Breakdown of Kulingana na mwalimu wa uraia, demokrasia nzuri inahitaji watu wapige kura bila hofu.
Questions & Answers about Kulingana na mwalimu wa uraia, demokrasia nzuri inahitaji watu wapige kura bila hofu.
Kulingana na means according to.
- kulinga = to correspond / to match
- kulingana = to be equal / to correspond
- Adding na gives the idea of in accordance with / according to.
It behaves like a fixed prepositional phrase. You can use it with many nouns:
- Kulingana na gazeti – According to the newspaper
- Kulingana na sheria – According to the law
- Kulingana na ripoti yao – According to their report
ku- is the infinitive prefix in Swahili, like to in English.
- lingana – (verb stem) to correspond, to match
- kulingana – to correspond / corresponding
Infinitives in Swahili often double as verbal nouns. In many set phrases the infinitive works like an English noun or preposition:
- Kabla ya kuondoka – Before leaving
- Baada ya kula – After eating
- Kulingana na… – According to…
So kulingana here is literally (the act of) corresponding, which then becomes the idiomatic according to.
wa is the genitive marker of.
- mwalimu – teacher
- uraia – civics / citizenship
- mwalimu wa uraia – teacher of civics → civics teacher
The pattern is: [noun 1] wa [noun 2] = [noun 1] of [noun 2].
For people and many common nouns, wa is the default genitive:
- rafiki wa mtoto – the child’s friend
- mji wa Dar es Salaam – the city of Dar es Salaam
uraia mainly has two related meanings:
- citizenship (legal status)
- the school subject civics (citizenship education)
In mwalimu wa uraia, it means civics, the subject that deals with democracy, rights, duties, etc.
You might also see:
- raia – citizen
- masuala ya uraia – matters of citizenship
demokrasia belongs to the N-class (sometimes called class 9/10), which has:
- singular subject prefix i-
- adjective prefix n- (appearing as nz-, nj-, etc. depending on the consonant)
So:
- demokrasia nzuri – good democracy (nzuri agrees with N-class noun)
- demokrasia nzuri inahitaji – a good democracy needs (i- agrees with demokrasia)
anahitaji would match a class 1 noun (a person), e.g.:
- Mwalimu anahitaji… – The teacher needs…
Here the subject is not a person but demokrasia, so inahitaji is correct.
Yes, both are possible, with a slight nuance:
- nzuri – good, nice, generally positive
- njema – good, upright, morally positive, commendable
Both adjectives agree with N-class nouns using n-:
- demokrasia nzuri – good democracy
- demokrasia njema – a good / virtuous democracy
In everyday speech, nzuri is more common; njema can sound a bit more formal or moral in tone.
wapige is the subjunctive form of kupiga (to hit / to vote in this idiom), used for requirements, wishes, or suggestions.
- watu wanapiga kura – people are voting / people vote (statement of fact)
- watu wapige kura – (that) people vote (required / desired action)
Since demokrasia nzuri inahitaji… (a good democracy requires…), what follows is something that should happen:
- Demokrasia nzuri inahitaji watu wapige kura…
→ A good democracy requires that people vote…
So the subjunctive -e on wapige matches the idea of necessity/requirement.
The verb stem is piga. In the subjunctive:
- the final -a changes to -e
- subject prefixes stay the same
So:
- wa- (they) + piga → wapige (that they should vote)
Some other examples:
- niende – that I go (from ninaenda / kuenda)
- uandike – that you write (from kuandika)
- tuseme – let’s say / that we say (from kusema)
You can, but the meaning/feel changes.
- watu kupiga kura often behaves like a noun phrase: people’s voting / the act of people voting. It sounds more like a general activity.
- watu wapige kura clearly expresses a requirement or desired action: that people should vote.
After a verb like inahitaji (requires), Swahili commonly uses the subjunctive clause:
- Inahitaji watu wapige kura – It requires that people vote.
watu kupiga kura would be understood, but it is less direct as a requirement statement.
Literally:
- piga – to hit / strike
- kura – ballot / vote
Historically piga kura is like to cast a ballot (to strike a mark on the ballot). Idiomatically it just means to vote.
In the sentence:
- wapige kura = they should vote
There is no ku- because this is not the infinitive; it is a finite verb form:
- wa- – they (subject prefix for people)
- -pig- – verb stem
- -e – subjunctive ending
The noun kura stays as a separate object, just like in English cast votes.
Literally, bila hofu = without fear.
- bila – without
- hofu – fear
bila is a preposition used with a following noun or infinitive:
- bila sukari – without sugar
- bila shaka – without doubt / certainly
- bila kuzungumza – without speaking
In the sentence, bila hofu describes the manner: people should vote without fear.
Yes, both are acceptable:
- bila ya hofu – also without fear. ya can be added, especially in more formal or careful speech, but is often dropped.
- woga – another word for fear / cowardice / timidity
So possible variants:
- bila hofu – without fear
- bila ya hofu – without fear (slightly more formal)
- bila woga – without fear / without cowardice
All would be understood; bila hofu is very standard.
Both forms are correct but have different focuses:
- inahitaji – it needs / it requires
- active form, subject is doing the needing
- inahitajika – it is needed / it is required
- passive/stative, focusing on something being required
In the sentence:
- demokrasia nzuri inahitaji watu wapige kura…
→ a good democracy requires that people vote…
If you used inahitajika, you would shift the focus:
- Inahitajika watu wapige kura bila hofu.
→ It is required that people vote without fear.
Both are grammatical, but the original sentence emphasizes the role of a good democracy as the thing that needs/requires free voting.