Learn Hardcore Swahili: Tunajifunza kwamba uchumi mzuri huanza na kupanga bajeti nyumbani. - We are learning that a good economy starts with planning a budget at home.

tunajifunza breaks down as:
• tu- (we) – subject prefix
• -na- – present/habitual tense marker
• jifunza – verb root “learn”
Altogether tunajifunza means “we are learning” or “we learn (habitually).”

What role does kwamba play in this sentence?

kwamba is a conjunction meaning that. It links the main clause (“we are learning”) to the subordinate clause (“a good economy begins…”).

Why is it uchumi mzuri instead of mzuri uchumi?

In Swahili adjectives follow the noun and must agree with its noun class.
• uchumi (economy) is in noun class 3/4
• the adjective prefix for class 3/4 is m- plus the root zuri
So uchumi mzuri literally “economy good,” i.e. “a good economy.”

What does huanza mean, and why not just anza?

huanza = “it begins” in the habitual or general sense.
• h- is the subject marker for class 3 (for uchumi) plus the habitual marker -u- of class 3, giving hu-.
• anza is the verb root “begin.”
Together, huanza means “it (habitually) begins.” Without hu-, anza on its own could be an imperative (“start!”) or an unmarked root.

Why is na used in huanza na kupanga? Doesn’t na usually mean “and”?

Here na still literally means “and,” but in this construction it’s best understood as “with” or “by.” The pattern huanza na + infinitive expresses “it begins by/with doing something.” So huanza na kupanga = “it begins with planning.”

Why is kupanga in the infinitive form here?

After na in the sense of “with/by,” Swahili uses the full infinitive ku- + verb root. That’s why it’s na kupanga, not just na panga.

What kind of word is bajeti, and does it change form for plural?

bajeti is a loanword from English budget. In Swahili it belongs to the N-class (also called class 9/10), which typically has no prefix in singular or plural. So bajeti stays the same whether singular or plural.

Why nyumbani instead of just nyumba?

nyumbani is the locative form of nyumba (“house/home”), formed by adding the locative suffix -ni. It means “at home” or “in the house.” Without -ni, nyumba would just be “house” without the “at/in” sense.