riũa

Kikuyu

Alternative forms

• riua

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *ìjʊ́bà.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɾiòáꜜ/

As for Tonal Class, Armstrong (1940) classifies this term into mbori class which includes mbũri, ikinya (pl. makinya), itimũ, kĩhaato, maguta, mbembe, mũgeka, mũrata, nyaga, ũhoro, riitho, rũrĩmĩ, Kamau (“man's name”), etc.^[1] Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 3. Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including bũrũri (pl. mabũrũri), ikara, ikinya, itimũ, kanitha (pl. makanitha), kiugo, kĩhaato, maguta, mũgeka, mũkonyo, mũrata, mwana, mbembe, mbũri, nyaga, riitho, rũrĩmĩ (pl. nĩmĩ), ũhoro (pl. mohoro), and so on.^[2]

Noun

riũa class 5 (plural mariũa)

1. sun

   riũa rĩkĩratha ― at sunrise

   riũa rĩgĩthũa ― at sunset

Derived terms

(Proverbs)

• mũndũ ũrĩ na ũndũ otaga mwaki na riũa
• riũa rĩtietagĩrĩra mũgendi
• riũa rĩtietagĩrĩra mũthamaki

References

1. Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).
2. Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.

• “riũa” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.