Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kesho tutahudhuria harusi ya binamu yetu mjini. - Tomorrow we will attend our cousin’s wedding in town.

tu- (we, subject prefix for 1st person plural)
-ta- (future tense marker)
hudhuria (verb stem “attend”) So tutahudhuria = “we will attend.” The negative future would be hatutahudhuria (ha- + tu- + -ta- + hudhuria).

Can I use the present tense with kesho instead of the future? For example, Kesho tunahudhuria…?

Yes. Kesho tunahudhuria harusi… is natural for a scheduled event (like English “We’re attending tomorrow”). Kesho tutahudhuria… is a neutral future statement. Both are correct; present can sound more “on the schedule,” future is a straightforward prediction/plan.

Why is it harusi ya… and not harusi wa…?

The connector “of” agrees with the head noun. Harusi is noun class 9 (N-class), whose connective is ya. So we say harusi ya…. You’d use wa when the head noun is class 1/2 (e.g., mtu wa…, “person of…”).

Why is it binamu yetu and not binamu wetu?

In standard usage, binamu belongs to the N-class (class 9/10) in the singular, so the possessive “our” is yetu: binamu yetu. You’ll hear some speakers use human-agreement patterns (wetu) by analogy with class 1/2, but the safe, dictionary-backed form is binamu yetu.

What does ya binamu yetu mean structurally?

It’s a genitive chain: head noun + connector + possessor + its possessive. Here, harusi (head, class 9) takes ya, then the possessor phrase binamu yetu (“our cousin”). Literally “wedding of our cousin.”

Does binamu specify male or female? How can I be explicit?

Binamu is gender-neutral. To specify:

Male cousin: binamu wa kiume
Female cousin: binamu wa kike If you want maternal/paternal side: binamu wa upande wa mama / binamu wa upande wa baba.

How would I say “our cousins” (plural) in agreement?

Keep the noun the same and switch agreement to class 10: binamu zetu (“our cousins”). Example: Harusi ya binamu zetu (“the wedding of our cousins”). You may also encounter the class 6 plural mabinamu, in which case the possessive is yetu: mabinamu yetu—but binamu zetu is widely used and safe.

What exactly does mjini mean?

It’s mji (town/city) + the locative suffix -ni, meaning “in town/in the city.” It often implies “in the urban area/downtown” rather than naming a specific city.

Can I say katika mji instead of mjini?

Yes: katika mji (“in a/the town”) is fine and a bit more literal. Mjini is more idiomatic and compact. If naming a city, you can say jijini Nairobi (“in the city of Nairobi”) or mjini Nairobi; jijini foregrounds “city (jiji)” specifically.

Is harusi the same as ndoa?

Not exactly. Harusi is the wedding ceremony/celebration. Ndoa is the state of marriage or the marriage bond. You attend a harusi; you enter into ndoa.

Does the time word Kesho have to be at the start?

No. Swahili is flexible with adverbials. You can say:

Kesho tutahudhuria harusi…
Tutahudhuria harusi… kesho. Fronting Kesho is common for emphasis or flow.

How do I pronounce the dh in hudhuria?

In standard Swahili, dh is like the “th” in English “this” (voiced dental fricative /ð/). Stress falls on the penultimate syllable: hu-dhu-RI-a. For mjini, the “j” is like English “j” in “jeep,” and stress is on JI.

Why is the connector ya different from the possessive yetu inside the same phrase?

They agree with different nouns:

ya agrees with the head noun harusi (class 9).
yetu agrees with binamu (also treated as class 9 here). So you get harusi ya binamu yetu.

Could I add “go” and say “we will go to attend the wedding,” like tutaenda kuhudhuria harusi?

Yes, tutaenda kuhudhuria harusi is natural and emphasizes the going. Your original sentence already implies going, so adding tutaenda is optional and stylistic.

Is there any difference between saying mjini and naming the city directly?

Generic place: mjini (“in town/in the city”).
Specific city: jijini Dar es Salaam / mjini Arusha. Use jijini + [City] to highlight that it’s a city proper; mjini + [Place] is broadly acceptable in everyday speech.