"Mafundi wazuri"

Translation: Good artisans

[finndj]

If it is plural, shouldn't it be wafundi wazuri?

[DiegoJaviUnlam]

Mafundi is the plural form of "fundi".

Noun

mafundi

1) plural of fundi

Noun

fundi (ma class, plural mafundi)

craftsman; artisan

From Wikipedia:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mafundi

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fundi

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swahili_noun_classes#Ma_class

[VincentOostelbos]

What confuses me, however, is that -zuri still gets the wa- prefix. Shouldn't it also get the ma- prefix to agree with the class of the noun it modifies? I.e., *Mafundi wazuri?

[tsuj1g1r1]

Animate nouns (principally those referring to people) take the concords of the M-wa class, even if they belong to another class.

[VincentOostelbos]

Oh, that's good to know. Thank you!

[Dogs_Unite]

Is there some way to know if something is M or WA class, or it is like irregular verbs?

[Andrea299093]

Could fundi also be technician?

[FrancescaP349937]

When do you use ma- and when do you use wa- ?

[tsuj1g1r1]

M(w)-/wa- nouns are a different class than "fundi", which is a ji-/ma- word, so "ma" indicates the plural in this case, not the singular as "m" would in a pair like "mwalimu/walimu" (teacher/teachers).

[NellS15]

I'll add that a singular noun in the ji-/ma- class can begin with any letter, but the plural noun will always begin with ma-. Examples: kosa/makosa [mistake(s)]; ua/maua [flower(s). There are exceptions of course.

[Marisja7]

You have to learn which word belongs to which class. Just like you have to learn in french which words are feminin and which are masculin. Most words for people are m/wa-class. But not all, like fundi (-:

[SilasWolfe]

'fundi' = 'expert', too right?

[Mel533776]

In (South African) English or Afrikaans, yes, according to Wiktionary. But in Swahili, fundi , mafundi = "craftsman, artisan," just like in the hint.