Sikukuu hii nitapumzika nyumbani.

I will rest at home this holiday.

Breakdown of Sikukuu hii nitapumzika nyumbani.

• kupumzika: to rest
• hii: this
• nyumbani: at home
• sikukuu: the holiday

Questions & Answers about Sikukuu hii nitapumzika nyumbani.

What is the literal breakdown of Sikukuu hii?

• siku = “day”
• kuu = “big”
• When you combine them as siku kuu it becomes sikukuu, literally “big day,” i.e. “holiday.”
• hii = “this,” and because sikukuu is in noun class 5 (singular), we use the class 5 demonstrative hii after the noun.

Why does the demonstrative hii come after the noun, and how does it agree with sikukuu?

• In Swahili most demonstratives agree with noun class and follow the noun.
• sikukuu is class 5, so its singular demonstrative is hii.
• If the noun were class 7 (e.g. kitabu “book”), you’d use hiki: kitabu hiki (“this book”).

How is nitapumzika constructed? What are its parts and meaning?

Breakdown of nitapumzika:

1. ni- = 1st person singular subject prefix (“I”)
2. -ta- = future tense marker (“will”)
3. pumzika = verb root with extension, meaning “to rest”
   Together ni + ta + pumzika = “I will rest.”

Why is there no separate preposition before nyumbani? What does the -ni suffix do?

• nyumbani = nyumba (“house/home”) + -ni (locative suffix)
• The suffix -ni turns nyumba into “at home” or “in the house.”
• You don’t need an extra katika or kwenye because the locative suffix already expresses “in/at.”

Could I say nitapumzika katika nyumba or nitapumzika kwenye nyumba instead of nitapumzika nyumbani?

• Yes, it’s grammatically possible:
  
  • nitapumzika katika nyumba (“I will rest in the house”)
  • nitapumzika kwenye nyumba (“I will rest at the house/place of the house”)
• However, nyumbani is more natural when you mean “at home.” Using katika nyumba sounds like any random building, not specifically “your home.”

What is the difference between pumzika and pumua?

• pumua = “to breathe”
• pumzika = “to rest”
  They look similar because of the root pum-, but the added -z- in pumzika changes the meaning to “rest.”

Can I change the word order, for example to Nitapumzika nyumbani sikukuu hii?

• Yes, Swahili is relatively flexible.
• Starting with Sikukuu hii simply sets the time frame first (“This holiday…”).
• If you say Nitapumzika nyumbani sikukuu hii, it’s still correct but sounds less neutral; learners usually place time expressions (like Sikukuu hii) at the beginning for clarity.

Why do we say Sikukuu hii (singular) and not Sikukuu hizi (plural)?

• sikukuu is treated as a singular noun meaning “the holiday” or “this holiday period.”
• If you wanted to talk about multiple separate holidays, you could say Sikukuu hizi (“these holidays”), but in most contexts there’s just one holiday period under discussion, so hii (singular) is correct.