zi-

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "zi"

Northern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jí-. Originally the prefix of class 10, it replaced the class 8 prefix as well.

Prefix

zi-

  1. they; class 8 subject concord.
  2. them; class 8 object concord.
  3. they; class 10 subject concord.
  4. them; class 10 object concord.

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jí-. Originally the prefix of class 10, it replaced the class 8 prefix as well.

Prefix

zi-

  1. they; class 8 subject concord.
  2. them; class 8 object concord.
  3. they; class 10 subject concord.
  4. them; class 10 object concord.

Swahili

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jí-.

Prefix

zi-

  1. they; n class(X) subject concord
  2. verb-initial form of -zi- (“them, n class(X) 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.

Tooro

Alternative forms

  • (before vowels) z-

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jí-.

Pronunciation

Prefix

zi-

  1. class 10 pronominal concord
    ‎zi- + ‎-nu (“this, these”) → ‎zinu (“these (class 10)”)
  2. they; class 10 subject concord
    ‎zi- + ‎-kora (“to do”) → ‎zikora (“they (class 10) do”)
  3. positive imperative form of -zi- (“them; class 10 object concord”)
    ‎zi- + ‎-ha (“to give”) → ‎ziha (“give them (class 10)”)

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

From Proto-Bantu *jí-. Originally the prefix of class 10, it replaced the class 8 prefix as well.

Prefix

zi-

  1. they; class 8 subject concord.
  2. them; class 8 object concord.
  3. they; class 10 subject concord.
  4. them; class 10 object concord.

Zulu

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *jí-. Originally the pronominal and verbal concord, it displaced the older Bantu noun prefix *bì-. The tone was lowered by analogy with other noun prefixes.

Prefix

zi-

  1. Class 8 simple noun prefix.
  2. Class 10 simple noun prefix, used when preceding a consonant n, m, or l.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *jí-. Originally the prefix of class 10, it replaced the class 8 prefix as well.

Prefix

zí-

  1. they; class 8 subject concord.
  2. them; class 8 object concord.
  3. they; class 10 subject concord.
  4. them; class 10 object concord.

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia