Rukiga-Runyankore
“Only” & “Alone” in Rukiga
Learners of Rukiga in their early days should learn how to describe the state of being alone or of being the only one of something. This is accomplished through the noun stem “-nka” and constructed according to the noun class prefix. The table below notes the various constructions based on noun classes. It is important to note that in the mu-ba class is irregular in the sense that there are actually six possibilities based on the subject of the adjective.
First, the Mu-Ba class:
| Noun Class | Only/Alone Singular | Only/Alone Plural |
| Mu-Ba | Nyenka (I am alone) | Twenka (we are alone) |
| Wenka (you are alone) | Mwenka (you all are alone) | |
| Wenka (s/he is alone) | Bonka (they are alone) |
Next the other noun classes:
| Noun Class | Only/Alone Singular | Only/Alone Plural |
| Bu-Ma | Bwonka | Gonka |
| Ki-Bi | Kyonka | Byonka |
| Ri-Ma | Ryonka | Gonka |
| Ru-N | Rwonka | Zonka |
| Ka-Bu | Konka | Bwonka |
| N-N | Yonka | Zonka |
| Mu-Mi | Gwonka | Yonka |
| Ku-Ma | Kwonka | Gonka |
Regarding grammatical construction, it is important to remember that the “-nka” words come after the noun they are modifying. For example, “omuti gwonka“, or the “only tree”, is the correct way to say and write phrases using only or alone.
Let us practice!
