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Nitaalika marafiki kesho jioni.

Nitaalika marafiki kesho jioni.
I will invite friends tomorrow evening.

Breakdown of Nitaalika marafiki kesho jioni.

mimi
I
rafiki
the friend
kualika
to invite
kesho jioni
tomorrow evening
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Questions & Answers about Nitaalika marafiki kesho jioni.

How do I break down Nitaalika grammatically?

Nitaalika is one verb word made of several parts:

  • ni- = I (subject prefix)
  • -ta- = future marker (will)
  • -alik- = verb root meaning invite
  • -a = final vowel (common in Swahili verbs)

So: ni + ta + alika → nitaalika = I will invite.

Why does Nitaalika have -taa- (two vowels)? Is that a typo?

It’s not a typo. It comes from combining:

  • -ta- (future) + alika (verb starting with a-)

When -ta- meets a-, you get taa:
ni-ta-alika → nitaalika.
In writing, Swahili keeps both vowels, and in speech it’s often pronounced like a slightly longer a sound.

Why is marafiki used here? What’s the singular?

marafiki means friends (plural). The singular is rafiki = friend.
This word is irregular compared to the common person pair mtu / watu:

  • rafiki (singular)
  • marafiki (plural)

Even though marafiki begins with ma-, it can still refer to people; it’s just the way this particular noun forms its plural.

Do I need to add the or some before marafiki?

No—Swahili doesn’t have articles like the / a / some.
Nitaalika marafiki can mean:

  • I’ll invite friends
  • I’ll invite some friends
  • I’ll invite the friends

The exact sense depends on context. If you want to be more specific, you can add things like:

  • marafiki wangu = my friends
  • marafiki hao = those friends
  • marafiki wote = all friends / all my friends (depending on context)
Why isn’t there an object pronoun inside the verb (like “invite them”)?

Because the object is already stated: marafiki. So the verb doesn’t need an object marker.

If you don’t say marafiki, and you want invite them, you would use an object marker:

  • Nitawaalika = I will invite them
    Here wa- is the object marker for them (people), and you again get -ta- + -a- → -taa-: ni-ta-wa-alika → nitawaalika.
Is kesho jioni the normal way to say “tomorrow evening”? Can I change the word order?

Yes, kesho jioni is a very natural way to say tomorrow evening.

Word order is flexible. You can place the time expression elsewhere for emphasis:

  • Kesho jioni nitaalika marafiki. = Tomorrow evening, I’ll invite friends.
  • Nitaalika marafiki kesho jioni. = neutral/common order
What’s the difference between jioni, usiku, and leo in time expressions?
  • jioni = evening (late afternoon into early night)
  • usiku = night (later, nighttime)
  • leo = today So:
  • leo jioni = this evening / tonight (early)
  • kesho jioni = tomorrow evening
  • kesho usiku = tomorrow night (more clearly “night”)
How would I say “I invited friends yesterday evening” or “I am inviting friends tomorrow evening”?

You mainly swap the tense/aspect marker:

  • Nili(alika) marafiki jana jioni. = I invited friends yesterday evening.
    (Commonly written/spoken as Niliwaalika marafiki... if you treat marafiki as the object and also use the object marker; both patterns occur, but with the noun present the object marker is often omitted.)
  • Ninaalika marafiki kesho jioni. = I am inviting friends tomorrow evening. (present/ongoing or planned, depending on context)
  • Nitaalika marafiki kesho jioni. = I will invite friends tomorrow evening. (simple future)
How is this sentence pronounced and where is the stress?

Swahili is pronounced fairly “as written,” with each vowel sounded:

  • Ni-ta-a-li-ka ma-ra-fi-ki ke-sho jo-ni

Stress in Swahili typically falls on the second-to-last syllable of a word:

  • ni-ta-a-LI-ka
  • ma-ra-FI-ki
  • KE-sho
  • jo-NI