Mimi nina marafiki wachache.

I have few friends.

Breakdown of Mimi nina marafiki wachache.

• mimi: I
• kuwa na: to have
• chache: few
• rafiki: friend

Questions & Answers about Mimi nina marafiki wachache.

Why does the sentence start with Mimi if nina already seems to mean I have?

In nina, the ni- already marks the subject I. So Mimi is optional and mainly adds emphasis/contrast, like As for me / Me, I have...

• Neutral: Nina marafiki wachache.
• Emphatic/contrastive: Mimi nina marafiki wachache (lakini yeye ana wengi). (I have a few friends, but he/she has many.)

What exactly is nina made of?

Nina is a compact form with multiple pieces:

• ni- = subject marker I
• -na- = present tense marker
• (implicit verb base -na meaning have/with)
  So ni-na-... gives I (present) have.... You’ll also see:
• una = you (sg) have
• ana = he/she has
• tuna = we have
• mna = you (pl) have
• wana = they have

Is -na literally the verb to have in Swahili?

Swahili often expresses having using a structure that’s literally closer to be with. The key idea is -na = with/and, and with subject + tense markers it functions like have:

• Nina X ≈ I have X (literally I am with X)
  This is why it behaves a bit differently from an English verb in some contexts.

Can I leave out Mimi and still be correct?

Yes. Nina marafiki wachache. is fully grammatical and very common.
You typically include Mimi when you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity (for example in a list of people).

Why is friend written as marafiki and not rafiki?

Rafiki is singular (a friend). Marafiki is plural (friends).
This is one of the noun classes where the plural uses ma-. So:

• rafiki = a friend
• marafiki = friends

What noun class is marafiki, and why does that matter?

Marafiki is in the MA-MI class (often called class 6 for the plural). That matters because adjectives and other words must agree with the noun class. In this sentence, agreement shows up in wachache (see next question).

Why is wachache spelled with wa-?

Wachache (few) agrees with a plural noun in a way that uses the wa- form for this adjective. Many quantity adjectives (like -chache) have agreement forms that don’t always match what learners expect from the noun’s ma- prefix.
So you get:

• marafiki wachache = few friends
  Even though the noun begins with ma-, the adjective form used here is wa-.

Could it be marafiki machache instead of marafiki wachache?

In standard usage, marafiki wachache is the natural/correct pairing. Machache is used for ma- plurals in many contexts, but rafiki/marafiki behaves like a “people-type” noun semantically, and the common adjective agreement you’ll hear and see is wachache with marafiki. If you stick to wachache here, you’ll sound more natural.

Does the adjective usually come after the noun in Swahili?

Yes. The common order is:

• noun + adjective → marafiki wachache
  This is the normal pattern for descriptive adjectives and quantity adjectives.

How would I make this negative (say I don’t have a few friends)?

To negate I have, you use the negative subject form plus -na:

• Sina marafiki wachache. = I don’t have a few friends / I don’t have many friends (context decides the nuance)
  Here si- is the negative for I, and the present negative drops the -na- tense marker you saw in nina.

How would I say I have only a few friends?

A common way is to add tu (only/just):

• Mimi nina marafiki wachache tu.
  Or without emphasis:
• Nina marafiki wachache tu.