Swahili expresses completion from two different perspectives. Kumaliza presents a participant as bringing something to an endpoint: Nimemaliza ripoti “I have finished the report.” Kwisha or kuisha presents the event, period, or supply itself as reaching an endpoint: Mkutano umekwisha “The meeting is over”; Maji yameisha “The water has run out.”
That agent-versus-theme contrast explains most choices more reliably than the single English verb “finish.” Kwisha also has an auxiliary-like use before an infinitive, meaning “already have done.” Unless marked otherwise, all forms below belong to neutral current Standard Swahili in both (informal) conversation and (formal) writing.
The core contrast
| Construction | Participant highlighted | Typical complement |
|---|---|---|
| finite kumaliza + noun | the finisher or agent | ripoti, kazi, chakula |
| finite kumaliza + infinitive | the person who completes an action | kuandika, kusafisha |
| finite kwisha / kuisha | the thing that ends or is used up | subject, usually no object |
| finite kwisha + infinitive | the subject has already done the action | kuondoka, kulipa |
Nimemaliza kuandaa makadirio; naweza kuyatuma sasa.
I have finished preparing the estimate; I can send it now.
The finite build ni-me-maliz-a identifies the first-person finisher and views the work as completed. Controlled infinitive ku-anda-a names what that same person finished doing.
Muda wa kuwasilisha maombi umekwisha, kwa hiyo mfumo umefungwa.
The application period is over, so the system has been closed.
Class 3 muda selects u-me-kw-ish-a. The period itself reaches its boundary; nobody is presented as “finishing the period.”
Six complete finite builds
| Finished form | Analytic build | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nimemaliza | ni-me-maliz-a | I have finished |
| tutamaliza | tu-ta-maliz-a | we will finish |
| sijamaliza | si-ja-maliz-a | I have not finished yet |
| imekwisha | i-me-kw-ish-a | it has ended / run out, class 9 |
| yameisha | ya-me-ish-a | they have run out, class 6 |
| haujaisha | hau-ja-ish-a | it is not over yet, class 3 |
| wamekwisha kuondoka | wa-me-kw-ish-a + ku-ondok-a | they have already left |
Normal spelling is solid: nimemaliza, not nime maliza. In the variant kwisha, kw- stands before the vowel-initial stem; the also-standard form kuisha produces finite forms such as imeisha. Speakers and texts use both imekwisha and imeisha.
Tutamaliza kuhakiki majina kabla ya wageni kufika.
We will finish checking the names before the guests arrive.
Future tu-ta-maliz-a carries subject and TAM. The following ku-hakiki is not independently finite.
Mafuta yameisha njiani, lakini kituo kiko karibu.
The fuel has run out on the way, but a station is nearby.
Plural class 6 mafuta controls ya-me-ish-a. English uses existential “we are out of fuel” easily; Swahili directly makes the depleted supply the subject.
Kumaliza with an object or a controlled infinitive
With a noun object, kumaliza can mean finish, complete, consume, or bring to an end. Context determines the practical action.
Neema amemaliza ripoti ya ukaguzi mapema kuliko tulivyotarajia.
Neema has finished the audit report earlier than we expected.
Watoto walimaliza chakula chote kabla ya safari.
The children finished all the food before the journey.
The second sentence can mean that they ate all of it because the edible object supplies that interpretation. With a verbal complement, the intended activity is explicit:
Mpishi amemaliza kupika supu, lakini wageni hawajafika.
The cook has finished making the soup, but the guests have not arrived yet.
Finite a-me-maliz-a and infinitive ku-pik-a share the subject mpishi. English permits “finish cooking,” and Swahili likewise uses a nonfinite complement, but Swahili visibly marks it with ku-.
Commands and negatives retain the same complement pattern:
Maliza kujaza fomu hii, halafu ulete kitambulisho chako.
Finish filling in this form, then bring your identification.
Sijamaliza kusoma mkataba; nipe dakika kumi zaidi.
I have not finished reading the contract; give me ten more minutes.
The negative perfect si-ja-maliz-a keeps completion pending at the reference point. This differs from closed past sikumaliza “I did not finish,” which reports a past outcome without presenting it as still pending.
