Sufuria haina kifuniko.

The pot has no lid.

Breakdown of Sufuria haina kifuniko.

• kuwa na: to have
• sufuria: the pot
• kifuniko: the lid

Questions & Answers about Sufuria haina kifuniko.

What does sufuria mean?

sufuria means “cooking pot” or simply “pot,” the metal vessel you use for cooking over a fire or on a stove.

What is haina, and how does it express “does not have”?

haina is the negative present-tense form of the verb ku-kuwa na (“to have”). The affirmative 3rd-person singular is ina (“it has”), and the negative is formed with the prefix ha- plus the subject-class prefix plus -na, giving haina (“it does not have”).

Why do we say haina here and not hana?

Swahili nouns belong to classes that determine their subject prefixes. Sufuria is in class 9, whose subject prefix is i-. In the negative you use ha- + i- + -na → haina. By contrast, class 1 (people) uses a- as its subject prefix, giving ha- + a- + -na = hana.

What does kifuniko mean and what is its plural?

kifuniko is formed with the class 7 prefix ki- plus the stem funiko, meaning “lid.” Its plural in class 8 is vi- + funiko = vifuniko (“lids”).

Why aren’t there words for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Swahili does not use separate articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context or added with demonstratives (e.g. sufuria hii “this pot,” sufuria hiyo “that pot”) if you need to be specific.

How would you ask “Does the pot have a lid?” in Swahili?

You can say:
Je, sufuria ina kifuniko?
or simply use rising intonation:
Sufuria ina kifuniko?

How would you say “The pot has a lid” (affirmative)?

Just replace the negative haina with the affirmative ina:
Sufuria ina kifuniko.

How would you express “The pots don’t have lids” (plural)?

“Sufuria” as a class 9/10 noun is the same in singular and plural. For plural you use the class 10 subject prefix zi-, and its negative is ha- + zi- + -na = hazina. Also use the plural vifuniko. So:
Sufuria hazina vifuniko.

Can you also say “There is no lid on the pot” with hakuna?

Yes. That focuses on existence rather than possession. You’d say:
Hakuna kifuniko kwenye sufuria.
Literally “There is no lid on/at the pot.” Both sentences are correct but highlight different angles (possession vs. existence).

How do you say “this pot has no lid” or “that pot has no lid”?

Add a demonstrative after sufuria:
“This pot has no lid.” → Sufuria hii haina kifuniko.
“That pot has no lid.” → Sufuria hiyo haina kifuniko.