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  5. "Moto ulikula msitu wote"

"Moto ulikula msitu wote"

Translation:The fire swallowed the entire forest

July 12, 2018



What does this idiom mean?


It could mean that one small action had big results. In English it could be 'drops make oceans'.


It's not an idiom. It's personification. The fire can't really swallow like a person.


A more literal translation would be "ate." Swallow = meza But in English, we might say a fire swallowed or consumed something, but we probably wouldn't say ate.


Agreed. "The fire consumed the entire forest" is probably more common than "the fire swallowed the whole forest", although both sound OK to me.

Edit: If you wanted to avoid "personification", e.g., in a news report, you could use the word -teketeza . Moto uliteketeza msitu wote. TUKI Swa-Eng: teketeza [verb] destroy, burn, ravage.

EDIT: I have reported several times that "consumed" should be accepted here, but so far no response. (13 Sep 2019)


"Consumed" should be allowed.

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