Kuuza means “sell.” Its short, vowel-initial base is uz-a: infinitive ku-uz-a → kuuza, but finite present ni-na-uz-a → ninauza. Unlike genuinely monosyllabic verbs such as kula, kuuza does not retain supporting ku- after ordinary TAM markers.
The seller is the subject and the goods are the direct object. A buyer can appear in a kwa phrase or be integrated through applicative uzia. Passive uzwa shifts attention to the goods: gari limeuzwa “the car has been sold.”
Practical paradigm
| Form | I | you (sg.) | he/she | we | you (pl.) | they |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present | ninauza | unauza | anauza | tunauza | mnauza | wanauza |
| past | niliuza | uliuza | aliuza | tuliuza | mliuza | waliuza |
| perfect | nimeuza | umeuza | ameuza | tumeuza | mmeuza | wameuza |
| future | nitauza | utauza | atauza | tutauza | mtauza | watauza |
| present negative | siuzi | huuzi | hauzi | hatuuzi | hamuuzi | hawauzi |
| past negative | sikuuza | hukuuza | hakuuza | hatukuuza | hamkuuza | hawakuuza |
| subjunctive | niuze | uuze | auze | tuuze | muuze | wauze |
The singular imperative is uza! and the plural is uzeni! Vowel contact remains visible in forms such as kuuza, hamuuzi, sikuuza, and muuze. These vowels express real morpheme boundaries; do not delete them or split the verb into separate words.
Ninauza mayai na mboga kwenye kibanda karibu na stendi.
I sell eggs and vegetables at a stall near the bus stand.
Hauzi bidhaa zilizokwisha muda wake wa matumizi.
She does not sell products whose shelf life has expired.
Tuuze viti vya zamani ili tupate nafasi zaidi ofisini.
Let's sell the old chairs so that we have more space in the office.
Unless otherwise labelled, the constructions on this page are neutral in (informal) and (formal) Standard Swahili.
Goods as direct objects
The item transferred for payment follows uza directly. Common objects range from everyday produce to property and services.
| Collocation | Meaning/register |
|---|---|
| kuuza chakula/bidhaa | sell food/goods, neutral |
| kuuza nguo/viatu | sell clothes/shoes, neutral |
| kuuza tiketi | sell tickets, neutral |
| kuuza gari/nyumba/kiwanja | sell a car/house/plot, neutral |
| kuuza kwa jumla | sell wholesale, commercial (formal) |
| kuuza kwa rejareja | sell retail, commercial (formal) |
Wameuza nyumba yao ya zamani na kuhamia karibu na watoto wao.
They have sold their old house and moved closer to their children.
Duka hilo huuza vifaa vya ujenzi kwa jumla na kwa rejareja.
That shop sells building materials wholesale and retail.
Habitual huuza consists of hu-uz-a. It happens to resemble second-person present negative huuzi, but final -a versus -i and sentence context distinguish them.
A known item can take a class object marker:
Simu ile sitaiuza kwa sababu bado inafanya kazi vizuri.
I will not sell that phone because it still works well.
The build si-ta-i-uz-a preserves class 9 object -i- before vowel-initial uz-. The finished form is one word, sitaiuza.
Naming the buyer and price
An external kwa + buyer phrase can identify the purchaser. The same preposition also introduces price, so word choice and noun meaning disambiguate the relation.
Jirani aliuza baiskeli yake kwa mwanafunzi anayefanya kazi dukani.
The neighbor sold his bicycle to a student who works at the shop.
Aliuza baiskeli hiyo kwa shilingi laki mbili baada ya kuitengeneza.
He sold that bicycle for two hundred thousand shillings after repairing it.
In the first, the complement denotes a human buyer; in the second, it denotes the price. If both occur, keep them explicit: Aliuza baiskeli kwa Amina kwa shilingi laki mbili.
Buyer as an applicative object
Applicative uzia has build uz-i-a. It integrates the buyer or beneficiary, normally before the goods.
Mfanyabiashara alimwuzia Asha kompyuta iliyotumika kwa bei nzuri.
The trader sold Asha a used computer at a good price.
A-li-mw-uz-i-a contains singular-human buyer -mw- before vowel-initial uz-. The computer remains the theme sold.
Tutawauzia wakulima mbegu hizo kwa bei iliyopunguzwa.
We will sell the farmers those seeds at a reduced price.
The order is buyer wakulima followed by theme mbegu hizo. This double-object structure comes from applicative valency; basic uza cannot simply take a bare human buyer in the same frame.
Passive uzwa
Passive uzwa is built uz-w-a. The goods become the subject and control noun-class agreement. The seller can be omitted or introduced by na.
The general promotion and agent pattern is explained under passive formation.
Gari hilo limeuzwa tayari, lakini tangazo bado liko mtandaoni.
That car has already been sold, but the advertisement is still online.
Class 5 gari controls li- in li-me-uz-w-a. There is no additional vowel between the root and passive -w-.
Bidhaa hizi zinauzwa na vikundi vya wanawake kutoka vijiji vitatu.
These products are sold by women's groups from three villages.
Class 10 bidhaa controls zi- in zi-na-uz-w-a. Passive sales descriptions are frequent in (formal) advertisements and reports, as well as ordinary conversation.
Passive price phrases remain possible:
Tiketi zinauzwa kwa shilingi elfu tano kila moja kwenye lango kuu.
Tickets are sold for five thousand shillings each at the main gate.
Here kwa shilingi... is price, not agent. A human agent would also follow na, not price kwa.
Common Mistakes
Retaining infinitive ku- after present -na-
❌ Ninakuuza matunda kila asubuhi.
Wrong for bare ‘I sell fruit’ — internal -ku- would mean the object ‘you.’
✅ Ninauza matunda mapya kila asubuhi mbele ya duka.
I sell fresh fruit every morning in front of the shop.
Giving basic uza a bare buyer object
❌ Aliuza Asha kompyuta iliyotumika.
Incorrect — use kwa with the buyer or applicative uzia.
✅ Alimwuzia Asha kompyuta iliyotumika baada ya kuikagua.
He sold Asha a used computer after checking it.
Keeping final -a in present negation
❌ Duka hili haliuza dawa bila kibali.
Incorrect — present negative ends in -i.
✅ Duka hili haliuzi dawa bila kibali halali cha serikali.
This shop does not sell medicine without a valid government license.
Class 5 subject duka requires haliuzi, not human hauzi.
Inserting a vowel before passive -w-
❌ Nyumba imeuzawa kwa bei ya chini sana.
Incorrect — passive -w- attaches directly to uz-.
✅ Nyumba imeuzwa kwa bei ya chini kwa sababu inahitaji matengenezo.
The house was sold at a low price because it needs repairs.
Key Takeaways
- Short vowel-initial uz-a gives kuuza but finite ninauza, not ninakuuza.
- Goods are direct objects; buyers take kwa or applicative uzia.
- Price also takes kwa, while context distinguishes buyer from amount.
- Passive uzwa promotes the goods: gari limeuzwa, bidhaa zinauzwa.
- Imperatives are uza and uzeni; present negative ends in -uzi.
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