kusubiri — to Wait | Swahili Grammar

Kusubiri means “wait, wait for.” Unlike English, Standard Swahili can place the awaited person or thing directly after the verb without a preposition: subiri basi “wait for the bus.” A definite human object is indexed inside the verb: ninakusubiri “I am waiting for you.”

Subiri is an Arabic-derived loan ending in lexical -i, so the vowel remains in negative and subjunctive forms. All unlabelled uses below are neutral current Standard Swahili.

Practical paradigm: invariant final -i

Form	I	you (sg.)	he/she	we	you (pl.)	they
present	ninasubiri	unasubiri	anasubiri	tunasubiri	mnasubiri	wanasubiri
past	nilisubiri	ulisubiri	alisubiri	tulisubiri	mlisubiri	walisubiri
perfect	nimesubiri	umesubiri	amesubiri	tumesubiri	mmesubiri	wamesubiri
future	nitasubiri	utasubiri	atasubiri	tutasubiri	mtasubiri	watasubiri
present negative	sisubiri	husubiri	hasubiri	hatusubiri	hamsubiri	hawasubiri
past negative	sikusubiri	hukusubiri	hakusubiri	hatukusubiri	hamkusubiri	hawakusubiri
subjunctive	nisubiri	usubiri	asubiri	tusubiri	msubiri	wasubiri

The singular imperative is subiri and plural is subirini.

Subiri hapa; nitarudi baada ya dakika mbili.

Wait here; I will return in two minutes.

Subirini nje mpaka daktari awaite.

Wait outside until the doctor calls you.

Compare ni-na-subiri, si-subiri, ni-subiri, and subiri-ni. Final -i is lexical, not the negative ending of a Bantu -a verb.

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Do not change loan-final -i: use sisubiri, nisubiri, and subirini.

Waiting without an object

When the awaited event is obvious or when the instruction concerns staying put, subiri can stand alone:

Tumekuwa tukisubiri kwa muda mrefu, lakini foleni haisogei.

We have been waiting for a long time, but the line is not moving.

Sitasubiri tena ikiwa hawatathibitisha nafasi yangu leo.

I will not wait any longer if they do not confirm my place today.

Location and duration are adjuncts, not objects. Use hapa/pale/nje for place; use a bare duration or kwa muda wa...:

Tulisubiri saa mbili kwenye kituo cha afya.

We waited for two hours at the health center.

Aliwasubiri kwa muda wa dakika kumi tu.

She waited for them for only ten minutes.

In the last sentence -wa- is the human plural object “them,” while kwa muda wa dakika kumi measures the waiting event.

Waiting for a person or thing: direct object

Standard Swahili does not require a word equivalent to English for:

Tunamsubiri fundi aje kurekebisha friji.

We are waiting for the technician to come and repair the refrigerator.

The build tu-na-m-subiri indexes definite class 1 fundi. The following subjunctive a-je states the awaited action.

Abiria walisubiri basi la mwisho kwa zaidi ya saa moja.

The passengers waited for the last bus for more than an hour.

Basi is the direct object even without an object marker. It follows the verb directly; kwa zaidi ya saa moja is the duration.

With second person, the contrast is especially clear:

Ninakusubiri karibu na lango kuu la hospitali.

I am waiting for you near the hospital's main gate.

English uses two words “for you”; Swahili uses object marker -ku- before subiri.

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After subiri, distinguish awaited object from duration: subiri basi saa moja can mean wait for the bus for one hour, with basi as object and saa moja as measure.

Waiting for an event

A finite clause can state what must happen before waiting ends. Mpaka/hadi “until” makes the endpoint explicit:

Tusubiri mpaka mvua ipungue ndipo tuondoke.

Let's wait until the rain eases, then leave.

Meneja atasubiri hadi wote wawe tayari kuanza.

The manager will wait until everyone is ready to begin.

The endpoint verbs ipungue and wawe are subjunctive because they present the awaited boundary, not an asserted present fact. In everyday contexts one also hears finite indicative or situative patterns depending on temporal meaning, but mpaka/hadi + subjunctive is a reliable planned-future model. See subjunctive formation.

An infinitive can name the delayed action with the same subject:

Alisubiri kujibu mpaka alipokuwa na taarifa kamili.

She waited to answer until she had complete information.

This differs from alisubiri jibu “she waited for an answer,” where noun jibu is the awaited object.

Register and synonyms

Kusubiri is neutral throughout the Standard Swahili-speaking region. Kungoja is also standard and common; individual and regional preferences vary, so do not label one inherently formal and the other inherently incorrect. In (formal) notices, tafadhali subiri and plural tafadhali subirini are common service formulas.

Tafadhali subirini hadi nambari zenu zionyeshwe kwenye skrini.

Please wait until your numbers are displayed on the screen.

Common collocations include kusubiri kwa muda “wait for a while,” kusubiri kwa hamu “wait eagerly,” kusubiri zamu “wait one's turn,” and kusubiri jibu “await an answer.”

Common Mistakes

Copying English wait for with kwa

❌ Ninasubiri kwa Asha nje ya maktaba.

Incorrect for ‘waiting for Asha’ — kwa does not mark the awaited object.

✅ Ninamsubiri Asha nje ya maktaba ya chuo.

I am waiting for Asha outside the university library.

Omitting a human object marker

❌ Tunasubiri yule daktari tangu asubuhi.

Incorrect for the normal definite-human pattern — index the doctor with -m-.

✅ Tunamsubiri yule daktari tangu saa mbili asubuhi.

We have been waiting for that doctor since eight in the morning.

Changing loan-final -i in the subjunctive

❌ Mwambie asubire nje kidogo.

Incorrect — loan verb subiri keeps final -i in the subjunctive.

✅ Mwambie asubiri nje kwa dakika chache.

Tell him to wait outside for a few minutes.

Marking a duration as the awaited object

❌ Tulizisubiri saa mbili hospitalini.

Incorrect intended meaning — -zi- makes class 10 saa a definite object, not a duration measure.

✅ Tulisubiri kwa muda wa saa mbili hospitalini.

We waited for two hours at the hospital.

Key Takeaways

Loan subiri keeps -i: sisubiri, nisubiri, subirini.
It may stand alone or take the awaited person/thing directly as an object.
Do not copy English “wait for” with kwa; use subiri basi, ninakusubiri.
A bare duration or kwa muda wa... measures how long the waiting lasts.
Use mpaka/hadi + clause to name the event that ends the wait.

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