara haijajaa magari.

It is important that you all travel early before the road becomes congested.

These unlabelled forms are neutral in (informal) and (formal) Standard Swahili.

💡

For borrowed stems ending in -i, do not manufacture final-vowel alternations. Parse a-na-safiri, ha-safiri, and a-safiri by their prefixes and context.

Destination and endpoint

The clearest destination frame is kusafiri kwenda + place. Hadi + place emphasizes the endpoint or extent of the journey. Many city names can also follow a motion sequence without an overt equivalent of English “to,” but kwenda gives learners a reliable explicit structure.

Tutasafiri kwenda Kigali baada ya mkutano wa mwisho kumalizika.

We will travel to Kigali after the final meeting ends.

Walisafiri hadi kijiji cha mwisho, kisha wakaendelea kwa miguu.

They traveled as far as the last village, then continued on foot.

Hadi presents the village as the endpoint reached. For the wider goal contrast, see goal expressions with kwenda and hadi.

Within a country or area, use a locative or ndani ya phrase:

Alisafiri nchini Kenya kwa wiki mbili akitembelea miradi ya maji.

She traveled in Kenya for two weeks visiting water projects.

Nchini Kenya gives the domain of travel, not a direct object of safiri.

Source and route

Use kutoka + place for the origin and kupitia + place for a route or intermediate point. Source and goal can occur together.

Basi linasafiri kutoka Tanga kwenda Mombasa kila siku isipokuwa Jumapili.

The bus travels from Tanga to Mombasa every day except Sunday.

Tulisafiri kupitia Morogoro ili tukutane na wenzetu njiani.

We traveled via Morogoro so that we could meet our colleagues on the way.

These phrases remain outside the verb. Safiri does not take noun-class object markers for Tanga, Mombasa, or Morogoro merely because they name locations.

Means of transport

Means normally uses kwa + vehicle/mode: kwa basi, kwa gari, kwa treni, kwa ndege, kwa meli, or kwa miguu. The same kwa also appears with travel duration in some contexts, so the following noun determines the interpretation.

Expression	Meaning/register
kusafiri kwa basi/gari	travel by bus/car, neutral
kusafiri kwa treni	travel by train, neutral
kusafiri kwa ndege	travel by plane, neutral
kusafiri kwa meli	travel by ship, neutral
kusafiri kwa miguu	travel on foot, neutral

Tuliamua kusafiri kwa basi kwa sababu tiketi za ndege zilikuwa ghali.

We decided to travel by bus because plane tickets were expensive.

Wageni wamesafiri kwa meli kutoka Zanzibar hadi Dar es Salaam.

The visitors have traveled by ship from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam.

English uses “by” without an article; Swahili uses stable kwa rather than turning the vehicle into an object of safiri.

Companions, purpose, and travel type

A companion follows na. Purpose can use kwa ajili ya, an infinitive, or an established travel-type expression.

Nitasafiri na dada yangu kwa sababu hataki kwenda peke yake.

I will travel with my sister because she does not want to go alone.

Mkurugenzi amesafiri kwenda Arusha kwa ajili ya mkutano wa kikanda.

The director has traveled to Arusha for a regional meeting.

Common nouns include safari ya kikazi “business trip,” safari ya masomo “study trip,” and safari ya kwenda na kurudi “round trip.” These are neutral to (formal); the verb itself is not inherently elevated.

💡

Keep na and kwa distinct: safiri na Asha names a companion, while safiri kwa basi names the means. A person is not a vehicle, and a vehicle is not a fellow traveler.

Kusafiri, kwenda, and kutembea

Kwenda means “go” and can describe even a short local movement. Kusafiri foregrounds a journey, often over some distance or as an organized trip. Kutembea means walk, move about, visit, or tour depending on context.

Ninaenda ofisini kila siku, lakini mwezi ujao nitasafiri kwenda makao makuu ya kanda.

I go to the office every day, but next month I will travel to the regional headquarters.

Baada ya kufika Lamu, tulitembea mjini kwa miguu mpaka jioni.

After arriving in Lamu, we walked around town until evening.

The first contrasts routine going with a journey. The second uses tembea for movement around the destination after travel has ended.

Arabic origin and register

Safiri belongs to the large Arabic-derived layer of Standard Swahili vocabulary. Its origin does not make it foreign, (archaic), or restricted to (formal) writing. It is ordinary across East African conversation, news, transport notices, and institutional travel documents. What remains morphologically distinctive is its lexical final -i.

Common Mistakes

Treating the destination as a direct object

❌ Tunaisafiri Nairobi kesho asubuhi.

Incorrect — safiri is intransitive, so Nairobi is not indexed as an object.

✅ Tunasafiri kwenda Nairobi kesho asubuhi kwa basi la kwanza.

We are traveling to Nairobi tomorrow morning on the first bus.

The explicit pan-Standard learner pattern uses kwenda + place. The destination remains outside the verb.

Using kwa for a companion

❌ Nitasafiri kwa dada yangu kwenda Tanga.

Wrong for traveling together — kwa can point to a person's place, not mark that person as a companion.

✅ Nitasafiri na dada yangu kwenda Tanga baada ya kumaliza kazi.

I will travel with my sister to Tanga after finishing work.

Replacing lexical final -i in the subjunctive

❌ Meneja anataka asafire wiki ijayo.

Incorrect — non-a stem safiri retains final -i in the subjunctive.

✅ Meneja anataka asafiri wiki ijayo baada ya kumaliza ripoti.

The manager wants her to travel next week after finishing the report.

Building the plural imperative like an -a verb

❌ Safirieni salama na mtutumie ujumbe mkifika.

Incorrect — the non-a imperative adds -ni without -e-.

✅ Safirini salama na mtutumie ujumbe mkifika nyumbani.

Travel safely and send us a message when you arrive home.

Key Takeaways

Fully integrated Arabic-origin safiri retains final -i in negative and subjunctive forms.
Use kwenda or hadi for a goal, kutoka for source, and kupitia for route.
Means takes kwa; companions take na.
Kusafiri foregrounds a journey, while kwenda is general “go” and kutembea often means walk/move around.
Imperatives are safiri and safirini.

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