kiboko

How to say it

Meaning

A large, heavy animal with thick skin that lives in rivers and lakes and comes out to graze at night. The same word is also a cane or whip used for beating, originally made of hippo hide.

Good to know

For the animal it is ki/vi class with m/wa agreement: kiboko huyu, viboko wengi. For the cane the plural viboko also means strokes: viboko sita, six strokes. In slang, kiboko ya means the one who beats all others.

Examples

• Viboko wengi wanaishi katika mto huu.Many hippos live in this river.
• Kiboko alitoka majini usiku kutafuta majani.The hippo came out of the water at night to look for grass.
• Zamani wanafunzi walichapwa viboko shuleni.In the past students were beaten with a cane at school.

The same word in