Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kochi hilo ni laini sana; watoto wanapenda kukaa hapo jioni. - That sofa is very soft; the children like to sit there in the evening.

Swahili demonstratives must agree with the noun class. Kochi ‘couch/sofa’ is class 5 (its plural is makochi, class 6), so the class-5 demonstratives are:

this (near me): hili
that (near you/just mentioned): hilo
that (far/over there): lile

The sentence chooses the medial “that” (hilo)—likely referring to a couch known in context or near the listener.

Could I say Kochi hili or Kochi lile instead?

Yes. You can switch the demonstrative to fit what you mean spatially or discursively:

Kochi hili = this couch (near the speaker)
Kochi hilo = that couch (near the listener or already mentioned)
Kochi lile = that couch (far away or more distal in context)

Can I put the demonstrative before the noun, like hilo kochi?

Yes, both orders exist. Post-nominal is the default and most common: kochi hilo. Pre-nominal (hilo kochi) is also grammatical and can feel more emphatic/contrastive, like “that couch (as opposed to others).”

Why is there a semicolon (;) here? Is that normal in Swahili?

It’s fine. Swahili punctuation largely follows international norms. The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses. You could also write a period instead:

Kochi hilo ni laini sana. Watoto wanapenda kukaa hapo jioni. Or join with na:
Kochi hilo ni laini sana na watoto wanapenda kukaa hapo jioni.

How does wanapenda work morphologically?

It’s built from three parts:

wa- = subject marker for class 2/they (here, watoto)
-na- = present/habitual tense-aspect
penda = verb root “like/love” So wanapenda = “they like/they love (generally/now).”

Why is it wanapenda kukaa and not just wanapenda kaa?

When one verb takes another verb as a complement (like “like to sit”), the second verb appears in the infinitive with ku-: kukaa. So:

wanapenda kukaa = “they like to sit.” The ku- is normally required in this pattern.

Could I use kuketi instead of kukaa for “to sit”?

Yes:

kukaa is the everyday, broad verb meaning “sit, stay, live, reside, be located.”
kuketi specifically means “to sit (down),” slightly more formal or precise. Both are fine here: wanapenda kukaa/kuketi.

Does kukaa only mean “sit”? I’ve seen it mean “stay/live.”

Correct—kukaa is polysemous:

sit: Tunakaa hapa. (We sit here.)
stay: Nikikaa nyumbani, nitasoma. (If I stay at home, I’ll study.)
live/reside: Anakaa Dar es Salaam. (He/She lives in Dar es Salaam.) Context disambiguates the meaning.

What’s the difference between hapo, hapa, and pale?

They are locative demonstratives:

hapa = here (near the speaker)
hapo = there (near the listener or contextually referenced spot)
pale = over there (farther away/visible) In the sentence, hapo refers back to the already-mentioned location (the couch area).

If I want to be explicit about “on the couch,” should I use kochini or kwenye kochi?

Both are natural:

kochini = on/at the couch (locative -ni suffix)
kwenye kochi = in/at/on the couch (preposition kwenye) So you could say: Watoto wanapenda kukaa kochini jioni or …kukaa kwenye kochi hilo jioni.

Why is there no preposition before jioni for “in the evening”?

Time-of-day nouns often function adverbially without a preposition:

asubuhi (in the morning), mchana (in the afternoon/daytime), jioni (in the evening), usiku (at night). So …jioni naturally means “in the evening.” You can add jioni sana (late evening) or jioni mapema (early evening) for nuance.

Where should sana go? Could I put it elsewhere?

Sana (“very/very much”) usually follows what it modifies:

Adjective: laini sana (very soft)
Verb: wanalipenda sana (they like it very much) You wouldn’t place sana before the adjective or verb in standard Swahili.

Does laini agree with kochi? Why doesn’t it change form?

Many common adjectives take class agreement when used attributively (e.g., kitabu kizuri, mtu mzuri). But in predicate position after ni, the adjective typically appears in its base form:

Kochi hilo ni laini sana. That’s normal. Even attributively, some adjectives (especially loans like laini) often appear without overt class prefixes for many nouns: kochi laini, gari kubwa, etc.

Can I use the habitual marker hu- instead of wana-…-na-?

Yes, to express a general habit:

Watoto hupenda kukaa hapo jioni. This means “Children tend to like sitting there in the evenings” (more general truth). With wanapenda, it’s still habitual in context, but hu- is dedicated habitual.

How would I negate the sentence?

Two parts:

Copula negation: si (or siyo) negates ni.
Verb negation: subject-negative prefix + verb without -na-. Examples:
Kochi hilo si laini sana; watoto hawapendi kukaa hapo jioni.
Using siyo for contrast: Kochi hilo siyo laini sana…

Is there any ambiguity with hapo jioni meaning “then in the evening” (time) rather than “there in the evening” (place + time)?

In this sentence, hapo is locative (“there”). Swahili also uses hapo temporally (“then/at that point”), but context solves it. Because hapo follows kukaa and we already mentioned a place (the couch), readers will interpret it as “there,” and jioni adds the time. If you want to avoid any chance of ambiguity, you can use kwenye kochi hilo jioni or kochini jioni.