ku-

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "ku"

Indonesian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Malay ku-, from ku, shortened form of aku, from Proto-Malayic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronunciation

Prefix

ku-

  1. I (personal pronoun)

See also

Further reading

Kambera

Pronoun

ku-

  1. first person singular nominative proclitic

See also

Kambera pronominal clitics
Nominative Genitive Accusative Dative
1sg ku- -nggu -ka -ngga
2sg mu- (u-) -mu -kau -nggau
3sg na- -na -ya -nya
1pl.incl ta- -nda -ta -nda
1pl.excl ma- -ma -kama -nggama
2pl mi- (i-) -mi -kami (-kai) -nggami (-nggai)
3pl da- -da -ha -nja

Makasar

Pronunciation

Pronoun

ku- (nominative proclitic, Lontara spelling ᨀᨘ)

  1. I
  2. we (first person plural exclusive)

See also

Makasar free and bound pronouns
Independent Absolutive Nominative Possessive
1st sg / 1st pl excl nakke -a' ku- -ku
1st pl excl (archaic) kambe -kang ki- -mang
1st pl incl / 2nd sg polite katte -ki' ki- -ta
2nd sg / pl familiar kau -ko nu- -nu
3rd sg / pl ia -i na- -na

Malay

Alternative forms

Etymology

From ku, shortened form of aku, from Proto-Malayic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aku, from Proto-Austronesian *aku.

Pronunciation

Prefix

ku- (Jawi spelling کو-) (informal)

  1. I (personal pronoun)
    Kutahu.
    I know.

See also

Malay personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person standard saya / ساي
aku/ku- / اکو / كو- (informal/towards God)
-ku / -كو (informal possessive)
hamba / همبا (dated) 		kami / کامي (exclusive)
kita orang / كيت اورڠ (informal exclusive)
kita / کيت (inclusive)
royal beta / بيتا
2nd person standard kamu / کامو
anda / اندا (formal)
engkau/kau- / اڠکاو/ كاو- (informal/towards God)
awak / اوق (friendly/older towards younger)
-mu / -مو (possessive) 		awak semua / اوق سموا
kamu semua / كامو سموا
kalian / کالين (informal)
kau orang / كاو اورڠ (informal)
royal tuanku / توانكو
3rd person standard dia / دي
ia / اي
beliau / بلياو (honorific)
-nya / -ڽ (possessive) 		mereka / مريک
dia orang / دي اورڠ (informal)
royal baginda / بݢيندا

Northern Ndebele

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. you; second-person singular object concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 15 subject concord.
  2. it; class 15 object concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 17 subject concord.
  2. it; class 17 object concord.

Phuthi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. you; second-person singular object concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. Class 15 noun prefix; forms the infinitive of verbs.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 15 subject concord.
  2. it; class 15 object concord.

Etymology 4

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 17 subject concord.
  2. it; class 17 object concord.

Southern Ndebele

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. you; second-person singular object concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 15 subject concord.
  2. it; class 15 object concord.

