Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kawaida, mimi ninakunywa chai asubuhi.

It’s an adverbial expression meaning “usually/ordinarily/as a rule.” You’ll also hear and see kwa kawaida, which is slightly more formal/explicit. Both are fine. Synonyms: mara nyingi (often), kwa kawaida, kawaida. A comma after it is optional and just reflects a pause in speech.

Do I need the pronoun Mimi when the verb already says “I” (ninakunywa)?

No. The subject prefix ni- on ninakunywa already means “I.” Adding mimi makes it emphatic or contrastive:

Neutral: “Kawaida, ninakunywa chai asubuhi.”
Emphatic/contrasting: “Kawaida, mimi ninakunywa chai asubuhi.” (e.g., “As for me, I usually drink tea in the morning.”)

Can I move the time expression Asubuhi to another position?

Yes. Time expressions are flexible:

“Kawaida, ninakunywa chai asubuhi.”
“Asubuhi, kawaida ninakunywa chai.”
“Ninakunywa chai asubuhi kwa kawaida.” (less common but possible) Most natural are beginning or end positions: start with Kawaida/Asubuhi or end with asubuhi.

Do I need a preposition for “in the morning,” like katika asubuhi?

No. Time-of-day words (asubuhi, mchana, jioni, usiku) commonly act as adverbs by themselves. Just use asubuhi without a preposition. If you want “every morning,” use kila asubuhi.

Does ninakunywa mean “I drink” or “I am drinking”?

It can mean both. The marker -na- covers present/progressive and also a general present. Adverbs like kawaida make it clearly habitual (“I usually drink”). Without context, ninakunywa often reads as “I’m drinking (now).”

Is there a more “built-in” way to say habitual actions than using Kawaida?

Yes, use the habitual marker hu-:

“Mimi hunywa chai asubuhi.” = “I (usually) drink tea in the morning.” Notes:
With hu-, you do not use a subject prefix on the verb (so not “ninhunywa” or “nahunlwa”). You can still include the pronoun for clarity: “Mimi hunywa…”
You can combine with (kwa) kawaida for emphasis: “Kwa kawaida, mimi hunywa chai asubuhi,” though it can feel a bit redundant.

How do I negate the idea “I don’t (usually) drink tea in the morning”?

For a general present/habitual negation, use the negative present:

“Sinywi chai asubuhi.” = “I don’t drink tea in the morning.” If you want to explicitly say it’s not your habit:
“Si kawaida yangu kunywa chai asubuhi.” = “It’s not my habit to drink tea in the morning.” Note: There isn’t a direct negative of the hu- habitual; you switch to the regular negative present (e.g., sinywi).

What are the parts of the verb form ninakunywa?

ni- = I (subject prefix)
-na- = present/progressive marker
-kunywa = verb stem “drink” Some short/irregular verbs keep the initial ku- in many tenses (see next question).

I thought the ku- from the dictionary form drops in conjugation. Why does it stay in ninakunywa?

A small set of short/irregular verbs typically keep ku- in many finite forms: kula (eat), kunywa (drink), kuja (come), kufa (die), and some say kwenda/kuenda (go) alternates. So you get forms like ninakunywa, anakula, anakuja, anakufa. With the habitual hu-, the ku- is dropped: hunywa, hula, huja, hufa.

Is nakunywa (without the first “ni-”) acceptable?

In colloquial speech you’ll hear shortened forms like nakunywa for ninakunywa. In careful/standard writing and formal speech, keep the full form with the subject prefix: ninakunywa.

How do I say “every morning” instead of “usually”?

Use kila asubuhi:

“Kila asubuhi, ninakunywa chai.” = “Every morning, I drink tea.”

What exactly does chai mean? Tea only, or breakfast too?

Primarily chai = tea. In some contexts (especially in Tanzania), chai can colloquially refer to “breakfast,” so kunywa chai can mean “have breakfast.” The formal word for breakfast is kifungua kinywa. For coffee, use kahawa.

Any pronunciation tips for words like kunywa and chai?

chai sounds like “ch-eye.”
kunywa has two syllables: ku-ɲwa. The ny is like “ny” in “canyon,” followed immediately by a rounded “w” sound: ɲwa.
kawaida has the sequence “-ai-” as a glide: ka-wa-ee-da (often heard as ka-wai-da).

Is the comma after Kawaida required?

No. It’s stylistic. You can write “Kawaida ninakunywa chai asubuhi” without a comma; the meaning is unchanged.

Can I put both Kawaida and Asubuhi at the start?

Yes, stacking adverbials is fine:

“Kawaida asubuhi, ninakunywa chai.”
“Asubuhi, kwa kawaida ninakunywa chai.” Keep it natural by not overloading the sentence; two short adverbials at the front is common.