Jifunze Kiswahili

To day we are looking for the word chini ya

Meaning“chini ya” is a Swahili prepositional phrase.It literally means “under” or “beneath” in English.Depending on the context, it can also mean “less than” or “below” when used figuratively. Origin“chini” = “down” / “underneath” / “lower part.”“ya” = possessive/prepositional marker (shows relation, like “of” or “belonging to”).Together → “chini ya” = under of → under/below.It comes from Bantu structure, where spatial words (like juu = up, chini = down) combine with relational markers (ya, kwa, juu ya, etc.) to express position or comparison.

Usage in SentencesLiteral (position/place):Kitabu kiko chini ya meza.→ The book is under the table.2. Figurative (authority/rule):Tunafanya kazi chini ya mwalimu mkuu.→ We work under the head teacher.3. Figurative (amount/measure):Bei iko chini ya shilingi elfu moja.→ The price is less than one thousand shillings.

We will continue next time