Swahili

Alternative forms

  • (in certain cases before a vowel) kw-

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Kenya)(file)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. ku class(XV) noun prefix; used before verb stem with eventual object concord to form infinitive
    1. used to form verbnoun
      Kufanya kazi ni muhimu ili kupata pesa.
      Working is important in order to earn money.
    2. used after auxiliary verbs that do not require subject agreement and tense/aspect marking on the dependent verb
      Nataka kukisoma.
      I want to read it.
      Ilisababisha watu kujifunza zaidi.
      It caused people to study more.
      • 2023, “Waasi wa ADF wadaiwa kuwaua raia”, in DW‎:
        Watu wasiopungua kumi wanadaiwa kuuawa na wengine zaidi ya thelathini kujeruhiwa vibaya.
        At least ten people are claimed to have been killed and more than thirty others to have been seriously injured.
    3. used after -a (including in the presense of a subject)
      kitabu cha kufundishia ― book of instruction
      baada ya kipindi kupita ― after the period passes/passed
    4. used after na to replace elided subject agreement and tense/aspect marking
      Nilisoma na kuandika.
      I read and wrote.
  2. ku class(XV)/ku class(XVII) adjective agreement prefix
    Kusafiri ni kuzuri sana.
    Traveling is great.
    mahali kuzuri ― a nice area
  3. verb-initial form of -ku- (“you, 2st person singular (or, if with suffix -ni, plural) object concord”)
See also
Swahili TAM markers
Initial
Positive infinitive ku-/kw-1
Negative infinitive kuto-
Habitual hu-1
Telegrammic ka-1
Final
General (positive indicative) -a
Positive subjunctive -e
Negative present -i
Second person plural -ni
Infix position
positive subject concord
Positive past -li-
Positive present -na-
Positive future -ta-
Negative subjunctive -si-1
Positive present conditional -nge-
Negative present conditional -singe-
Positive past conditional -ngali-
Negative past conditional -singali-
Gnomic -a-1
Perfect -me-
"Already" past -lisha-
"Already" present -mesha-/-sha-
"If/When" -ki-1
"If not" -sipo-
Consecutive -ka-1
Infix position
negative subject concord
Negative past -ku-1
Negative future -ta-
"Not yet" -ja-1
Negative present conditional -nge-
Negative past conditional -ngali-
Relative
Past -li-
Present -na-
Future -taka-
Negative -si-
1 Can take stress and therefore does not require -ku-/-kw- in monosyllabic verbs.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it, there; ku class(XV)/ku class(XVII) subject concord
    Antonym: haku-
    Kutoa kunatokana na moyo.
    Giving comes from the heart.
    Kuna watu wengi nchini wanaotaka amani.
    There are many people in the country who want peace.
  2. verb-initial form of -ku- (“there, ku class(XVII) object concord”)
See also
Swahili verbal concords (third person)
Class Subject concord Object concord Relative
affirmative negative
m(I) a-, yu- ha-, hayu- -m-, -mw-, -mu- -ye
wa(II) wa- hawa- -wa- -o
m(III) u- hau- -u- -o
mi(IV) i- hai- -i- -yo
ji(V) li- hali- -li- -lo
ma(VI) ya- haya- -ya- -yo
ki(VII) ki- haki- -ki- -cho
vi(VIII) vi- havi- -vi- -vyo
n(IX) i- hai- -i- -yo
n(X) zi- hazi- -zi- -zo
u(XI) u- hau- -u- -o
ku(XV/XVII) ku- haku- -ku- -ko
pa(XVI) pa- hapa- -pa- -po
mu(XVIII) m-, mw-, mu- ham-, hamw-, hamu- -mu- -mo
For a full table including first and second person, see Appendix:Swahili personal pronouns.

Swazi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. you; second-person singular object concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. Class 15 noun prefix; forms the infinitive of verbs.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 15 subject concord.
  2. it; class 15 object concord.

Etymology 4

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 17 subject concord.
  2. it; class 17 object concord.

Taos

Pronunciation

Prefix

ku-

  1. (transitive) Second-person singular subject + third person duoplural object.

Tocharian A

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-. Cognates include Ancient Greek χέω (khéō), Sanskrit जुहोति (juhoti), Old Armenian ձեւ (jew), Latin fundō, fūtis and Old English ġēotan, guttas (English gut).

Verb

ku-

  1. to pour
  2. to offer a libation

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-. Cognates include Ancient Greek χέω (khéō), Sanskrit जुहोति (juhoti), Old Armenian ձեւ (jew), Latin fundō, fūtis and Old English ġēotan, guttas (English gut).

