Learn Hardcore Swahili: Tulipima umbali kutoka nyumbani hadi bandari, ni kilomita tano tu. - We measured the distance from home to the port; it is only five kilometres.

Umbali is the standard Swahili noun for “distance.” It belongs to noun class 3/4 (m-/mi-), but here it’s treated as an invariant borrowing, so you simply say umbali, not mumbali or miumbali.

Why do we say kutoka nyumbani hadi bandari for “from home to the port”?

kutoka = “from” (infinitive form of toka)
nyumbani = “home” with the locative suffix -ni (nyumba + -ni)
hadi = “until/to”
bandari = “port”

So kutoka nyumbani hadi bandari literally is “from home until port.”

What’s the difference between nyumba and nyumbani?

nyumba = “house” (the noun)
nyumbani = “at/to/in the house/home” (noun + locative suffix -ni)
In combination with kutoka, nyumbani means “from home.”

Why is the verb tulipima used before umbali instead of after?

Swahili word order is typically Subject–Verb–Object. Here:
Subject implied in tulipima (we) – Verb tulipima – Object umbali.

Why is it ni kilomita tano tu and what does each part do?

Ni kilomita tano tu means “it’s only five kilometers.”

ni = copula “it is/are”
kilomita = “kilometers” (measure word)
tano = “five”
tu = “only/just” (emphasis on smallness)

Can kilomita change form in plural, like adding -ma or -i?

No. With borrowed measure words like kilomita, Swahili keeps them invariant. You say kilomita moja, kilomita mbili, kilomita tano, etc., without a separate plural form.

What nuance does tu at the end add that’s different from sana or ndio?

tu = “only/just” (limits the quantity)
sana = “very” (intensifies quality)
ndio = “yes/indeed” (agreement)
Here tu stresses that five kilometers is a small or sole amount.

Could I replace ni with something else, like inakuwa or imekuwa?

Not in this simple locational statement.

ni is the standard copula for equational sentences (“it is ...”).
inakuwa would mean “it becomes” or “it is usually,” and imekuwa means “it has been.” Neither fits “it is five kilometers.”