Mkwaruzo ni mdogo.

Mkwaruzo is a noun meaning scratch, scrape, or abrasion, depending on context.

In this sentence, it is the subject: the scratch / a scratch.

Swahili usually does not use separate words for a or the, so mkwaruzo can mean either a scratch or the scratch depending on the situation.

Ni is the equivalent of is / are in sentences like this.

So:

• Mkwaruzo = scratch
• ni = is
• mdogo = small

That gives: Mkwaruzo ni mdogo = The scratch is small.

In simple identification or description sentences, ni is very common and important.

In Swahili, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

• mkwaruzo mdogo = a small scratch
• Mkwaruzo ni mdogo = The scratch is small

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come before the noun: small scratch.

Swahili adjectives often change form to match the noun class of the noun they describe.

Mkwaruzo belongs to the m-/mi- noun class in the singular/plural pattern:

• singular: mkwaruzo
• plural: mikwaruzo

The adjective stem is -dogo (small), but with a singular m- class noun it becomes:

• m- + -dogo = mdogo

So mdogo is the correct agreeing form for mkwaruzo.

Swahili has a system of noun classes. These are grammatical categories that affect agreement on adjectives, verbs, and other words.

A noun class is not the same thing as biological gender. So a noun can be in the m-/mi- class without referring to a person.

For mkwaruzo, the important point is simply:

• singular: mkwaruzo
• plural: mikwaruzo
• matching adjective in singular: mdogo
• matching adjective in plural: midogo

So the m- here is a grammatical pattern, not a meaning like person.

You would make both the noun and the adjective plural:

• mkwaruzo → mikwaruzo
• mdogo → midogo

So:

Mikwaruzo ni midogo.
= The scratches are small.

This is a very important feature of Swahili: adjectives usually change to agree with the noun’s class and number.

This is a very common question.

Kidogo often means a little, a bit, or small in some contexts, but it matches a different noun class and is also often used more generally as an adverbial expression.

Since mkwaruzo is in the m-/mi- class, the adjective must agree with it, so the correct form here is:

mdogo, not kidogo

Compare:

• mkwaruzo mdogo = a small scratch
• maji kidogo = a little water
• subiri kidogo = wait a little

So kidogo is useful, but not the right agreement form for mkwaruzo.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

m-kwa-ROO-zo nee m-DO-go

A few helpful points:

• kw is pronounced together, like the qu in quick, but without the English u sound after it.
• r in Swahili is usually a tapped or light rolled r.
• g in mdogo is always a hard g, like in go, never like j.
• Swahili words are usually pronounced quite regularly, more consistently than English spelling.

The stress is often near the second-to-last syllable.

Yes. Depending on context, mdogo can mean not only small in size, but also minor or not serious.

So Mkwaruzo ni mdogo could mean:

• The scratch is small
• The scratch is minor

If someone is talking about an injury, the second meaning may fit very naturally.

To make it negative, you can use si instead of ni:

Mkwaruzo si mdogo.
= The scratch is not small.

So:

• ni = is
• si = is not / are not

This is one of the simplest and most useful patterns in Swahili.

Yes, but it means something slightly different in structure.

• mkwaruzo mdogo = a small scratch
  This is a noun phrase, not a full sentence.
• Mkwaruzo ni mdogo. = The scratch is small.
  This is a full sentence.

So if you want to describe the noun inside a phrase, you can say mkwaruzo mdogo.
If you want to make a complete statement, use ni: Mkwaruzo ni mdogo.

No, not usually.

Mkwaruzo can mean:

• a scratch
• the scratch

The context tells you which one is meant.

That is why Mkwaruzo ni mdogo could be translated as either:

• A scratch is small
• The scratch is small

But in normal context, the scratch is small is usually the most natural translation.