Kuwasiliana

Kuwasiliana is a Swahili verb meaning to communicate, to be in contact, or to correspond with another person. It is a reciprocal verb, indicating mutual action between two or more people, and it is typically used with the preposition na to specify the other party (for example, ninawasiliana na rafiki yangu, I am in touch with my friend). The infinitive form kuwasiliana is used when speaking generally about the act of communicating or when combining with auxiliary verbs.

The related noun mawasiliano refers to communications, contact, or channels, and is used to describe the act of communicating as a concept rather than the act itself. The verb alters with subject and tense in a way similar to other Swahili verbs: ninawasiliana, tunawasiliana, wanawasiliana, etc., to indicate who is communicating and when.

Common uses include giving or asking to establish contact ("Wasiliana nami" – contact me), describing ongoing contact ("Tunawasiliana kila siku" – we keep in touch every day), and discussions of communications in formal contexts such as business, journalism, or diplomacy.

Kuwasiliana encompasses traditional face-to-face conversations as well as digital messaging and social media. It is widely used across Swahili-speaking communities and remains a core concept in studies of Swahili language and culture.