kutoa

Kutoa is a Swahili verb whose core meanings include to give out, to remove, and to take out. It is used for distributing goods, issuing documents, or releasing something from a container. In broader use, it can also mean to provide, to grant, or to publish something, such as aid, information, or a statement. As a verbal noun, the form kutoa can refer to the act of giving or distributing.

In usage, kutoa is transitive and often requires an object (what is given) and, depending on context, a recipient or destination. Examples include ninatoa chakula kwa watoto (I provide/are providing food for the children) and alitoa taarifa kwa waandishi (he issued a statement to the journalists). The verb can also describe removing or extracting something, for instance nilitoa kitabu kutoka mfukoni (I took a book out of my pocket). In formal or organizational contexts, kutoa appears in phrases such as kutoa msaada (to provide aid) or kutoa taarifa (to issue a report).

Kutoa also appears in idiomatic or set phrases that broaden its sense, including kutoa maoni (to give opinions) and kutoa huduma (to provide services). The noun form, also written as kutoa, denotes the act itself—for example, kutoa msaada or kutoa taarifa—emphasizing the action more than the result.

Related terms and usage notes: the verb toa is related and often used in places with near-opposite meanings (to give, to present). Kutoa is common in everyday speech as well as in formal writing, government communications, and NGO reporting.