One of the Swahili words I learnt recently is chumba (room). I wondered where it comes from and what other words are related to it. Let’s find out.

Chumba means room, chamber, cabin or cloakroom, and is a diminutive of nyumba [ˈɲu.ᵐbɑ] (house, apartment), which comes from Proto-Bantu *njʊ̀mbá (house) [source].

Related words include

• chumba cha kulia = dining room
• chumba cha kulalia = bedroom
• kichumba = small room
• jumba = mansion, large building
• kijumba = cottage, small house
• uchumba = courtship, engagement
• -chumbisha = to get engaged to be married (of a man)
• -chumbishwa = to get engaged to be married (of a woman)
• mchumba = financé(e), lover, partner
• wachumba = spouse, couple
• unyumba = married life, marital relations
• nyumba ya uzazi = womb, uterus (“house of parenthood”)
• nyumbani = at home, in the house

Other room-related words in Swahili include:

• bafu (bath, bathtub, bathroom), which was borrowed from English bath
• darasa (classroom, class period, lesson), which was borrowed from Arabic دَرْس (dars – study, studies, lesson, class)
• msalani (bathroom, toilet), a locative of msala (private chamber, retreat, bathroom, toilet), from Arabic مُصَلَّى (muṣallan – place of prayer, prayer room/hall)
• faragha (privacy, private chamber, retreat, opportunity), which was borrowed from Arabic فَرَاغ (farāḡ – empty space)
• sebule (living room), which was borrowed from Arabic (?)

Here are a few house- and home-related proverbs and sayings in Swahili:

• Nyumba njema si mlango.
  A good house isn’t judged by the door.
• Kinywa ni jumba la maneno.
  The mouth is a house of words.
• Nyumba ya udongo haihimili kishindo.
  A house made of mud cannot withstand a strong wind.
• Mkate mkavu wa nyumbani ni bora kuliko nyama ya shuwa ya pengine.
  A piece of dry bread from home is better than a roasted piece of meat from someone else’s home.

Sources: https://mhariri.com/kamusi/learn-swahili/proverbs-in-swahili-and-their-translations-and-meanings/, https://pristinetrails.com/blog/swahili-proverbs/

The more Swahili I learn, the more interesting it gets.