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Usiguse jiko moto.

Usiguse jiko moto.
Don't touch the hot stove.
FromLesson 33inHardcore Swahili
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Breakdown of Usiguse jiko moto.

jiko
the stove
moto
hot
kugusa
to touch
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Questions & Answers about Usiguse jiko moto.

How is usiguse (“don’t touch”) formed in Swahili?

It’s the 2nd-person-singular negative imperative. The formula is:

  • u- : subject prefix for “you” (singular)
  • si- : negative marker
  • gusa : verb root “touch”
  • -e : final vowel for commands
    Putting it together: u + si + gusa + e → usiguse.
Why does moto (“hot”/“fire”) come after jiko (“stove”) instead of before it, like in English?
In Swahili the modifier (whether an adjective or a noun used attributively) almost always follows the noun it describes. So instead of “hot stove,” you say jiko moto (literally stove hot).
Shouldn’t moto agree with jiko by taking a prefix (like many adjectives do)?

No – here moto is actually the noun “fire”/“heat” used to describe the stove, not a true adjective. Attributive nouns in Swahili don’t inflect for noun class. By contrast, true adjectives do show agreement. For example:

  • jiko kubwa (“big stove”) – but
  • majiko makubwa (“big stoves”)
    Note how kubwa takes a plural prefix ma-. Moto, however, stays unchanged:
  • jiko moto (“hot stove”)
  • majiko moto (“hot stoves”)
How would I tell a group of people, “Don’t touch the hot stove”?

Use the 2nd-person-plural negative imperative msi- instead of usi-:

  • msi + gusa + e → msiguse Then add the noun phrase: msiguse jiko moto
    If you want to pluralize “stove” itself:
    msiguse majiko moto (“don’t touch hot stoves”)
How do you say “don’t touch a hot stove” (i.e. indefinite “a”)?

Swahili has no indefinite article. The same phrase usiguse jiko moto can mean either “don’t touch the hot stove” or “don’t touch a hot stove,” depending on context.
If you really want to stress “any hot stove,” you can slip in lolote (“any”):

  • usiguse jiko lolote moto
    or, more explicitly,
  • usiguse jiko lolote likiwa moto (“don’t touch any stove when it’s hot”)
How would you say “never touch the hot stove”?

Add kamwe or mara yoyote for “ever/never”:

  • Usiguse kamwe jiko moto.
    Literally: “Don’t touch ever the hot stove.”
    You can also say
  • Usiguse jiko moto kamwe.
    placing kamwe at the end for extra emphasis.