Clothing and Shopping in Swahili

In Brief

Use -nunua for “buy,” -uza for “sell,” duka for “shop,” and bei for “price.” To ask a price, say Bei ya viatu hivi ni ngapi? (“What is the price of these shoes?”). Pay attention to the noun class: “this/these” and descriptive words change to match the item, as in shati hili jeupe but viatu hivi vyeupe.

Overview

Clothing and shopping language is useful from your first days of Swahili. It lets you ask for an item, understand what a shop sells, discuss a price, and describe what someone is wearing. At A1, your main goal is to learn a small set of practical nouns and build short, reliable sentences with -nunua (“buy”), -uza (“sell”), -taka (“want”), and -vaa (“wear”).

There is one important difference from English. English uses the same forms in “this shirt,” “this hat,” and “these shoes.” Swahili groups nouns into noun classes (grammatical groups that control the form of nearby words). Consequently, “this,” “these,” adjectives, and sometimes the verb subject marker change according to the noun: shati hili, kofia hii, and viatu hivi.

You do not need to memorize the whole noun-class system before shopping. Learn each clothing word together with one useful matching phrase. For example, learn shati hili as a pair rather than learning shati alone. This turns agreement from an abstract rule into a pattern you can use immediately.

How It Works

Core vocabulary

Swahili	English	Useful detail
nguo	clothes; garment	Usually class 9/10; the form can be singular or plural
shati / mashati	shirt / shirts	Class 5/6
suruali	trousers, pants	Class 9/10; often understood from context as one or more pairs
kiatu / viatu	shoe / shoes	Class 7/8
kofia	hat; hats	Class 9/10; number comes from agreement or context
kanga	kanga cloth; kangas	Class 9/10; a printed East African wrap cloth
duka / maduka	shop / shops	Class 5/6
bei	price	Often followed by ya (“of”)
-nunua	to buy	Verb stem shown with a hyphen
-uza	to sell	Verb stem shown with a hyphen
-vaa	to wear; put on	Used for having clothing on and for putting it on

The initial hyphen in -nunua, -uza, -taka, and -vaa means that these are verb stems, not complete words. A complete Swahili verb normally includes information about who acts and when. For example, ni-na-nunua means “I am buying/I buy”: ni- marks “I,” -na- marks the present tense, and -nunua gives the action.

Building useful shopping sentences

A beginner can rely on four patterns:

Purpose	Pattern	Example
Say what you want	subject + -taka + ku- verb	Ninataka kununua nguo. — I want to buy clothes.
Say what a shop sells	shop + subject marker + -uza + item	Duka hili linauza kanga. — This shop sells kangas.
Ask the price	Bei ya + item + ni ngapi?	Bei ya shati hili ni ngapi? — What is the price of this shirt?
Say what someone wears	subject + -vaa + item	Amevaa shati jeupe. — He/She is wearing a white shirt.

In Ninataka kununua, ku- creates an infinitive (the basic “to do” form of a verb): kununua, “to buy.” Swahili uses this after -taka, much as English uses “to buy” after “want.” Do not give the second verb its own person and tense markers.

Ngapi? means “how many?” in many contexts, but after bei it asks “how much?” or “what price?” You can also ask directly with the item and a currency: Viatu hivi ni shilingi ngapi? (“How many shillings are these shoes?”).

Matching “this/these” to clothing nouns

A demonstrative is a pointing word such as “this” or “these.” Its form must agree with the Swahili noun class.

Item	“This” or “these”	Complete phrase
shati (shirt)	hili	shati hili — this shirt
mashati (shirts)	haya	mashati haya — these shirts
kiatu (shoe)	hiki	kiatu hiki — this shoe
viatu (shoes)	hivi	viatu hivi — these shoes
nguo (garment/clothes)	hii / hizi	nguo hii / nguo hizi — this garment / these clothes
kofia (hat/hats)	hii / hizi	kofia hii / kofia hizi — this hat / these hats
kanga (kanga/kangas)	hii / hizi	kanga hii / kanga hizi — this kanga / these kangas
duka (shop)	hili	duka hili — this shop
maduka (shops)	haya	maduka haya — these shops

For class 9/10 nouns such as nguo, kofia, and kanga, the noun itself often does not visibly change between singular and plural. The demonstrative reveals the number: kofia hii is singular, while kofia hizi is plural.

Describing color and quality

An adjective is a describing word, such as “good,” “nice,” or “white.” Many Swahili adjectives take a class agreement prefix. The adjective stems -zuri (“good, nice, beautiful”) and -eupe (“white”) therefore appear in several forms.

Noun phrase	With “nice/good”	With “white”
shati hili	shati hili zuri	shati hili jeupe
mashati haya	mashati haya mazuri	mashati haya meupe
kiatu hiki	kiatu hiki kizuri	kiatu hiki cheupe
viatu hivi	viatu hivi vizuri	viatu hivi vyeupe
kofia hii	kofia hii nzuri	kofia hii nyeupe
kofia hizi	kofia hizi nzuri	kofia hizi nyeupe

The basic word order is noun + demonstrative + adjective: viatu hivi vizuri, literally “shoes these nice.” This differs from English, which places both “these” and “nice” before “shoes.”

Agreement also appears on verbs. Duka hili linauza uses li- because duka is a class 5 noun. Its plural is Maduka haya yanauza, with ya- for class 6. At first, treat these as high-value chunks; later study of noun classes will explain the full system.

Examples in Context

Swahili	English	Note
Ninataka kununua nguo.	I want to buy clothes.	kununua follows ninataka
Bei ya viatu hivi ni ngapi?	What is the price of these shoes?	hivi agrees with plural viatu
Duka hili linauza kanga nzuri.	This shop sells nice kangas.	li- agrees with duka
Amevaa shati jeupe.	He/She is wearing a white shirt.	amevaa does not specify gender
Kiatu hiki ni kizuri.	This shoe is nice.	Class 7 agreement: hiki, kizuri
Viatu hivi ni vizuri.	These shoes are nice.	Class 8 agreement: hivi, vizuri
Shati hili ni shilingi elfu ishirini.	This shirt is twenty thousand shillings.	A price stated with ni
Viatu hivi ni shilingi ngapi?	How many shillings are these shoes?	Direct price question
Nataka kofia hii nyeupe.	I want this white hat.	Noun + demonstrative + adjective
Una mashati meupe?	Do you have white shirts?	Plural class 6 adjective
Hatuuzi suruali hapa.	We do not sell trousers here.	Negative present form of -uza
Nimenunua kanga mbili.	I have bought two kangas.	Completed purchase; plural understood from mbili
Maduka haya yanauza nguo nzuri.	These shops sell nice clothes.	Plural maduka takes ya-
Anavaa kofia mpya.	He/She wears a new hat.	anavaa can describe current or habitual wear

Common Mistakes

Using one English-style form for every “this”

• Wrong: viatu hii
• Right: viatu hivi
• Why: Viatu is class 8 plural, so “these” is hivi. Hii belongs with singular class 9 nouns such as kofia hii.

Leaving the adjective unadjusted

• Wrong: shati nzuri
• Right: shati zuri
• Why: The adjective stem is -zuri, but class 5 shati requires zuri. Compare viatu vizuri and kofia nzuri.

Copying English word order

• Wrong: hivi vizuri viatu
• Right: viatu hivi vizuri
• Why: In a neutral Swahili noun phrase, the noun comes first, followed here by the demonstrative and adjective.

Conjugating both verbs after “want”

• Wrong: Ninataka ninunua nguo.
• Right: Ninataka kununua nguo.
• Why: After -taka, use the infinitive with ku-: kununua, “to buy.”

Using the wrong shop agreement

• Wrong: Duka hili inauza kanga.
• Right: Duka hili linauza kanga.
• Why: Duka is class 5, so its present-tense subject marker is li-. In the plural, say Maduka haya yanauza.

