Mimi ninapiga piano nyumbani.

I play the piano at home.

Breakdown of Mimi ninapiga piano nyumbani.

• mimi: I
• nyumba: the home
• kwenye: at
• kupiga: to play
• piano: the piano

Questions & Answers about Mimi ninapiga piano nyumbani.

Why does this sentence start with Mimi? Is it necessary to include it?

In Swahili the verb conjugation ni- in ninapiga already indicates “I” as the subject. The free pronoun Mimi is optional and is used for emphasis or contrast. So you can say Mimi ninapiga piano nyumbani if you want to stress “I play…,” but just Ninapiga piano nyumbani also means “I play the piano at home.”

What do the prefixes ni- and -na- in ninapiga mean?

Swahili verbs are built from three main parts: a subject marker, a tense/aspect marker, and the verb stem. In ninapiga:
• ni- is the 1st person singular subject marker (“I”)
• -na- is the present tense/aspect marker (simple present/present continuous)
• piga is the verb stem meaning “play” or “hit”

Does ninapiga mean “I play” habitually or “I am playing” right now?

The -na- present marker can cover both the simple present (“I play every day”) and the present continuous (“I am playing now”). Context tells you which one applies. If you want to stress continuous action at this moment, you can add sasa (now): Ninapiga piano nyumbani sasa.

Why is the word piano unchanged? Shouldn't it get a Swahili prefix or suffix?

Piano is a borrowed instrument name from English. Borrowed words in Swahili often stay in noun class 9/10 and remain unchanged in the singular. You just use them directly as objects without adding extra prefixes.

How do you make piano plural in Swahili?

Since borrowed words often follow class 9/10 patterns, you can either:
• Use the class 9/10 prefix ma-: mapiano
• Or explicitly quantify: piano mbili (“two pianos”)
Both forms are commonly understood.

What does nyumbani mean? How is it formed from nyumba?

Nyumbani is the locative form of nyumba (“house”). Swahili adds the locative suffix -ni to a noun (here class 9/10 nyumba + -ni) to mean “at/in [that place].” So nyumbani = “at home.”

If I want to say “I play the piano at my house,” how do I express “my house”?

Attach a possessive phrase after the locative: nyumbani kwangu (“at my home”). Full sentence:
Mimi ninapiga piano nyumbani kwangu.

Where can I insert a time expression like kila siku (“every day”)?

Time expressions are flexible. You can place kila siku at the beginning, before the verb, or after the object:
• Kila siku ninapiga piano nyumbani.
• Ninapiga piano kila siku nyumbani.
• Ninapiga piano nyumbani kila siku.
All mean “I play the piano at home every day.”

Can I add an adverb of manner like “well”? Where would it go?

Yes. Place it after the verb (and after any object). For “well” use vizuri, or sana for “very”:
• Ninapiga piano nyumbani vizuri. (“I play the piano at home well.”)
• Ninapiga piano nyumbani sana. (“I play the piano at home a lot/very much.”)