Best way to remeber noun class prefixes
I’m not having trouble with remembering the prefixes for the nouns themselves, rather the prefixes on possessives, adjectives, etc. especially whenever the noun is in a class that doesn’t have a specific prefix (like how not all N class nouns start with N, or all have a similar meaning). Is there a way to remember this or do I just need to memorize it? Asante!

Question

Answer

The best way is to associate the noun class patterns with how you make the word plural.  So, for example, for object infixes associate ji/ma class (gari, magari) with li- and ya-.  Associate m/mi (mti, miti) with u- and i-.  That approach covers most classes: ji/ma, m/wa, m/mi, and ki/vi.  After that, the remain two classes - U an N are easy to distinguish because U nouns almost always start with U, anything else is a 99% change of being N class.  Bahati nzuri!!

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