kusema — to Say, Speak | Swahili Grammar

Kusema means “say,” “state,” or sometimes “speak.” It is a regular verb with base sem-a, but its complement patterns matter: quote the words directly, introduce reported content with kwamba, or use established speech-act phrases such as kusema kweli “tell the truth.”

English “tell someone” normally requires a different Swahili verb, kumwambia mtu. A formally perfect conjugation of sema can therefore still produce an unnatural sentence if its recipient is treated like an English indirect object.

Practical paradigm

Form	I	you (sg.)	he/she	we	you (pl.)	they
present	ninasema	unasema	anasema	tunasema	mnasema	wanasema
past	nilisema	ulisema	alisema	tulisema	mlisema	walisema
perfect	nimesema	umesema	amesema	tumesema	mmesema	wamesema
future	nitasema	utasema	atasema	tutasema	mtasema	watasema
present negative	sisemi	husemi	hasemi	hatusemi	hamsemi	hawasemi
past negative	sikusema	hukusema	hakusema	hatukusema	hamkusema	hawakusema
subjunctive	niseme	useme	aseme	tuseme	mseme	waseme

The singular imperative is sema! and the plural is semeni! Present ni-na-sem-a contrasts with present negative si-sem-i and subjunctive ni-sem-e. Nothing irregular happens to the root.

Nitasema ukweli hata kama jibu halitawafurahisha.

I will tell the truth even if the answer will not please them.

Usiseme chochote mpaka wakili wako afike.

Do not say anything until your lawyer arrives.

Negative subjunctive u-si-sem-e is more appropriate here than a positive imperative. Direct Sema! is neutral among familiar equals but can sound abrupt in a status-sensitive exchange; Tafadhali useme... is more polite.

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Sema is morphologically regular. The hard part is choosing what follows it: quoted words, kwamba + clause, or an established speech-act expression.

Direct speech

Direct quotation reproduces the words as an independent utterance. Sema can precede or follow the quote.

Meneja alisema, “Tutafunga ofisi mapema leo.”

The manager said, ‘We will close the office early today.’

The quote retains the manager's original first-person plural tu-. A report from another viewpoint changes person and time reference as needed.

“Sijapokea barua pepe,” Amina alisema kwa sauti ya chini.

‘I haven't received the email,’ Amina said quietly.

Kwa sauti ya chini describes manner. In (formal) edited prose, punctuation makes the quotation boundary clear; in speech, intonation does the same work.

Reported content with kwamba

Use kwamba to introduce the proposition said rather than the exact original wording.

Meneja alisema kwamba watafunga ofisi mapema siku hiyo.

The manager said that they would close the office early that day.

The reporter has shifted the deictic center: original leo becomes siku hiyo. Swahili can retain future -ta- after a past reporting verb even where English uses “would”; -nge- would add a conditional or less-certain viewpoint.

Wamesema kwamba malipo yataingia kabla ya Ijumaa.

They have said that the payment will arrive before Friday.

Kwamba is neutral and especially common in (formal) reporting. It may be omitted in some conversational clauses when the boundary is obvious, but learners gain clarity by retaining it.

Speech-act collocations

Many frequent meanings combine sema with a fixed or semi-fixed complement.

Collocation	Meaning/register
kusema kweli	tell the truth, neutral
kusema uongo	tell a lie/lies, neutral
kusema ndiyo/hapana	say yes/no, neutral
kusema asante	say thank you, neutral
kusema samahani	say sorry/excuse me, neutral
kusema wazi	say clearly/frankly, neutral to (formal)
kwa kifupi	briefly/in short, (formal) discourse framing

Kwa kifupi, msemaji alisema kwamba mradi unahitaji fedha zaidi.

In short, the speaker said that the project needs more money.

Ulisema asante kwa wahudumu kabla ya kuondoka?

Did you say thank you to the staff before leaving?

The beneficiary/addressee is expressed with kwa wahudumu in this speech-act phrase, not as an ordinary object of sema.

Saying content versus telling a person

For a person who receives information, use ambia with a human object marker.

Nilimwambia Hassan kwamba mkutano umeahirishwa.

I told Hassan that the meeting has been postponed.

Ni-li-mw-ambi-a indexes Hassan as recipient. Replacing it with nilisema Hassan would copy English syntax and is not neutral Standard Swahili.

For two-way conversation, prefer zungumza na:

Ninataka kuzungumza na msimamizi kuhusu bili hii.

I want to speak with the supervisor about this bill.

Kusema na msimamizi is not the normal way to express a conversation. See the dedicated kuzungumza reference.

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If the meaning is “utter these words,” choose sema. For “give information to this person,” choose ambia; for “have a conversation with,” choose zungumza na.

Language ability and uttering words

Anasema Kiswahili can mean “he/she speaks Swahili,” especially when focusing on actual speech. For general ability or sustained conversation, anazungumza Kiswahili is often clearer.

Mgeni alisema maneno machache ya Kiswahili kisha akaendelea kwa Kiingereza.

The visitor said a few words of Swahili and then continued in English.

The object is the uttered content maneno machache. When a particular inanimate expression is topical, class object marking is possible: Neno hilo usiliseme hapa “Do not say that word here.”

Extended forms

Passive semwa means “be said”: Maneno hayo yalisemwa hadharani “Those words were said publicly.” Established semekana means “be said/reported” and often introduces an impersonal claim.

Inasemekana kwamba daraja litafunguliwa mwezi ujao.

It is said that the bridge will open next month.

Inasemekana is frequent in (formal) news and cautious reporting. It backgrounds the source and should not be used when a named, accountable source is available.

Common Mistakes

Using kusema for “tell someone”

❌ Nilisema Asha habari za safari.

Incorrect transfer from English ‘tell Asha’ — a recipient requires ambia.

✅ Nilimwambia Asha habari za safari baada ya chakula.

I told Asha the travel news after the meal.

Using kusema na for a conversation

❌ Nitasema na meneja kuhusu likizo yangu.

Unnatural for a two-way conversation — use zungumza na.

✅ Nitazungumza na meneja kuhusu likizo yangu kesho.

I will speak with the manager about my leave tomorrow.

Keeping final -a in present negation

❌ Mimi sisema uongo kuhusu fedha.

Incorrect — regular present negative changes final -a to -i.

✅ Mimi sisemi uongo kuhusu fedha za kikundi.

I do not lie about the group's money.

Adding kwamba before a direct quotation

❌ Amina alisema kwamba, “Nitarudi kesho.”

Mixed quotation structures — choose direct quotation or a kwamba report.

✅ Amina alisema, “Nitarudi kesho asubuhi.”

Amina said, ‘I will return tomorrow morning.’

Key Takeaways

Kusema is regular: ninasema, sisemi, nilisema, niseme.
Quote exact words directly or introduce reported content with kwamba.
Learn speech-act collocations such as kusema kweli, kusema asante, and kusema wazi.
Use ambia to tell a person and zungumza na for a two-way conversation.
Passive semwa reports uttered words; impersonal inasemekana backgrounds the source.

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