kidato

How to say it

Meaning

a notch cut into a tree trunk, or a rung of a ladder, used as a foothold for climbing.

Good to know

also extended in modern usage to mean a grade level in secondary school, as in kidato cha kwanza, form one.

Examples

• Alichonga vidato kwenye mnazi ili apande kwa urahisi.He carved notches into the coconut tree so he could climb easily.
• Kidato cha ngazi hii kimevunjika.The rung of this ladder is broken.
• Hatukupanda mti kwa sababu vidato havikutosha.We did not climb the tree because there weren't enough footholds.
• Mvunaji hupanda mnazi kwa kutumia vidato tu.The harvester climbs the coconut tree using only the notches.