English Translation
Are you married?
“Je, umeolewa?” is a Swahili phrase that translates to “Are you married?” when addressing a female. Here’s a breakdown of the grammar in this phrase:
"Je" is a particle commonly used in Swahili to denote a question. It is often used at the beginning of a question to signal that a question is being asked.
"Umeolewa" is a verb in the present perfect tense. Swahili verbs are often composed of a subject prefix attached to the verb stem, which may also include tense and object infixes. Here is the breakdown of "umeolewa":
"U" is the subject prefix that indicates the subject of the verb is the second person singular, implying "you" in English.
"me" is a tense infix that denotes the present perfect tense, which in this case can be understood as "have/has" in English.
"olewa" is the verb root which means "to be married" or "to get married." It is the passive form of the verb "oa," which means "to marry."
So putting it together, “umeolewa” directly translates to “you have been married” as in the action happened at some indeterminate time in the past and is still in effect now. The passive form of the verb suggests that the marriage happened to you, rather than you actively marrying someone (as would be suggested by “umeoa” for addressing a male).
Swahili does not have gender-specific pronouns like English, so the verb has to reflect the gender. However, “umeolewa” does not show gender by itself. One would infer the female aspect from the context or previous conversation. If asking a man if he is married, you would rather use “Je, umeoa?” using the active rather than the passive form of the verb.
In a usual conversational setting, the question tag “je” can sometimes be omitted, and one could simply ask “Umeolewa?” The inflection in your voice would make it clear that you’re asking a question.