Kwisha and kuisha: the endpoint belongs to the subject
The intransitive pattern is common with meetings, time, money, food, fuel, stock, and abstract states.
Mkutano umekwisha; maswali yaliyobaki tutajibu kwa barua pepe.
The meeting is over; we will answer the remaining questions by email.
Tiketi za tamasha zimeisha ndani ya saa mbili.
The concert tickets sold out within two hours.
Class 10 tiketi selects zi-me-ish-a. “Sold out” is the natural English result, although the Swahili verb simply says the available tickets have come to an end.
Likizo ikiisha, tutarudi mjini na kuanza muhula mpya.
When the holiday ends, we will return to town and begin the new term.
Dependent i-ki-ish-a frames the class 9 ending as the condition or time for the main future. The alternative likizo ikikwisha is also standard.
The derived verb kumalizika also places the ending entity in subject position, especially for planned processes and events: Ujenzi umemalizika “Construction has been completed.” It often suggests reaching a planned endpoint; maziwa yameisha is the ordinary choice for milk simply running out.
Kwisha plus an infinitive: “already”
Finite kwisha can precede a same-subject infinitive and signal that the later action is already complete. This fuller construction is current but can sound more deliberate in (formal) exposition than compact -mesha-, which is extremely common in (informal) speech.
Wahasibu wamekwisha kukagua stakabadhi zote kabla ya kikao.
The accountants have already checked all the receipts before the meeting.
The two verbal pieces are wa-me-kw-ish-a and ku-kagu-a. Compare compact Wahasibu wameshakagua stakabadhi zote. The meaning is close, but the compact form places -sha- inside one finite verb.
Nilipofika ofisini, mkurugenzi alikuwa amekwisha kuondoka.
When I reached the office, the director had already left.
Past auxiliary alikuwa establishes the earlier reference point; amekwisha kuondoka locates the departure before it. See the compact -mesha- construction for its internal slot order.
Common Mistakes
Making a completed thing the agent of kumaliza
❌ Kazi imemaliza sasa.
Incorrect — kazi is the thing that ended, not an agent finishing an object.
✅ Kazi imekwisha sasa.
The work is finished now.
Using intransitive kwisha with a direct object
❌ Nimekwisha ripoti ya mwezi.
Incorrect for “I have finished the report” — use transitive kumaliza.
✅ Nimemaliza ripoti ya mwezi.
I have finished the monthly report.
Giving the controlled action past TAM
❌ Amina alimaliza aliandika barua zote.
Incorrect for one completion construction — the finished action must be infinitival.
✅ Amina alimaliza kuandika barua zote.
Amina finished writing all the letters.
Splitting one finite verb into English-like words
❌ Sija maliza kuhesabu fedha.
Incorrect spelling — subject negation, -ja-, and the stem form one word.
✅ Sijamaliza kuhesabu fedha.
I have not finished counting the money.
Key Takeaways
- Kumaliza is transitive or agent-oriented: someone finishes a thing or finishes doing something.
- Kwisha/kuisha is intransitive: a meeting ends, a period expires, or a supply runs out.
- A same-subject activity after kumaliza takes the ku- infinitive.
- Finite kwisha plus an infinitive can mean “already have done”; compact -mesha- expresses a similar completion.
- Sijamaliza and haujaisha keep an expected endpoint pending, while negative past closes the report in past time.
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- Continuative Aspect with kuendeleaB1 — Use kuendelea with an infinitive or na-phrase to assert continuation, and distinguish dependent -kiendelea from adverbial bado.
- Again and Repeated ActionB1 — Choose tena, kurudia, mara kwa mara, or verb reduplication according to whether an event recurs, a state is restored, or action is distributed.
- Perfect Anterior -mesha-B1 — Use -mesha- to present an event as already complete before the relevant point and choose natural negative alternatives.
- Negative Perfect -ja-B1 — Form the negative perfect with -ja- and distinguish an event still pending from one denied in a closed past period.
- Already and Readiness with tayariB1 — Distinguish adverbial tayari meaning already from invariable predicative tayari meaning ready, and compare both with -mesha- and kwisha.