Classes 5 and 6: di- and ma-
Classes 5 and 6 (Chatelain's class IV): di- in the singular, ma- in the plural.
After this unit
Form the plural of a class 5 noun.
Class 5 takes di- and class 6 takes ma-
Chatelain puts every noun with this singular prefix in the fourth class of his scheme, which is class 5 and 6 in the standard numbering. To make the plural, take away the singular prefix and put ma- in its place. The plural belongs to class 6.
Singular and plural
| Singular (di-) | Plural (ma-) | Singular means |
|---|---|---|
| Dikoko | Makoko | coconut |
| Disu | Masu | eye |
| Dituku | Matuku | elbow |
| Dikoloxa | Makoloxa | mattress |
| Ditamina | Matamina | basin, bowl |
| Dikoza | Makoza | rag |
| Dihupu | Mahupu | passion fruit |
The stem stays the same. Only the prefix changes. The plural can have extra meanings, so open a word to see every meaning it has.
Older books print ri-
Chatelain writes the singular prefix as ri-, and so do other older books. The standard now writes di-, and this site follows the standard.
Why older books look differentma- is not only for class 6
Chatelain also gives ma- as the plural of some smaller classes, numbers 11, 14 and 15. When you see a word that begins with ma-, it may be a plural from class 5 or from one of those classes.
Noun classes: the overviewWhere this comes from
- Chatelain, Grammatica elementar do Kimbundu (Loanda, 1889), printed page 4 — class IV, ri- (now di-) to ma-
- The 1940s Kimbundu–Portuguese dictionary this site is built from — every example word