Verb

ku-

  1. to pour
  2. to offer a libation

Tooro

Alternative forms

  • (before vowels) kw-

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Pronunciation

Prefix

ku-

  1. class 15 pronominal concord
    ‎ku- + ‎-nu (“this, these”) → ‎kunu (“this (class 15)”)
  2. it; class 15 subject concord
    ‎ku- + ‎-kora (“to do”) → ‎kukora (“it (class 15) does”)
  3. positive imperative form of -ku- (“it; class 15 object concord”)
    ‎ku- + ‎-ha (“to give”) → ‎kuha (“give it (class 15)”)

See also

Tooro personal pronouns
Class Person Independent Possessive Subject concord Object concord Combined forms
na ni
Class 1 First nyowe, nye -ange n- -n- nanyowe, nanye ninyowe, ninye
Second iwe -awe o- -ku- naiwe niiwe
Third uwe -e a- -mu- nawe nuwe
Class 2 First itwe -aitu tu- -tu- naitwe niitwe
Second inywe -anyu mu- -ba- nainywe niinywe
Third abo -abo ba- -ba- nabo nubo
Class 3 gwo -agwo gu- -gu- nagwo nugwo
Class 4 yo -ayo e- -gi- nayo niyo
Class 5 lyo -alyo li- -li- nalyo niryo
Class 6 go -ago ga- -ga- nago nugo
Class 7 kyo -akyo ki- -ki- nakyo nikyo
Class 8 byo -abyo bi- -bi- nabyo nibyo
Class 9 yo -ayo e- -gi- nayo niyo
Class 10 zo -azo zi- -zi- nazo nizo
Class 11 rwo -arwo ru- -ru- narwo nurwo
Class 12 ko -ako ka- -ka- nako nuko
Class 13 two -atwo tu- -tu- natwo nutwo
Class 14 bwo -abwo bu- -bu- nabwo nubwo
Class 15 kwo -akwo ku- -ku- nakwo nukwo
Class 16 ho -aho ha- -ha- naho nuho
Class 17 (kwo) N/A ha-
(...-yo) 		-ha- N/A nukwo
Class 18 (mwo) -amwo ha-
(...-mu) 		-ha- N/A numwo
Reflexive -enyini, -onyini — -e- —

References

  • Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎, Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 414

Xhosa

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. you; second-person singular object concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 15 subject concord.
  2. it; class 15 object concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. it; class 17 subject concord.
  2. it; class 17 object concord.

Ye'kwana

Pronunciation

Prefix

ku-

  1. Allomorph of k- (first-person-dual-inclusive prefix) used for stems that begin with a consonant and have a first vowel u.

Inflection

Ye'kwana personal markers
pronoun noun possessor/
series II verb argument 		postposition object series I verb argument
transitive patient intransitive patient-like intransitive agent-like transitive agent
first person ewü y-, ∅-, ü-, u-1 w-, wi-
first person dual inclusive küwü k-, kü-, ku-, ki- k-, kii-, ki-1
second person amödö ö-, öy-/öd-, o-, oy-/od-, a-, ay-/ad- m-, mi-
first person dual exclusive nña y-/d-, ch-, ∅-, i-1 chö- ∅- n-, ni-
third person tüwü n-, ni-
distant past third person — kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini-
coreferential/reflexive — t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te- —
reciprocal — — öö-
  1. With following vowel lengthened if in an unreduced open syllable.
series I verb argument:
transitive agent and transitive patient
first person > second person mön-, man-, mon-, möm-, möni-
first person dual exclusive > second person
second person > first person k-, kü-, ku-, ki-
second person > first person dual exclusive
third person > any person X …or… any person X > third person see person X in the chart above

Zulu

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

kú-

  1. you; second-person singular object concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. Class 15 simple noun prefix.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

kú-

  1. it; class 15 subject concord.
  2. it; class 15 object concord.

Etymology 4

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ̀-.

Prefix

ku-

  1. Class 17 simple noun prefix.

Etymology 5

From Proto-Bantu *kʊ́-.

Prefix

kú-

  1. it; class 17 subject concord.
  2. it; class 17 object concord.

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia