-za

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word -za. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word -za, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say -za in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word -za you have here. The definition of the word -za will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of-za, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Japanese

Romanization

-za

  1. Rōmaji transcription of

Swahili

Alternative forms

  • (after a consonant) -ya

Etymology

What are now vowel-final verb stems originally had an -l-, which resurfaces whenever a suffix is added. After addition of the suffix -ya, this -l- was then spirantized to -z-.

Suffix

-za

  1. Alternative form of -ya used after a vowel
    -kimbia (to run) + ‎-za → ‎-kimbiza (to chase)
    -pungua (to decrease) + ‎-za → ‎-punguza (to reduce)

Derived terms