Makamu wa rais amefika.

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Breakdown of Makamu wa rais amefika.

• kufika: to arrive
• rais: the president
• makamu: the deputy; vice-

Questions & Answers about Makamu wa rais amefika.

What does makamu wa rais literally mean?

Literally, it means deputy of the president.

In natural English, that is usually translated as the vice president. Swahili often expresses this kind of title with a noun + wa + noun structure.

• makamu = deputy / vice-
• wa = of
• rais = president

So the phrase is built more literally than the English title.

What does wa mean here?

Here, wa is a linking word that often corresponds to of in English.

So:

• makamu wa rais = deputy of the president
• more naturally: vice president

This wa is sometimes called the associative or genitive linker.

Why is it wa and not some other connector?

Because in Swahili, this connector changes according to the noun class of the first noun in the phrase.

Here, the first noun is makamu, which refers to a person, so it takes the human singular connector wa.

That is why you get:

• makamu wa rais

not:

• makamu ya rais

A common thing for English speakers to remember is that the connector agrees with the noun before it, not the noun after it.