Log inSign up

Mvua itaanza kunyesha jioni.

Mvua itaanza kunyesha jioni.
The rain will start falling in the evening.
FromLesson 3inHardcore Swahili
…

Breakdown of Mvua itaanza kunyesha jioni.

katika
in
jioni
the evening
mvua
the rain
kuanza
to start
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Swahili grammar?”
Swahili grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Swahili

Master Swahili — from Mvua itaanza kunyesha jioni to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Swahili freeBrowse the full course

More from this lesson

kutembeamchanaMimi nitatembea katikati ya mji kesho mchana.juakuwakasanaWewe unapenda chai sana.lakini

Questions & Answers about Mvua itaanza kunyesha jioni.

Why does the sentence use itaanza instead of inaanza?
In Swahili, -ta- is the marker for the future tense. The verb itaanza comes from kuanza (to begin) and literally means it will begin. Therefore, itaanza tells us that this action (the rain beginning) will happen sometime later, not right now.
What does kunyesha mean here?
Kunyesha is the verb for to rain or to pour rain. When combined with mvua, it emphasizes the action of rain falling. So itaanza kunyesha translates to it will begin to rain.
Is jioni specifically evening, or can it mean night as well?
Jioni generally refers to the early part of the evening, roughly from late afternoon to just after sunset. For nighttime (later hours), Swahili speakers often use usiku.
Could we say Mvua itaanza jioni without kunyesha?
You could say Mvua itaanza jioni, and it would still be understood as The rain will start in the evening, though it’s more common and clear to specify kunyesha to indicate rainfall explicitly.
How do you form other future-tense sentences in Swahili?
To form the future tense, you typically take the subject prefix (like i- for an N-class noun like mvua) + -ta- + the verb’s basic form. For example, Nitakula means I will eat, and Tutakutana means We will meet.