Learn Hardcore Swahili: Nenosiri likisahaulika, mtaalam atakusaidia kulirejesha. - If the password is forgotten, a specialist will help you restore it.

Here, li- is not the past tense; it’s the class 5 subject agreement for nenosiri (a class 5 noun). In this clause, the subject is the noun “nenosiri,” so the verb begins with the class 5 subject marker li-, then the conditional -ki-, then the verb stem.

Past tense “-li-” appears after a personal subject marker (e.g., a-li-end-a “he went”).
In our sentence, we have no personal subject; the class 5 noun itself triggers li- at the start: li-ki-sahaul-ik-a.

What does the “-ki-” in “likisahaulika” mean?

-ki- is the real conditional marker meaning “if/when” (in the sense of whenever or in the event that). So likisahaulika ≈ “if/when it is (gets) forgotten.”

You can also use kama or ikiwa to introduce “if,” but -ki- is the compact verbal conditional that’s very common in Swahili.

Why use “sahaulika” and not “sahau” or “sahauliwa”?

sahau = “to forget” (active: a person forgets something).
sahauliwa = passive of “sahau,” “to be forgotten.”
sahaulika uses the “-ik-” stative/neutral-intransitive extension: “to be forgettable / end up forgotten.” In practice, sahaulika often just means “be forgotten,” and it’s perfectly natural here. You could also say: Nenosiri likisahauliwa, ... with a very similar meaning.

What noun class is “nenosiri,” and how does that affect agreement?

nenosiri (“password”) is in noun class 5 (ji-/li-), with plural in class 6 (ma-): manenosiri (“passwords”).

Class 5 subject agreement is li- (hence likisahaulika).
Class 5 object agreement is -li- (hence kulirejesha, “to restore it”).

Is “nenosiri” the only way to say “password”?

No. You will also see:

nywila (very common, especially in Tanzania), class 9/10 (no plural change in form).
neno la siri literally “secret word,” sometimes used, but for the tech sense “password,” nenosiri/nywila are standard. If you used nywila (class 9), the agreements would change (e.g., object marker -i- instead of -li-).

Why is there “ku-” twice, in “atakusaidia” and “kulirejesha”? Are they the same?

They look the same but do different jobs.

In ata-ku-saidia, -ku- is the object marker “you (singular).”
In ku-li-rejesha, the initial ku- is the infinitive marker “to,” and -li- is the class 5 object “it.” So: “will help-you to-it-restore.”

Could I say “kuirejesha” instead of “kulirejesha”?

Not with nenosiri as the object. nenosiri is class 5, whose object marker is -li-, so kuli-rejesha is right. ku-i-rejesha would agree with a class 9 noun (e.g., nywila): “kuirejesha nywila.”

Do I have to include the object marker in the infinitive? Could I say “mtaalam atakusaidia kurejesha (nenosiri)”?

You can say that, and it’s grammatical. Including the object marker (kulirejesha) makes the reference to the previously mentioned object clear and definite (“restore it”). Without it (kurejesha), it’s more like “help you restore [it]” with the object recoverable from context. Because the object appears earlier (in the conditional clause), kulirejesha is a neat way to tie back to it.

What exactly is inside “atakusaidia”? Can you break it down?

Yes: a-ta-ku-saidia

a- = 3rd person singular subject (“he/she/it” here agreeing with “mtaalam”)
-ta- = future
-ku- = object marker “you” (singular)
saidia = verb “help”

Does “atakusaidia” address one person or several people?

As written, it’s you (singular) because of the object marker -ku-. For plural “you,” use -wa-:

mtaalam atawasaidia “the specialist will help you (plural).”

Why is the comma there? Is the word order fixed?

The comma separates the conditional clause from the main clause. You can put the conditional first or second:

Nenosiri likisahaulika, mtaalam atakusaidia kulirejesha.
Mtaalam atakusaidia kulirejesha, nenosiri likisahaulika. Both are fine; initial condition + comma is very common in writing.

How is “sahaulika” pronounced?

Break it as sa-ha-u-li-ka. The “au” is a vowel sequence that glides smoothly (like “a-oo” quickly together). Stress is penultimate: sa-ha-u-LI-ka. Similarly: ne-no-SI-ri; mtaa-LA-m(u); a-ta-ku-sai-DI-a; ku-li-re-JE-sha.

Could I say “Ukisahau nenosiri, mtaalam atakusaidia kulirejesha”?

Yes. That shifts the subject of the conditional to “you” (2nd singular): u-ki-sahau (“if/when you forget”). Your original uses the inanimate subject: “if/when the password is (gets) forgotten.” Both are natural; choose based on the emphasis you want.

Is “mtaalam” the same as “mtaalamu”? Which is correct?

They’re the same word “expert/specialist.” You’ll see both spellings:

mtaalamu is the more conservative/etymological spelling.
mtaalam is a very common shortened form in everyday writing. Plural: wataalamu / wataalam. Use either consistently; both are widely accepted.

What does “kulirejesha” contribute that “kurejesha” wouldn’t?

kulirejesha explicitly encodes the object “it (class 5)” via -li-, so it means “to restore it (the password).” kurejesha is just “to restore,” leaving the object implicit. Using -li- avoids any ambiguity, especially when the object was mentioned in a different clause.

Could I use “rudisha” instead of “rejesha”?

Yes. rejesha and rudisha both mean “return/restore,” with minor regional and stylistic preferences. So kulirudisha would also be fine here.

How would I negate the condition: “If the password is not forgotten …”?

Use the negative conditional template SM + sipo- + verb. For class 5, the subject marker is li-, so:

Nenosiri lisiposahauliwa, ... = “If the password is not forgotten, ...” You could also use kama/ikiwa with a normal negative verb: Kama/Ikiawa nenosiri halijasahauliwa, ... (varies with aspect).

Could “li-ki-” ever be read as past + conditional?

Not in this form. The past marker -li- comes after a personal subject marker (e.g., a-li-), and the conditional -ki- comes after the subject marker too. With a class 5 subject, li- at the very start is the noun-class subject, not tense. So li-ki- here is “class 5 subject + conditional,” not “past + conditional.”

If I swap “nenosiri” for “nywila,” what changes?

Agreement changes from class 5 to class 9:

Conditional clause: Nywila ikisahaulika, ... (class 9 subject = i-)
Infinitive object: kuirejesha (class 9 object = -i-) So: Nywila ikisahaulika, mtaalam atakusaidia kuirejesha.