Nimekukumbuka sana.

I have missed you very much.

Breakdown of Nimekukumbuka sana.

• sana: a lot (very much)
• nimekukumbuka: I have missed you

Questions & Answers about Nimekukumbuka sana.

What does each part of Nimekukumbuka sana mean?

It breaks down like this:

• Ni- = I
• -me- = a perfect/completed marker, often like have in English
• -ku- = you (singular object)
• kumbuka = remember / miss
• sana = very much / a lot

So the whole sentence means something like:

• I have missed you very much
• or, depending on context, I have remembered you a lot

In real-life use, with a person as the object, it often means I’ve missed you.

Why is it all written as one word?

In Swahili, subject markers, tense markers, object markers, and the verb root are usually written together as a single verb word.

So instead of writing separate words for I + have + you + remembered/missed, Swahili combines them:

• Ni-me-ku-kumbuka

This is very normal in Swahili grammar.

Does kumbuka mean remember or miss?