Katika neno “mama”, kuna silabi mbili, na herufi “a” ni irabu.

Neno means word. Its plural is maneno.

So:

• neno = word
• maneno = words

This is a common noun, and it belongs to noun class 5/6:

• singular: neno
• plural: maneno

Because the sentence is talking about the word itself and the letter itself, not using them in their normal meaning. English does the same thing when we talk about a word or letter.

In normal Swahili writing, quotation marks are often used for this:

• neno mama
• herufi a

Here, bold just helps show that mama is being mentioned as a word, and a is being mentioned as a letter.

Kuna means there is or there are.

So:

• kuna silabi mbili = there are two syllables
• kuna silabi moja = there is one syllable

A useful point for learners: kuna does not change for singular and plural the way English changes from there is to there are.

In Swahili, the usual order here is:

• kuna
  • noun + modifier

So:

• kuna silabi mbili

not usually:

• kuna mbili silabi

Also, numbers usually come after the noun they describe in Swahili:

• silabi mbili = two syllables
• vitabu viwili = two books

Silabi is a borrowed word, and like many borrowed nouns in Swahili, it often keeps the same form in both singular and plural.

So:

• silabi moja = one syllable
• silabi mbili = two syllables

The number word tells you whether it is singular or plural.

Mbili means two. It comes after the noun:

• silabi mbili = two syllables

This is the correct form with silabi. In Swahili, numbers from one to five often show agreement with the noun class, so learners will see different forms in different noun classes.

For example:

• mtoto mmoja = one child
• vitabu viwili = two books
• silabi mbili = two syllables

Silabi is pronounced roughly si-la-bi, with clear vowels.

Swahili syllables are usually very regular, and vowels are pronounced clearly. The word mama breaks into:

• ma-ma

That gives it two syllables.

A helpful pronunciation tip: Swahili vowels are usually stable and simple:

• a as in father
• e
• i
• o
• u

So mama is pronounced with two clear a sounds.

Herufi means letter, as in a letter of the alphabet.

So:

• herufi a = the letter a

Like silabi, herufi is also commonly used with the same form for singular and plural:

• herufi moja = one letter
• herufi mbili = two letters

Here ni works like is/are. It links one noun to another noun.

So:

• herufi a ni irabu = the letter a is a vowel

This is one of the most important uses of ni in Swahili. It often connects:

• subject + noun
• subject + description

In this sentence, it simply identifies a as a vowel.

Irabu means vowel.

So the sentence says that a is a vowel. In standard Swahili, the vowels are:

• a
• e
• i
• o
• u

The usual word for consonant is konsonanti.

Here na means and. It joins the two parts of the sentence:

• kuna silabi mbili
• herufi a ni irabu

So the full sentence is structured like:

• In the word mama, there are two syllables, and the letter a is a vowel.

A useful extra note: na can also mean with in other contexts, so learners often see it used in more than one way. Here, though, it simply means and.