Breakdown of Mimi ninataka kuhamia mjini wiki ijayo.
Questions & Answers about Mimi ninataka kuhamia mjini wiki ijayo.
In Swahili the subject is usually marked on the verb itself (here, ni- in ninataka marks “I”), so Mimi (“I”) isn’t strictly required. It’s added for emphasis or clarity. Without it,
Ninataka kuhamia mjini wiki ijayo
still means “I want to move to the city next week.”
Break ninataka into:
- ni-: subject prefix for mimi (I)
- -na-: present tense marker
- taka: verb stem “want/need”
Altogether ninataka = “I want.”
(“We want” would be tunataka, etc.)
- ku- is the infinitive marker (like “to” in English).
- hamia is the verb root meaning “move to.”
- hama (without -ia) means “to leave/emigrate.”
So kuhamia = “to move to [somewhere].”
Without ku-, you don’t have the proper infinitive after ninataka.
- kuhama (intransitive): “to leave” or “to migrate away.”
- kuhamia (intransitive + locative sense): “to move to” somewhere.
- kuhamisha (transitive): “to cause/make someone move”
(e.g., Ninahamisha familia yangu = “I’m relocating my family.”)
Swahili uses the locative suffix -ni to show “in” or “to” a place.
- mji = “town/city”
- mji
- -ni → mjini = “in/to the city.”
Thus kuhamia mjini = “to move to the city.”
- -ni → mjini = “in/to the city.”
- wiki = “week.” Time nouns often stay singular in Swahili.
- ijayo = “next,” and it must agree with the noun class of wiki (class 9).
So wiki ijayo literally = “week next,” i.e. “next week.”
No. ninataka is present tense (“I want”). The phrase wiki ijayo (“next week”) indicates the action will happen in the future.
If you wanted to say “I will move to the city next week,” use the future marker -ta-:
Nitahamia mjini wiki ijayo.
(an alternative root, hamia, stays the same)
Replace ninataka (“I want”) with nahitaji (“I need”):
Nahitaji kuhamia mjini wiki ijayo.
Here ni- = I, -na- = present, hitaji = need.