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Mimi ninasafisha choo kila siku.

Mimi ninasafisha choo kila siku.
I clean the toilet every day.
FromLesson 22inHardcore Swahili
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Breakdown of Mimi ninasafisha choo kila siku.

mimi
I
kila
every
siku
the day
kusafisha
to clean
choo
the toilet
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Questions & Answers about Mimi ninasafisha choo kila siku.

What does Mimi mean, and do I always have to include it?

Mimi is the first-person singular pronoun (“I”). Swahili verbs already carry subject information in their prefixes (in this case ni- for “I”), so you can omit Mimi unless you want to add emphasis or clarify who you’re talking about.
Example without pronoun:
• Ninasafisha choo kila siku. (“I clean the toilet every day.”)

What are the parts of ninasafisha, and what does each part do?

ninasafisha breaks down into three pieces:

  1. ni-: subject prefix for “I” (first person singular)
  2. -na-: tense/aspect marker for present (habitual or continuous)
  3. safisha: verb root meaning “clean (something)” (this is the causative form of safi “clean/neat,” i.e. “make clean”)
    Put together, ni- + na- + safisha = “I (am) clean(ing).”
Is ninasafisha a simple present tense or a present continuous?
In Swahili, -na- covers both present habitual (“I clean every day”) and present continuous (“I am cleaning now”). Context or time words (like kila siku “every day”) tell you which meaning you intend.
What does choo mean?
choo is a noun meaning toilet or bathroom. It’s in noun class 7/8 and normally has no article in Swahili.
How does kila siku work, and where does it go in the sentence?

• kila = “each” or “every”
• siku = “day”
Together kila siku means “every day.”
Word-order note: time expressions often go at the end, but they can also appear at the beginning for emphasis:
• Ninasafisha choo kila siku. (neutral)
• Kila siku ninasafisha choo. (stresses “every day”)

How would I say “I cleaned the toilet yesterday”?

Swap the present marker -na- for the past marker -li-, and add the word for “yesterday” (jana):
• Mimi nilisafisha choo jana.
or simply
• Nilisafisha choo jana.

How do I turn Mimi ninasafisha choo kila siku into a question (“Do I clean the toilet every day?”)?

There are two simple ways:

  1. Add Je, at the front (a question particle):
    • Je, ninasafisha choo kila siku?
  2. Just raise your intonation as in English:
    • Ninasafisha choo kila siku?
How can I replace choo with a pronoun so I can say “I clean it every day”?

Use the object-prefix ki- (class 7/8) in the verb and drop the noun:
• Ninasafishaki kila siku.
Here ni-na-safisha-ki = “I clean it,” and kila siku = “every day.”