Fungu la tatu Lakini But ‘

Abstract Word stress in Swahili is on the penultimate (next to last) syllable. (There are a very few exceptions to this rule, consisting of some loan words.) The rule holds even where words are extended, e.g. asante has stress on sa, asanteni has stress on te. Similarly pole (on po], poleni (on te); kwaheri (on he), kwaherini(on ri).