"Miti mirefu ni mizuri"

Translation: Tall trees are beautiful

[DiegoJaviUnlam]

Etymology (-refu)

From Proto-Bantu. Cognate with Zulu -de.

Adjective

-refu (declinable)

1) long, tall; high

2) deep

Antonyms

-fupi

From Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/refu

[Phmeza]

This I don't get. How does "de" and "refu" relate except for a similar meaning?

[oderalon]

Further practice:

• Mti mrefu ni mzuri. - The tall tree is beautiful.
• Miti mirefu ni mizuri. - The tall trees are beautiful.
• Mti mzuri ni mrefu. - The beautiful tree is tall.
• Miti mizuri ni mirefu. - The beautiful trees are tall.
• Mti mrefu si mzuri. - The tall tree is not beautiful.
• Miti mirefu si mizuri. - The tall trees are not beautiful.
• Mti mzuri si mrefu. - The beautiful tree is not tall.
• Miti mizuri si mirefu. - The beautiful trees are not tall.

[DakotaPotts]

does -refu also mean 'tall' or is this just how trees are conceptualized in Swahili, as 'long?'

[hazzin13]

Yes, -refu means tall. E.g. mtu mrefu - a tall person.