Mbuni huyo anakimbia haraka sana.

that

Breakdown of Mbuni huyo anakimbia haraka sana.

• sana: very
• kukimbia: to run
• haraka: fast

Questions & Answers about Mbuni huyo anakimbia haraka sana.

Why does huyo come after mbuni instead of before it?

In Swahili, demonstratives like this and that usually come after the noun, not before it.

So Swahili says:

mbuni huyo = that ostrich

not the English-style order that ostrich.

This is a very normal pattern in Swahili:

• mtu huyo = that person
• kitabu hiki = this book
• mbuni huyo = that ostrich

What exactly does huyo mean here?

Huyo is a demonstrative, meaning something like that.

In the set for singular animate nouns, you often see:

• huyu = this
• huyo = that
• yule = that over there / that one farther away

So mbuni huyo points to a specific ostrich that is not right here as this, but is identifiable as that one.

In everyday learning materials, huyo is often the best simple match for that.

Why does an ostrich use huyo and ana-, which look like forms for people?