"Mito inaimba"

Translation: Rivers sing

[marijkstee]

I asked my Kenyan friend and he told me that it is used to talk about the sound of joy and happiness, also denotes peace and tranquility. Figure oneself to sit beside a waterfall when it is hot, the breeze, etc.

[NyamNyamNy1]

I'm a little lost as to what the meaning of this sentence is. Would anyone care to illuminate?

[CeeCeeSong]

i am only guessing, but my guess is that it is like the expression "A leopard has spots." In other words, you can't count on people to be anything other than what they are...and they're probably going to gossip!

[adilalibra1]

I agree, it's a confusing sentence. It means: MITO-rivers (pl. from river) I-third person (it) NA-present tense maker IMBIA-sing (infinite ku-imbia to sing)
In swahili duolingo there are many meaningless sentences:-D

[SimonandNe]

Since it's in the idioms section, I'd guess this one actually has more of a meaning, but I would LOVE to know it! Does it mean rivers sound beautiful? Is it religious, with an implication of rivers praising God? Please, course creators or any native speakers, give us some more details on this topic!

[AGreatUserName]

-imba = sing
-imbia = sing to, sing for

[Judy928846]

I would categorize this as personification and assume it's simply a poetic term, much as an American might refer to a babbling brook.

[Lauren160733]

Is this a common expression?

[aboutpurpo]

I've never heard native speakers use any of these idioms.

[AGreatUserName]

Googling it only gives three hits. Two of them are this course. One other is from Jamii forums and seems to be something to do with a Psalm ... so it just seems to be some Bible stuff and not actually an idiom.

[IanWitham1]

Listening to rivers passing through and over rocks, I can hear music.