Vitamini ni muhimu kwa mwili.

Vitamins are important for the body.

Breakdown of Vitamini ni muhimu kwa mwili.

• ni: to be
• kwa: for
• muhimu: important
• mwili: the body
• vitamini: the vitamin

Questions & Answers about Vitamini ni muhimu kwa mwili.

1. In the sentence Vitamini ni muhimu kwa mwili, what does ni mean? Why isn't there a separate word for "are"?

Ni is the Swahili copula, and it covers "am / is / are" in the present tense.
So:

• Mimi ni mwalimu. = I am a teacher.
• Yeye ni mgonjwa. = He/She is sick.
• Vitamini ni muhimu. = Vitamins are important.

Swahili does not change ni for singular or plural subjects. You always use ni in this present-tense “X is Y” type of sentence.

2. Why does muhimu come after ni and not before, like in English?

The normal Swahili order for this kind of sentence is:

Subject + ni + description

So: Vitamini (subject) + ni (are) + muhimu (important).
You generally do not say "muhimu vitamini" or put the adjective first here. The description (adjective or noun) comes after ni.

3. What exactly does muhimu mean, and does it change form to match vitamini?

Muhimu means important, essential, or significant.
It is a borrowed adjective and it is invariable: it does not change for singular/plural or for different noun classes.

So you use the same form:

• Chakula ni muhimu. = Food is important.
• Vitamini ni muhimu. = Vitamins are important.
• Maji ni muhimu. = Water is important.

In all of these, muhimu stays the same.

4. What does kwa mean in kwa mwili, and could I translate it literally as “to the body” or “for the body”?

In this sentence, kwa means roughly “for” or “to (the benefit of)”.
It is a very flexible preposition used for:

• for / to: Dawa hii ni nzuri kwa watoto. = This medicine is good for children.
• by / with (means): Alienda kwa basi. = He went by bus.
• at / in / via, depending on context.

So Vitamini ni muhimu kwa mwili is best understood as “Vitamins are important for the body.”
“to the body” is a possible literal feel, but “for the body” is the natural translation.

5. What does mwili mean exactly? Is it singular or plural, and how would I say “bodies”?

Mwili means body (usually a living body, a person’s physical body).
It belongs to noun class 3/4:

• Singular: mwili = body
• Plural: miili = bodies

So:

• Mwili wa binadamu = the human body
• Miili ya binadamu = human bodies

6. Why is it kwa mwili and not kwa mwili wetu (“for our body”) or something similar? Does it still sound general?

Swahili very often uses a bare singular noun to talk about things in general, where English might use “the body” or “our bodies”.
Kwa mwili here means “for the body (in general)”, not a specific individual body.

If you want to be specific, you can add a possessive:

• kwa mwili wangu = for my body
• kwa mwili wako = for your body
• kwa mwili wetu = for our body/our bodies

But in a general statement like this, kwa mwili alone is natural and means “for the (human) body” in general.

7. Could I say Vitamini zina umuhimu kwa mwili instead? What would be the difference?

You can say Vitamini zina umuhimu kwa mwili, and it is grammatically correct. The difference:

• Vitamini ni muhimu kwa mwili.
  = Vitamins are important for the body. (adjective muhimu)

• Vitamini zina umuhimu kwa mwili.
  = Vitamins have importance for the body. (noun umuhimu = “importance”)

Meaning-wise, they are very close, but the first is more direct and more common as a simple statement. The second sounds a bit more formal or abstract because it uses the noun umuhimu (“importance”).

8. Why is it ni muhimu and not something like zimo muhimu or zina muhimu?

In this structure, you are not saying “vitamins have important” but “vitamins are important.”
So you need the copula (ni) + adjective (muhimu):

• Vitamini ni muhimu. = Vitamins are important.

Zina means “they have”, and zimo means roughly “they are in / they exist inside”.
Those would be used in other structures, e.g.:

• Vitamini zimo kwenye chakula. = Vitamins are in the food.
• Vitamini zina manufaa. = Vitamins have benefits.

9. How do I pronounce Vitamini ni muhimu kwa mwili?

Approximate pronunciation (each syllable is clear and short):

• Vitamini → vee-tah-MEE-nee
• ni → nee
• muhimu → moo-HEE-moo
• kwa → kwah (the kw is like English “kw” in “quick”)
• mwili → MWEE-lee (start with lips together for m, then immediately w)

Swahili stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable, so:

• vi-ta-MI-ni
• mu-HI-mu
• MWI-li

10. How would I say “Vitamins are not important for the body” in Swahili?

To make this sentence negative, change ni to si (or siyo) before the adjective:

• Vitamini si muhimu kwa mwili.
• Vitamini siyo muhimu kwa mwili. (also common)

Both mean: “Vitamins are not important for the body.”

Note that vitamini itself doesn’t change; only ni → si / siyo changes.