Learn Hardcore Swahili: Katika majira ya baridi, mama anachemsha maji ya chai nyumbani kila asubuhi. - In the cold season, mother boils water for tea at home every morning.

Katika translates to in or during, so Katika majira ya baridi literally means “during the cold season.” It sets the time frame for the action. Without Katika, you’d simply have majira ya baridi (“the cold season”) but no preposition to link it to the verb.

Why is it majira ya baridi and not msimu wa baridi?

Both majira and msimu can mean “season,” but:

Majira is commonly used with weather-related periods (rainy, dry, hot, cold).
Msimu is more general (like spring, summer, harvest season) or agricultural cycles.
So majira ya baridi (“the cold season”) is more idiomatic when talking about weather.

What does anachemsha mean, and how is it built up?

Anachemsha means “she is boiling” or “she boils” (habitually). It breaks down as:

a-: third-person singular subject marker (“he/she”)
-na-: present/frequent (habitual) tense marker
chemsha: root meaning “boil (something)” (causative form of chemka, “to boil”).

So anachemsha = “she boils” (regularly, e.g. every morning).

Why is it chemsha maji ya chai instead of chemsha chai?

In Swahili you boil water (“maji”), not the tea leaves directly. The phrase maji ya chai means “tea water”, i.e. water meant for making tea. After boiling, you’d normally add tea leaves to steep. Saying chemsha chai would literally mean “boil tea (leaves),” which isn’t the typical expression.

How does the genitive ya work in majira ya baridi and maji ya chai?

Ya is a possessive/genitive linker used between two nouns where the second describes the first (“of”).

majira ya baridi = “the season of cold” (cold season)
maji ya chai = “water of tea” (tea water)
It agrees with the noun class of the first noun (majira—ji/ma class; maji—ji/ma class).

What does nyumbani mean, and why not use katika nyumba or kwenye nyumba?

Nyumbani is the locative form of nyumba (house) and means “at home.” It’s more natural than katika nyumba (“inside the house”) or kwenye nyumba, because locative suffixes (-ni) on nouns are the standard way to express being at or in somewhere.

What does kila asubuhi mean, and where do time expressions like this typically go?

Kila asubuhi means “every morning.” Time expressions in Swahili are flexible:

At the end (as in the example) for emphasis on the repeated action.
At the beginning for a topic-fronted style: Kila asubuhi, mama anachemsha maji ya chai nyumbani.
Both orders are correct and common.

Can I start the sentence with Kila asubuhi instead of Katika majira ya baridi?

Yes. Swahili word order is relatively flexible. You can reorder time phrases for contrast or focus:

Kila asubuhi, katika majira ya baridi, mama anachemsha maji ya chai nyumbani.
Katika majira ya baridi, kila asubuhi, mama anachemsha maji ya chai.
All convey the same meaning but shift emphasis slightly.