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Mwalimu atafika saa nne kamili asubuhi.

Mwalimu atafika saa nne kamili asubuhi.
The teacher will arrive at ten o'clock sharp in the morning.
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Questions & Answers about Mwalimu atafika saa nne kamili asubuhi.

In Swahili time, what clock time is saa nne asubuhi?

It’s 10:00 a.m. Swahili counts hours from roughly 7:00 a.m. as hour one:

  • saa moja = 7:00
  • saa mbili = 8:00
  • saa tatu = 9:00
  • saa nne = 10:00 … and so on up to saa kumi na mbili = 6:00.
Why do we add asubuhi? Isn’t saa nne already clear?
Without a period-of-day word, saa nne could be 10 a.m. or 10 p.m. Adding asubuhi clarifies morning (10 a.m.). For night, you’d say saa nne usiku (10 p.m.).
What does kamili add to the meaning?
Kamili means “exactly/on the dot.” saa nne kamili = exactly 10:00 (sharp). Without kamili, it can be read as “around/at 10.”
Can the time phrase move in the sentence?

Yes, time expressions are flexible:

  • Mwalimu atafika saa nne kamili asubuhi.
  • Mwalimu atafika asubuhi saa nne kamili.
  • Asubuhi saa nne kamili, mwalimu atafika. All are natural; the most common is after the verb.
How is atafika formed?
It’s verb morphology: a- (he/she, subject marker) + -ta- (future tense) + -fika (arrive). So atafika = “he/she will arrive.”
How do I make it negative: “The teacher will not arrive at exactly 10 a.m.”?

Use the negative future ha-…-ta-:

  • Mwalimu hatafika saa nne kamili asubuhi.
Do I need the noun Mwalimu when the verb already marks the subject?
Grammatically no. Atafika saa nne… is fine, but it only means “he/she will arrive…”. You keep Mwalimu to specify who, since a- doesn’t show gender or identity.
How do I say it for plural: “The teachers will arrive …”?

Make both the noun and verb plural:

  • Walimu watafika saa nne kamili asubuhi. (Subject marker wa- for class 2 plural, future -ta-, root -fika.)
How do I know whether it’s “the teacher” or “a teacher”? There’s no article.
Swahili has no articles. Mwalimu can be “a/the teacher” depending on context. For specificity you can add demonstratives, e.g., mwalimu yule (that teacher), huyu mwalimu (this teacher).
What’s the difference between kufika and kuja?
  • kufika = to arrive (reach the destination; focus on the endpoint).
  • kuja = to come (movement toward the speaker/place; broader than just arrival). In schedules, kufika is preferred: atafika (will arrive).
How do I pronounce the tricky parts like saa and nne?
  • saa: two a’s; hold the vowel slightly longer: “saa.”
  • nne: a doubled n; start with an audible “n” sound before “ne.”
  • atafika: stress typically on the second-to-last syllable: a-ta-fi-ka.
  • asubuhi: a-su-bu-hi; the “h” is pronounced.
How do I say times with minutes, “past,” and “to”?
  • Use na for minutes past: saa nne na dakika tano asubuhi (10:05 a.m.).
  • Use kasoro for minutes to: saa tano kasoro robo asubuhi (10:45 a.m.; literally “a quarter to eleven”).
  • robo = quarter, nusu = half. Example: saa nne na nusu (10:30).
Is saa kumi 10 o’clock?
No. In Swahili time, saa kumi is 4:00 (a.m. or p.m. depending on the period word). Ten o’clock is saa nne (morning: asubuhi; night: usiku).
Why doesn’t kamili change form to agree with saa?
Many adjectives of Arabic origin (like kamili) are invariable—they don’t take noun-class agreement prefixes. So it stays kamili with any noun: saa kamili, dakika kamili, etc.
How do I ask, “At what time will the teacher arrive?”
  • Mwalimu atafika saa ngapi? (Most common) Answer: Mwalimu atafika saa nne kamili asubuhi.
What other period-of-day words are useful besides asubuhi?
  • alfajiri = dawn/early morning
  • mchana = midday/afternoon
  • jioni = evening
  • usiku = night These help disambiguate times: e.g., saa nne jioni = 10:00 p.m. (evening/night context).