Assuming amevaa means only “he is wearing”

• Wrong assumption: Amevaa shati jeupe can refer only to a man.
• Right understanding: It can mean “He is wearing a white shirt” or “She is wearing a white shirt.”
• Why: The third-person singular subject marker a- does not encode gender. Context identifies the person.

Usage Notes

Nguo is a broad everyday word. It can mean “clothes” collectively and can also refer to a garment or cloth depending on context. If number matters, agreement helps: nguo hii points to one item, while nguo hizi points to several.

Suruali is used for trousers or pants. Like several class 9/10 words, its visible form may stay the same when the number changes. In real shopping, context, demonstratives, numbers, and verb agreement make the intended meaning clearer.

A kanga is not simply any piece of cloth. It is a rectangular printed cloth widely worn and used in East Africa, often as a wrap. Keeping the Swahili word in an English conversation can be more precise than replacing it with a generic clothing term.

Prices are commonly given in shilingi (“shillings”), with the relevant national currency understood from context. In a market, a short question such as Ni shilingi ngapi? (“How many shillings is it?”) is natural when both speakers can see the item. The fuller Bei ya ... ni ngapi? is clearer when introducing the item.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these points at A1, but they explain forms you will soon encounter.

Object markers inside the verb

Once an item is already known, Swahili can represent it with an object marker (a piece inside the verb that stands for the thing affected by the action). For example, Nitalinunua means “I will buy it,” where -li- refers to a class 5 noun such as shati. With plural viatu, a speaker can say Nitavinunua (“I will buy them”), using class 8 -vi-. These forms require both tense knowledge and noun-class agreement.

“Wearing” versus “putting on”

-vaa covers a wider area than English “wear.” Depending on tense and context, it can describe being dressed in something, wearing it habitually, or putting it on. Compare Anavaa kofia (“He/She wears/is putting on a hat”) with Amevaa kofia (“He/She has put on/is wearing a hat”). Context usually supplies the exact English interpretation.

More natural ways to negotiate

Actual shopping conversations go beyond naming and pricing. You may hear ghali (“expensive”), nafuu (“affordable/cheap”), or requests built with more advanced politeness and verb forms. Agreement remains important even when the conversation becomes more complex: the item still controls forms such as hili, hivi, zuri, and vizuri.

Numbers also interact with noun classes

Some Swahili numerals change their prefix to agree with the noun. For instance, kanga mbili means “two kangas,” while other noun classes may use a different agreeing form. This is why learning a noun with its plural and its agreement pattern is more dependable than translating each English word separately.

Practice Tips

1. Make phrase cards, not single-word cards. Write shati hili zuri, viatu hivi vizuri, and kofia hii nzuri. Say each phrase aloud and notice which parts change together.
2. Role-play a three-line purchase. Choose an item, say Ninataka kununua ..., ask Bei ya ... ni ngapi?, and invent an answer in shillings. Repeat with a different noun class.
3. Sort your wardrobe by agreement. Point to real items and alternate singular and plural: kiatu hiki / viatu hivi, shati hili / mashati haya, kofia hii / kofia hizi.

Related Concepts

No prerequisite or downstream concepts were specified for this vocabulary topic. The most useful companion topics in the Swahili grammar course are:

• Noun Class 7/8: Ki-/Vi- (Things/Tools) — explains kiatu/viatu and their agreement.
• Noun Class 9/10: N- (Animals/Borrowed Words) — helps with nguo, kofia, kanga, and suruali.
• Present Tense (-na-) — builds sentences such as ninunua, linauza, and anavaa.
• Adjective Agreement with Noun Classes — develops patterns such as zuri, vizuri, and nzuri.
• Demonstratives (This/That/That Over There) — expands beyond hili, hivi, and hii to more pointing forms.
• Remaining Noun Classes — later explains class 5/6 patterns such as shati/mashati and duka/maduka in depth.