Mojawapo ya sifa za lugha kubwa zote duniani ni "kukopa" msamiati wake kutoka lugha zingine! sio kiswahili tu, hata Kiingereza pia kimekopa msamiati kutoka sehemu ama lugha mbali mbali, tena upo uwezekano Kiingereza kimekopa sana kuliko Kiswahili chetu! Bado mkopo wa msamiati si kigezo cha kuinyima lugha tajwa "asili" yake!
Angalia mifano hii ya Kiingereza jinsi kilivojaa msamiati wa mkopo:
Scandinavian
anger, blight, by-law, cake, call, clumsy, doze, egg, fellow, gear, get, give, hale, hit, husband, kick, kill, kilt, kindle, law, low, lump, rag, raise, root, scathe, scorch, score, scowl, scrape, scrub, seat, skill, skin, skirt, sky, sly, take, they, them, their, thrall, thrust, ugly, want, window, wing
- Place name suffixes: -by, -thorpe, -gate
French
- Law and government-attorney, bailiff, chancellor, chattel, country, court, crime, defendent, evidence, government, jail, judge, jury, larceny, noble, parliament, plaintiff, plea, prison, revenue, state, tax, verdict
- Church-abbot, chaplain, chapter, clergy, friar, prayer, preach, priest, religion, sacrament, saint, sermon
- Nobility-baron, baroness; count, countess; duke, duchess; marquis, marquess; prince, princess; viscount, viscountess; noble, royal (contrast native words: king, queen, earl, lord, lady, knight, kingly, queenly)
- Military-army, artillery, battle, captain, company, corporal, defense,enemy,marine, navy, sergeant, soldier, volunteer
- Cooking-beef, boil, broil, butcher, dine, fry, mutton, pork, poultry, roast, salmon, stew, veal
- Culture and luxury goods-art, bracelet, claret, clarinet, dance, diamond, fashion, fur, jewel, oboe, painting, pendant, satin, ruby, sculpture
- Other-adventure, change, charge, chart, courage, devout, dignity, enamor, feign, fruit, letter, literature, magic, male, female, mirror, pilgrimage, proud, question, regard, special
Latin
- agile, abdomen, anatomy, area, capsule, compensate, dexterity, discus, disc/disk, excavate, expensive, fictitious, gradual, habitual, insane, janitor, meditate, notorious, orbit, peninsula, physician, superintendent, ultimate, vindicate
Greek
- anonymous, atmosphere, autograph, catastrophe, climax, comedy, critic, data, ectasy, history, ostracize, parasite, pneumonia, skeleton, tonic, tragedy
- Greek bound morphemes: -ism, -ize
Arabic
- via Spanish-alcove, algebra, zenith, algorithm, almanac, azimuth, alchemy, admiral
- via other Romance languages-amber, cipher, orange, saffron, sugar, zero, coffee
French
High culture-ballet, bouillabaise, cabernet, cachet, chaise longue, champagne, chic, cognac, corsage, faux pas, nom de plume, quiche, rouge, roulet, sachet, salon, saloon, sang froid, savoir faire
- War and Military-bastion, brigade, battalion, cavalry, grenade, infantry, pallisade, rebuff, bayonet
- Other-bigot, chassis, clique, denim, garage, grotesque, jean(s), niche, shock
- French Canadian-chowder
- Louisiana French (Cajun)-jambalaya
Spanish
- armada, adobe, alligator, alpaca, armadillo, barricade, bravado, cannibal, canyon, coyote, desperado, embargo, enchilada, guitar, marijuana, mesa, mosquito, mustang, ranch, taco, tornado, tortilla, vigilante
Italian
- alto, arsenal, balcony, broccoli, cameo, casino, cupola, duo, fresco, fugue, gazette (via French), ghetto, gondola, grotto, macaroni, madrigal, motto, piano, opera, pantaloons, prima donna, regatta, sequin, soprano, opera, stanza, stucco, studio, tempo, torso, umbrella, viola, violin
- from Italian American immigrants-cappuccino, espresso, linguini, mafioso, pasta, pizza, ravioli, spaghetti, spumante, zabaglione, zucchini
Dutch
- Shipping, naval terms-avast, boom, bow, bowsprit, buoy, commodore, cruise, dock, freight, keel, keelhaul, leak, pump, reef, scoop, scour, skipper, sloop, smuggle, splice, tackle, yawl, yacht
- Cloth industry-bale, cambric, duck (fabric), fuller's earth, mart, nap (of cloth), selvage, spool, stripe
- Art-easel, etching, landscape, sketch
- War-beleaguer, holster, freebooter, furlough, onslaught
- Food and drink-booze, brandy(wine), coleslaw, cookie, cranberry, crullers, gin, hops, stockfish, waffle
- Other-bugger (orig. French), ----, curl, dollar, scum, split (orig. nautical term), uproar
German
- bum, dunk, feldspar, quartz, hex, lager, knackwurst, liverwurst, loafer, noodle, poodle, dachshund, pretzel, pinochle, pumpernickel, sauerkraut, schnitzel, zwieback, (beer)stein, lederhosen, dirndl
- 20th century German loanwords-blitzkrieg, zeppelin, strafe, U-boat, delicatessen, hamburger, frankfurter, wiener, hausfrau, kindergarten, Oktoberfest, schuss, wunderkind, bundt (cake), spritz (cookies), (apple) strudel
Russian
- apparatchik, borscht, czar/tsar, glasnost, icon, perestroika, vodka
Sanskrit
- avatar, karma, mahatma, swastika, yoga
Hindi
- bandanna, bangle, bungalow, chintz, cot, cummerbund, dungaree, juggernaut, jungle, loot, maharaja, nabob, pajamas, punch (the drink), shampoo, thug, kedgeree, jamboree
Dravidian
- curry, mango, teak, pariah
Persian (Farsi)
Arabic
- bedouin, emir, jakir, gazelle, giraffe, harem, hashish, lute, minaret, mosque, myrrh, salaam, sirocco, sultan, vizier, bazaar, caravan
African languages
- banana (via Portuguese), banjo, boogie-woogie, chigger, goober, gorilla, gumbo, jazz, jitterbug, jitters, juke(box), voodoo, yam, zebra, zombie
American Indian languages
- avocado, cacao, cannibal, canoe, chipmunk, chocolate, chili, hammock, hominy, hurricane, maize, moccasin, moose, papoose, pecan, possum, potato, skunk, squaw, succotash, squash, tamale (via Spanish), teepee, terrapin, tobacco, toboggan, tomahawk, tomato, wigwam, woodchuck
- (plus thousands of place names, including Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatchewan and the names of more than half the
states of the U.S., including Michigan, Texas, Nebraska, Illinois)
Chinese
- chop suey, chow mein, dim sum, ketchup, tea, ginseng, kowtow, litchee
Japanese
- geisha, hara kiri, judo, jujitsu, kamikaze, karaoke, kimono, samurai, soy, sumo, sushi, tsunami
Pacific Islands
- bamboo, gingham, rattan, taboo, tattoo, ukulele, boondocks
Australia
- boomerang, budgerigar, didgeridoo, kangaroo