Kuweka means “put, place, set,” and in suitable contexts “keep.” It is a regular transitive verb built on wek-, but its complement pattern matters: the thing placed is the object, while its destination or resulting condition follows as a locative or state expression.
English “keep” covers storage, continued action, possession, and preventing change. Kuweka fits deliberate placement and maintained result—weka mlango wazi “keep the door open”—but other meanings require verbs such as kuhifadhi “store/preserve,” kuendelea “continue,” or kubaki “remain.”
Complete practical paradigm
| Form | I | you (sg.) | he/she | we | you (pl.) | they |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present | ninaweka | unaweka | anaweka | tunaweka | mnaweka | wanaweka |
| past | niliweka | uliweka | aliweka | tuliweka | mliweka | waliweka |
| perfect | nimeweka | umeweka | ameweka | tumeweka | mmeweka | wameweka |
| future | nitaweka | utaweka | ataweka | tutaweka | mtaweka | wataweka |
| present negative | siweki | huweki | haweki | hatuweki | hamweki | hawaweki |
| past negative | sikuweka | hukuweka | hakuweka | hatukuweka | hamkuweka | hawakuweka |
| subjunctive | niweke | uweke | aweke | tuweke | mweke | waweke |
The present ni-na-wek-a gives ninaweka; present negative si-wek-i gives siweki. The positive imperative is weka for one addressee and wekeni for several. Negative commands use usiweke/msiweke.
Nimeweka funguo kwenye droo ya juu ili zisipotee.
I have put the keys in the top drawer so that they do not get lost.
Hatuweki viatu sebuleni; tunaviacha mlangoni.
We do not keep shoes in the living room; we leave them by the door.
Niweke begi lako wapi?
Where should I put your bag?
Location complements
Destinations appear as locative nouns, kwenye phrases, or relational expressions.
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| weka + locative -ni | weka mezani, put on the table |
| weka + kwenye | weka kwenye jokofu, put in the refrigerator |
| weka + ndani ya | weka ndani ya bahasha, put inside the envelope |
| weka + chini ya | weka chini ya kiti, put under the chair |
| weka + karibu na | weka karibu na dirisha, put near the window |
Wekeni viti karibu na ukuta ili njia ibaki wazi.
Put the chairs near the wall so that the passage remains clear.
Mhudumu aliweka risiti ndani ya mfuko pamoja na bidhaa.
The attendant put the receipt inside the bag with the goods.
The location is not a second object. It does not take an object marker inside kuweka; noun-class marking refers to the placed thing.
Kompyuta hii ni nzito, kwa hiyo tuiweke kwenye meza imara.
This computer is heavy, so let us put it on a sturdy table.
Tu-i-wek-e contains class 9 object marker -i- and subjunctive final -e. See object markers.
Result-state complements
Kuweka can cause an object to enter or remain in a condition. Swahili places the state expression directly after the object; no form of kuwa is required.
Tafadhali weka mlango wazi mpaka wageni wote waingie.
Please keep the door open until all the guests enter.
Serikali iliweka wazi masharti mapya kabla ya uchaguzi.
The government made the new conditions clear before the election.
In the first example, wazi is a physical result. In the second, established (formal) expression kuweka wazi means “clarify/disclose.” Other common combinations include kuweka tayari “make ready,” kuweka safi “keep clean,” and kuweka salama “keep safe.”
Tumeweka nyaraka zote tayari kwa ukaguzi wa kesho.
We have made all the documents ready for tomorrow's inspection.
Established compound expressions
Many high-frequency uses are learned as collocations rather than calculated from “put.”
| Expression | Natural English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| kuweka akiba | save/set money aside | neutral |
| kuweka kumbukumbu | keep records | formal/neutral |
| kuweka miadi | make an appointment | neutral |
| kuweka rekodi | set a record | neutral |
| kuweka kipaumbele | give priority | formal |
Kila mwezi tunaweka akiba kidogo kwa ajili ya ada ya shule.
Every month we set aside a little money for school fees.
Kliniki imeweka miadi yangu Jumatano saa tano.
The clinic has scheduled my appointment for Wednesday at eleven.
These are standard in (informal) and (formal) Swahili. Administrative kuweka kumbukumbu and kuweka kipaumbele are particularly frequent in (formal) and (academic) prose.
Placement as an action and as a resulting location
Simple past niliweka reports a placing event; perfect nimeweka often implies that the object is now where the subject put it. That implication comes from the result of the lexical verb, not from a special “keep” tense.
Niliweka simu chumbani, lakini sasa siioni huko.
I put the phone in the bedroom, but now I do not see it there.
Nimeweka dawa juu ya kabati ambako watoto hawawezi kuifikia.
I have put the medicine on top of the cupboard where the children cannot reach it.
Passive kuwekwa reverses the viewpoint when the placed item matters more than the person placing it:
Majina ya washindi yamewekwa kwenye ubao wa matangazo.
The winners' names have been posted on the noticeboard.
The build ya-me-wek-w-a contains class 6 subject agreement and passive -w-. In this (formal) announcement, English “posted” is more natural than literal “put.”
English phrasal “put” also needs lexical care. “Put on clothes” is kuvaa nguo, “put out a fire” is kuzima moto, and “put off a meeting” is kuahirisha mkutano. Kuweka is not a universal replacement for English put.
Common Mistakes
Translating “keep doing” with kuweka
❌ Weka kusoma kila siku.
Incorrect transfer from English ‘keep reading.’
✅ Endelea kusoma kila siku.
Keep reading every day.
Treating the destination as an object marker
❌ Nimekuiweka funguo mezani.
Incorrect — the location does not take an object prefix.
✅ Nimeweka funguo mezani.
I have put the keys on the table.
Inserting kuwa before a result state
❌ Weka mlango kuwa wazi.
Unnatural in the ordinary result-state construction.
✅ Weka mlango wazi.
Keep the door open.
Forgetting object-class agreement
❌ Kitabu hiki, nimeiweka kwenye rafu.
Incorrect — class 7 kitabu takes object marker -ki-.
✅ Kitabu hiki, nimekiweka kwenye rafu.
This book, I have put it on the shelf.
Key Takeaways
- Kuweka is regular: ninaweka, niliweka, nimeweka, nitaweka, siweki, niweke.
- Its object is the placed thing; location and result state follow outside the verb.
- Learn abstract combinations such as kuweka wazi, kuweka akiba, and kuweka kumbukumbu as collocations.
- English “keep” requires kuendelea, kuhifadhi, or another verb when no placing/maintaining result is involved.
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