| This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Nurse and Hinnebusch (1993), p657: The entry involving -chafu 'dirty' is a case of an item of unclear or unknown source. It might be relatable to *-tak-at-a 'be clean' as a form of reversive. But the phonological objection is clear: all Sabaki dialects have /c/ in this word, which could only conceivably be explained as a Tikuu/Pate/Siu form, borrowed across Sabaki after *t > which is itself relatively recent.” |
-chafu (declinable)
| Noun class | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| m-wa class(I/II) | mchafu | wachafu |
| m-mi class(III/IV) | mchafu | michafu |
| ji-ma class(V/VI) | chafu | machafu |
| ki-vi class(VII/VIII) | kichafu | vichafu |
| n class(IX/X) | chafu | chafu |
| u class(XI) | mchafu | see n(X) or ma(VI) class |
| pa class(XVI) | pachafu | |
| ku class(XVII) | kuchafu | |
| mu class(XVIII) | mchafu |
