Conjugation of the Chinyanja Verb "kufuna"

kufuna
to want / to love
Stem
-funa
Type
Transitive
Infinitive Prefix
ku-

Present Habitual (-ma-)

Used for regular actions, habits, and general truths. Formed with the habitual marker -ma- between the subject prefix and the verb stem.

Pronoun Conjugation
ine (I) ndimafuna
iwe (you sg.) umafuna
iye (he/she) amafuna
ife (we) timafuna
inu (you pl.) mumafuna
iwo (they) amafuna

Present Progressive (-ku-)

Used for actions happening right now. Formed with the progressive marker -ku- between the subject prefix and the verb stem.

Pronoun Conjugation
ine (I) ndikufuna
iwe (you sg.) ukufuna
iye (he/she) akufuna
ife (we) tikufuna
inu (you pl.) mukufuna
iwo (they) akufuna

Past Tense (-na-)

Used for completed actions in the past. Formed with the past marker -na- between the subject prefix and the verb stem.

Pronoun Conjugation
ine (I) ndinafuna
iwe (you sg.) unafuna
iye (he/she) anafuna
ife (we) tinafuna
inu (you pl.) munafuna
iwo (they) anafuna

Future Tense (-dza-/-za-)

Used for actions that will happen. Formed with the future marker -dza- (or contracted -za-) between the subject prefix and the verb stem.

Pronoun Conjugation
ine (I) ndizafuna
iwe (you sg.) uzafuna
iye (he/she) azafuna
ife (we) tizafuna
inu (you pl.) muzafuna
iwo (they) azafuna

Perfect Tense (-a-)

Used for completed actions with present relevance ("have done"). The subject prefix merges with the marker -a-, creating contracted forms (ndi+a → nda-, u+a → wa-, ti+a → ta-).

Pronoun Conjugation
ine (I) ndafuna
iwe (you sg.) wafuna
iye (he/she) afuna
ife (we) tafuna
inu (you pl.) mwafuna
iwo (they) afuna

Negative (si-)

Negation is formed by adding the prefix si- before the subject prefix (si+ndi → sindi-, si+u → su-, si+a → sa-, si+ti → siti-, si+mu → simu-).

Pronoun Conjugation
ine (I) sindimafuna
iwe (you sg.) sumafuna
iye (he/she) samafuna
ife (we) sitimafuna
inu (you pl.) simumafuna
iwo (they) samafuna

Verb Extensions (Zowonjezera)

Bantu verb extensions modify the verb stem to create related meanings — applicative (-ir-), causative (-its-/-ets-), reciprocal (-an-), passive (-idw-/-edw-), and stative (-ek-).

Extended Form Meaning
kufunira to want/love for (applicative)
kufunana to love each other (reciprocal)

Example Sentences (Zitsanzo)

Ndikufuna madzi.

I want water.

Amafunana kwambiri.

They love each other very much.

Kodi mukufuna chiyani?

What do you want?