Breakdown of Ndugu wa Asha wanaishi mbali na mji.
Asha
Asha
na
with
wa
of
kuishi
to live
mji
the town
mbali
far
ndugu
the sibling
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Questions & Answers about Ndugu wa Asha wanaishi mbali na mji.
What does ndugu mean in this sentence?
Ndugu here means relative or kin (sometimes “sibling”). In context it’s best rendered as relatives.
Why is there a wa between ndugu and Asha?
That wa is the genitive/linking particle showing possession or relation. It connects ndugu (the relatives) to Asha (the person they belong to).
How is the verb wanaishi formed?
It breaks down into four parts:
• wa- = subject prefix for they
• -na- = present-tense marker
• ishi = verb root “live”
• -i = final vowel
All together, wanaishi = “they live.”
Why wanaishi instead of naishi?
Because naishi means “I live” (with the first-person prefix ni-). Here the subject is “they” (the relatives), so we use the third-person plural prefix wa-, giving wa-na-ishi.
What does mbali na mean?
Mbali na is the fixed prepositional phrase for far from.
Could we say mbali kwa mji instead?
No. In Swahili mbali na is the correct collocation for expressing “far from.” Kwa would not convey distance in this context.
What does mji mean? Is it “town” or “city”?
Mji covers both town and city—any urban settlement. If you mean “village,” you’d use kijiji instead.
How would the sentence change if Asha had only one relative living far from town?
Use the third-person singular verb form:
Ndugu wa Asha anaishi mbali na mji.
Here anaishi (a-na-ishi) means “he/she lives.”