LESSON 42

“To wash”

Vocabulary

89. Kinyarwanda does not have just one word that means “to wash” as in English. The word is determined by the thing to be washed.

Kwoza (koza) is more generally used than the others, for it is used for washing dishes, floor, windows, in fact, in most instances where there seems to be no specific word for that kind of washing, such as the other words given in this vocabulary. Kwoga (koga) is more often used for “swim” than for “wash”. Gukaraba does not need to be followed by a word for “hands”. However, you may hear it used for washing arms, and even the face.

90. Imperative of vowel-stem verbs. These follow the regular rule: just the stem of the word. Thus: Oza amasahane - wash the dishes. Andika izina ryawe - write your name.

Exercises:

I. Translate into English:

1. Abakobwa baramesa imyenda yabo mu ruzi. 2. Jya gukaraba neza. 3. Abahungu bazoza hasi mu ishuri ejo mu gitondo. 4. Kwiyuhagira cyane gushobora gufasha umuntu kwanga indwara. 5. Abana bato bashobora kwiga kwiyuhagira neza iminsi yose. 6. Ronga neza ibijumba; ndashaka guteka inyama n’ibijumba. 7. Abigishwa biga kwoga mu ruzi. 8. Mushobora kuzana amazi ,menshi kuko abana bashaka kwiyuhagira. 9. Ibuka kumesa imyenda mibi yose. 10. Ejo uzambara imyenda myiza.

II. Translate into Kinyarwanda:

1. Wash all my clothes today. 2. I do not want cold (akonje) water; I want to take a bath. 3. Wash the floor well in the whole house today. 4. You (pl.) can remember to wash (your) hands well every day. 5. When will you (pl.) wash all the tables in the school? 6. The boys like to swim in the river. 7. The girls are washing all the peas and beans in clean water. 8. Cats don’t wash in water. 9. Do you wash your face in the morning every day? 10. Wash all the dirty dishes now.