Pole, mguu wako una maumivu leo.

Sorry, your leg is in pain today.

Breakdown of Pole, mguu wako una maumivu leo.

• kuwa na: to have
• leo: today
• wako: your
• mguu: the leg
• maumivu: the pain
• pole: sorry

Questions & Answers about Pole, mguu wako una maumivu leo.

In Pole, mguu wako una maumivu leo, what does pole really mean? Is it the same as saying “I’m sorry” in English?

Pole is an expression of sympathy or commiseration. It’s like saying:

• “Oh, that’s too bad.”
• “I’m sorry you’re going through that.”
• “Ouch, that sounds painful.”

It is not an apology. If you did something wrong and want to apologize, you use samahani (or nisamehe / naomba msamaha for “forgive me”).

So here, Pole is closer to “Sorry about your leg” or “Poor you, your leg hurts today.”

Why is it mguu wako and not wako mguu for “your leg”?

In Swahili, possessives normally follow the noun:

• noun + possessive
  
  • rafiki yangu – my friend
  • gari lake – his/her car
  • nyumba yetu – our house
  • mguu wako – your leg

Putting the possessive before the noun (wako mguu) is ungrammatical in standard Swahili. So you should always say mguu wako for “your leg.”

What exactly does una mean in una maumivu?

Una here is the verb “has” (or “is having”) and is built from:

• u- = subject marker for class 3 nouns (like mguu – leg)
• -na = “have” (from kuwa na – to have / to be with)

So mguu wako una maumivu literally means:

• “Your leg it-has pains.” → “Your leg is in pain / Your leg hurts.”

Note: una can also mean “you (sg) are …” in other sentences (unaenda = “you are going”), but in this sentence it matches the noun mguu, not “you.”

Why say una maumivu instead of simply unauma for “it hurts”?

Both are correct, but they sound slightly different:

• mguu wako una maumivu
  Literally: “Your leg has pain(s).”
  Sounds a bit more formal/medical: “Your leg has pain / is in pain.”

• mguu wako unauma
  Literally: “Your leg is hurting.”
  This is more everyday and direct: “Your leg hurts.”

In everyday conversation, mguu wako unauma leo? (“Does your leg hurt today?”) is very natural.
In a more careful or medical context, you’ll hear una maumivu quite often.

Is maumivu singular or plural? Why is there no plural marker like in English “pains”?

Maumivu is a noun that belongs to noun class 6 (the ma- class). It looks plural (because of ma-) and is technically plural, but in practice it often behaves like an uncountable mass noun, similar to “pain” in English.

So:

• maumivu can be translated as “pain” or “pains”, but usually we just say “pain.”
• You don’t normally make an extra plural; the word maumivu itself already covers the idea.

Examples:

• Nina maumivu ya tumbo. – I have stomach pain.
• Maumivu yake ni makali. – His/her pain is severe.

Why is there a comma after Pole? Is pole a separate sentence?

In actual speech, Pole is a separate little utterance, an interjection. The speaker:

1. First reacts with sympathy: Pole,
2. Then gives more detail: mguu wako una maumivu leo.

In writing, a comma or a period is possible:

• Pole, mguu wako una maumivu leo.
• Pole. Mguu wako una maumivu leo.

Both are acceptable. The comma just reflects the natural pause you would say after Pole.

Why does wako look like that? How is “your” formed in mguu wako?

Swahili possessives are made of:

1. A class agreement prefix (matching the noun)
2. The person (my, your, his/her, etc.)

For mguu (leg), the noun class is 3, and the possessive for “your (singular)” is:

• w- (class 3/4 agreement) + -ako (“your”) → wako

Other examples:

• mti (tree, class 3) → mti wako – your tree
• mchezo (game, class 3) → mchezo wako – your game

So mguu wako literally matches the noun class and means “your leg.”

Why is leo (“today”) at the end? Could we say Leo mguu wako una maumivu?

Yes, you can say:

• Leo mguu wako una maumivu.

That is grammatically correct and means the same thing.

In Swahili, time words like leo (today), jana (yesterday), kesho (tomorrow) can appear:

• At the beginning: Leo mguu wako una maumivu.
• Or at the end: Mguu wako una maumivu leo.

Both are natural. Putting leo at the beginning can emphasize “today” a bit more.

Could this sentence be a question? How would I turn it into “Does your leg hurt today?” in Swahili?

To turn it into a yes/no question, Swahili often just uses intonation and sometimes adds je.

You can say:

• Mguu wako una maumivu leo?
• Or: Je, mguu wako una maumivu leo?

Both mean: “Does your leg hurt today?” / “Do you have pain in your leg today?”

The question mark and your rising voice make it a question. Adding Je, at the beginning is more explicit and slightly more formal/polite.

What is the basic word order here? Why not una maumivu mguu wako?

Standard Swahili word order is Subject – Verb – Object, much like English:

• Mguu wako (subject)
• una (verb “has/is having”)
• maumivu (object)
• leo (time expression)

So:

• Mguu wako una maumivu leo.

Putting the verb first as una maumivu mguu wako would sound wrong in normal Swahili. The subject typically comes before the verb in simple declarative sentences.

Is saying just Pole enough, or do you need the whole sentence?

Just saying Pole is perfectly fine and very common. It’s a complete sympathetic response by itself.

Options with increasing emphasis:

• Pole. – Sorry (about that).
• Pole sana. – Very sorry / So sorry.
• Pole kwa mguu wako. – Sorry about your leg.
• Pole, mguu wako una maumivu leo. – Sorry, your leg is hurting today.

The full sentence adds information; Pole alone focuses on the emotion.

If I want to be more casual and natural with a friend, is there a more “everyday” version of this sentence?

Yes. With friends you might hear or say something like:

• Pole, mguu wako unauma leo? – Oh, sorry, is your leg hurting today?
• Pole, mguu unauma leo? – More shortened: “Sorry, is the leg hurting today?”

Using unauma instead of una maumivu sounds a bit more conversational and direct in everyday talk.