How to say crush in Swahili

Brennon Nakisha

February 20, 2024

Crush definition in English

Crush has two main meanings in English:

1. compress or squeeze forcefully so as to break, damage, or distort in shape.

2. a brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable. (love)

The translation of crush in Swahili depends on the above given definitions:

Crush as compress or squeeze is translated as ponda or funda.

Crush as love is translated as: kuvutiwa, kupenda, kukuwa na hisia, n.k.

Wanaziponda mazeituni kwa shinikizo kubwa la mbao. (They crush the olives with a heavy wooden press.)
Ninavutiwa na wewe. (I have a crush on you.)
Nadhani anakupenda. (I think he has a crush on you.)
Nitafundia machungwa ili upate juisi. (I’ll crush the juice out of oranges for you.)
Vinny amekuwa akimpenda Lucy tangu zamani. (Vinny has always had a crush on Lucy.)
Kinu cha upepo hutumiwa kuponda nafaka kuwa unga. (A windmill is used to crush grain into flour.)
Usifunde sanduku hii; kuna maua ndani. (Don’t crush this box; there are flowers inside.)
Alikuwa na hisia kali kwa mmoja wa walimu wake. (She had a huge crush on one of her teachers.)
Inachukua muda mfupi tu kupenda mtu. (It takes a minute to have a crush on someone.)
Tumia chokaa na kinu kuponda viungo. (Use a pestle and mortar to crush the spices.)
Alikuwa na hisia kwako, unajua. (She had a crush on you, you know.)
Baadhi ya vifaa vya kutengeneza havibonyeki kwa urahisi. (Some synthetic materials do not crush easily.)
Ni hisia za kawaida katika shule tu. (It’s just a schoolgirl crush.)
Nilikuwa na hisia kali kwake. (I had a huge crush on her.)
Nyundo kubwa huponda mawe. (Huge hammers crush the rocks.)
Alikuwa na hisia kali kwa mwalimu wake wa Jiografia. (She had a huge crush on her geography teacher.)
Ponda karafuu mbili za vitunguu. (Crush two cloves of garlic.)
Mashine hii imetengenezwa ili kuponda mawe kuwa unga. (This machine is made to crush the rock into powder.)