Kuaga marafiki wetu ni jambo gumu, lakini tutarudi kuwatazama hivi karibuni.

Saying goodbye to our friends is difficult, but we will come back to see them soon.

Breakdown of Kuaga marafiki wetu ni jambo gumu, lakini tutarudi kuwatazama hivi karibuni.

• ni: to be
• rafiki: the friend
• lakini: but
• kuaga: to say goodbye
• kurudi: to come back

Questions & Answers about Kuaga marafiki wetu ni jambo gumu, lakini tutarudi kuwatazama hivi karibuni.

What does kuaga mean in this sentence, and why does it appear in the infinitive form?

Kuaga means "to say goodbye" or "to bid farewell." In Swahili, when an entire verbal phrase functions as the subject of a sentence, it is common to use the infinitive form. Thus, kuaga marafiki wetu translates to "saying goodbye to our friends."

How is the future tense expressed in tutarudi?

Tutarudi is formed by combining the subject prefix tu- (meaning "we"), the future tense marker -ta-, and the verb root rudi (meaning "return"). This structure illustrates the standard way of forming the future tense in Swahili, so it means "we will return."

What is the structure of the word kuwatazama?

The word kuwatazama can be broken down as follows:

• ku-: the infinitive marker.
• wa-: the object marker referring to "them" (i.e., our friends).
• tazama: the verb meaning "to see" or "to look at." Together, these parts form the phrase "to see them."

Why is the possessive wetu placed after marafiki?

In Swahili, possessive adjectives or markers like wetu (meaning "our") typically follow the noun they modify. Here, marafiki means "friends"; when combined as marafiki wetu, it naturally translates to "our friends."

What does the phrase jambo gumu mean, and how does it function in the sentence?

Jambo translates as "thing" or "matter," and gumu means "difficult" or "hard." Together, jambo gumu conveys the idea of "a difficult thing" or more contextually "is hard," serving as a complement in the sentence to emphasize that saying goodbye is challenging.

What role does lakini play in this sentence?

Lakini is the Swahili conjunction for "but." It is used to introduce a contrasting idea—in this case, contrasting the difficulty of saying goodbye with the promise of returning to see the friends soon.

What does hivi karibuni indicate about the timing of the action?

Hivi karibuni is an adverbial phrase that means "very soon" or "shortly." It emphasizes that the return mentioned in the sentence is expected to happen in the near future.