Part-Whole Relation
Partitive
Genitive
Meronymy
What is it part of?
extended
intermediate
Relations
Maana
A relation where one thing is a part, member, ingredient, section, surface, feature, or component of another.
Jinsi ya kuitambua
Ask whether one entity belongs structurally inside another.
Mifano
Maneno
roof|hand|page|piece|member
Virai
the roof of the house|a piece of cake|part of the team
Sentensi
The roof of the house is red.
Visual guide
Basic shape
WHOLE └─ PART / member house └─ roof team └─ member Ask: part of what?
Compare shape
Same relation, different forms: English: roof of the house Genitive: house-GEN roof Compound: house-roof Partitive: piece of cake Not just ownership.
Mtazamo wa lugha
Katika lugha yako
Vietnamese (standard)
Uwepo
strong
Umuhimu
Part-whole relations are often simple noun sequences, sometimes with của for clarity or emphasis.
Mái nhà bị hỏng.
roof house passive broken
Katika lugha unayojifunza
Arabic (Modern Standard)
Uwepo
strong
Ugumu
Part-whole relations often use iḍāfa, similar in form to possession.
بابُ البيتِ مفتوح.
The door of the house is open.
Changamoto ya kawaida kwa wanaojifunza
Learners may translate every “of” with من instead of using iḍāfa.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.