Likizo itaanza wiki ijayo.

The vacation will start next week.

Breakdown of Likizo itaanza wiki ijayo.

• kuanza: to start
• wiki: the week
• ijayo: next
• likizo: the vacation

Questions & Answers about Likizo itaanza wiki ijayo.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” before Likizo?

Swahili does not use definite or indefinite articles. A bare noun like likizo can mean “a vacation,” “the vacation,” or just “vacation” depending on context. If you really need to specify “this vacation” or “that vacation,” you add a demonstrative:

• Likizo hii – “this vacation”
• Likizo hiyo – “that vacation”

What does itaanza mean, and how is it built?

itaanza is the 3rd-person-singular future form of -anza (“to start”). It breaks down as:
• i- — subject prefix for class 5 nouns (like likizo)
• -ta- — future-tense marker (“will”)
• -anza — verb root “start”
Put together: i + ta + anza = itaanza (“it will start”).

Why is the subject prefix i- on itaanza instead of li-, matching likizo?

Class 5 nouns (like likizo) normally take a li- subject prefix. However, when the noun itself begins with li-, Swahili drops the duplicate l to avoid li-li—. So li-ta-anza becomes i-ta-anza. This is a regular phonological adjustment.

What are the pieces of wiki ijayo, and how do they mean “next week”?

• wiki “week” (borrowed from English, class 9)
• ijayo “that which is coming”
  • i- — relative/adjectival prefix for class 9
  • ja — root “come” (in the sense of “next”)
  • -yo — relative ending
  Together wiki ijayo literally means “the week that is coming,” i.e. “next week.”

Why do we say ujao in mwaka ujao (“next year”) instead of ijayo?

You must match the relative/adjectival prefix to the noun’s class:

• mwaka (“year”) is class 3, whose relative prefix is u- → u + ja + -o = ujao
• mwezi (“month”) is also class 3 → mwezi ujao (“next month”)
• siku (“day”) is class 9 → siku ijayo (“next day”)

How would I say “next month,” “next day,” or “next Monday” in Swahili?

Just replace wiki with the target noun and use the correct class prefix on ja-o:
• “next month” → mwezi ujao (class 3)
• “next day” → siku ijayo (class 9)
• “next Monday” → Jumatatu ijayo (treating Jumatatu as class 9)

Can I move wiki ijayo to the front of the sentence? What’s the normal word order?

Yes. Swahili is basically S-V-O, but time or place phrases can come first for emphasis. So both are fine:
• Likizo itaanza wiki ijayo. (Subject–Verb–Time)
• Wiki ijayo likizo itaanza. (Time–Subject–Verb)