Mimi navaa shati hili jioni.

I am wearing this shirt in the evening.

Breakdown of Mimi navaa shati hili jioni.

• mimi: I
• katika: in
• jioni: the evening
• shati: the shirt
• kuvaa: to wear
• hili: this

Questions & Answers about Mimi navaa shati hili jioni.

Why does the sentence use navaa instead of something like nimevaa?

In Swahili, navaa indicates a continuous or habitual action (similar to I wear / I am wearing). Meanwhile, nimevaa indicates a state of having already put on clothes (like I have worn or I am currently wearing in the sense of completion). For I will wear, you use nitavaa.

Why is it shati hili and not shati hii?

The word shati belongs to the Noun Class 5/6 in Swahili. For a singular noun in this class, the demonstrative is formed with li, hence hili. For plural, you would see haya as in mashati haya (these shirts).

What is the function of jioni here?

Jioni means in the evening. It specifies the time when the action (wearing the shirt) occurs. You can think of it as saying I am wearing this shirt in the evening in English.

Does Mimi have to stay at the beginning of the sentence?

Not necessarily. You can say Navaa shati hili jioni without Mimi, since navaa already indicates first-person singular. However, including Mimi emphasizes the subject or clarifies it if needed.

How can I say I will wear this shirt in the evening instead?

You would change navaa to the future tense: Nitavaa shati hili jioni. The rest of the sentence would stay the same.