la chumvi nyingi

Swahili

Etymology

Literally, to eat a lot of salt.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Kenya):(file)

Verb

-la chumvi nyingi (infinitive kula chumvi nyingi)

  1. (idiomatic) to live a long life

Conjugation

Conjugation of -la chumvi nyingi: see -la.

References

  • Luffin, Xavier (September 2002) “Language Taboos In Kinubi: A Comparison With Sudanese And Swahili Cultures”, in Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell'Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente[1], volume 57, number 3, page 361 of 356-367:Another interesting expression underlines the link between salt and life: fulani amekula chumvi nyingi, literally "someone who ate a lot of salt", means that a person had a long life (Johnson, 1939, p. 65).