Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mwanamke yule anapiga kinanda kanisani kila Jumapili. - That woman plays the keyboard at church every Sunday.

Yule is the distal demonstrative for “that (over there/that one we both know),” in the M-/WA- (people) noun class. In neutral word order, Swahili puts the demonstrative after the noun, so you get mwanamke yule “that woman.” Rough contrasts in this class:

Near speaker: huyu (this), plural hawa
Near listener/previously mentioned: huyo, plural hao
Far/that specific one: yule, plural wale

Can I also say yule mwanamke instead of mwanamke yule?

Yes. Pre‑posing the demonstrative (yule mwanamke) is grammatical and adds emphasis or “that particular woman” flavor. The post‑nominal order (mwanamke yule) is the unmarked default.

Why is anapiga used for “plays,” not anacheza?

Swahili commonly uses piga with many musical instruments: piga kinanda (play the piano/keyboard/organ), piga gitaa (play guitar), piga ngoma (play drums). Cheza tends to mean “play (a game),” or “dance” (cheza muziki = dance to music). So anapiga kinanda is the idiomatic choice.

What are the parts of anapiga?

It’s built as: a- (3rd person singular subject “he/she”) + -na- (present/imperfective) + verb stem piga. So anapiga ≈ “she is playing / she plays.”

Negative present: hapigi
Past: alipiga
Perfect: amepiga
Future: atapiga
Habitual/gnomic: hupiga (see next related question)

Could I use the habitual marker hu- here?

Yes. Mwanamke yule hupiga kinanda kanisani (kila Jumapili) states a regular/habitual action. With kila Jumapili (“every Sunday”), many speakers still prefer the ordinary present (anapiga) plus the frequency phrase, but hupiga is fine and often sounds more “habitual.”

What does the -ni in kanisani do?

The suffix -ni makes a locative: kanisa “church” → kanisani “at/in church.” More examples:

shule → shuleni (at school)
darasa → darasani (in class)
ofisi → ofisini (at the office)
soko → sokoni (at the market)
duka → dukani (at the shop)

Does kanisani ever mean “to church” instead of “at church”?

Yes, with motion verbs it often means “to” (destination): Anaenda kanisani = “She is going to church.” With non‑motion verbs like anapiga, it means “at/in.” Context and the verb determine the exact prepositional sense in English.

Why is there no word for “the” in kinanda or kanisani?

Swahili has no articles. Kinanda can map to English “the piano,” “a piano,” or just “piano,” depending on context. If you need to be specific, you can add a demonstrative or a modifier, e.g., kinanda kile (“that piano”), kinanda cha kanisa (“the church’s piano”).

What noun classes are involved here, and how do they affect agreement?

mwanamke is class 1 (M-/WA-). Plural: wanawake; demonstratives: huyu/huyo/yule (pl), hawa/hao/wale; subject prefix: a- (pl wa-).
kinanda is class 7 (KI-/VI-). Plural: vinanda; demonstratives: hiki/hicho/kile (pl hivi/hivyo/vile); object marker in the verb is ki- (pl vi-).

Can I use an object marker with kinanda?

Only if you’re referring to a specific, already-known instrument. Example: Kile kinanda, anakipiga kanisani (“That piano, she plays it at church”), where -ki- agrees with class 7 (kinanda). In your sentence, the object is new/generic, so no object marker is needed.

Why is it kila Jumapili and not a plural like “Jumapilis”?

Kila (“every/each”) always takes a singular noun: kila mwaka, kila mwanafunzi, kila siku—and kila Jumapili. English plural meaning comes from kila, not the noun form.

Do I need a preposition like “on” for days? Is capitalization required?

No preposition is needed: Jumapili already means “on Sunday.” With frequency: kila Jumapili = “every Sunday.”
Capitalization: many style guides capitalize days. The days are Jumatatu, Jumanne, Jumatano, Alhamisi, Ijumaa, Jumamosi, Jumapili.

Can I move the time phrase to the front?

Yes. All are natural:

Mwanamke yule anapiga kinanda kanisani kila Jumapili.
Kila Jumapili, mwanamke yule anapiga kinanda kanisani.
Mwanamke yule, kila Jumapili, anapiga kinanda kanisani. Fronting kila Jumapili gives it extra emphasis (“As for every Sunday…”).

Does mwanamke always mean “woman,” or could I say mama?

Both exist. Mwanamke is the neutral term “woman.” Mama literally “mother” but commonly used to refer politely to an adult woman (context-dependent). So mama yule is also very natural in everyday speech.

Is kinanda specifically a piano?

Kinanda covers keyboard instruments broadly (piano, organ, electronic keyboard). In church contexts, it may well be an organ or keyboard; English often translates generically as “piano” unless you need to specify. If you must be precise, add a clarifier: kinanda cha umeme (keyboard), piano, organi.