Kijana mmoja anapiga kinanda kanisani, na msichana anaimba kwaya.

One young man plays the keyboard at church, and a girl sings in the choir.

Breakdown of Kijana mmoja anapiga kinanda kanisani, na msichana anaimba kwaya.

• kuimba: to sing
• na: and
• mmoja: one
• kwaya: the choir
• msichana: the girl
• kijana: the young man
• kupiga kinanda: to play the keyboard
• kanisani: at church

Questions & Answers about Kijana mmoja anapiga kinanda kanisani, na msichana anaimba kwaya.

What does kijana mmoja mean exactly, and why does mmoja come after kijana?

Kijana means young person / youth (often “young man”) and mmoja means one.

In Swahili:

• Numbers normally come after the noun:
  
  • kijana mmoja = one young person / a (certain) young man
  • vitabu viwili = two books

Mmoja here also works a bit like English “a certain” or “one particular”, not just the number one. So kijana mmoja can feel like a young man or one particular young man depending on context.

Why is there no separate word for “a” or “the” in this sentence?

Swahili does not have articles like a, an, the.

Definiteness and specificity come from context and from other words, for example:

• kijana – can mean a young man or the young man
• kijana mmoja – suggests one (particular) young man
• kijana huyu – this young man
• kijana yule – that young man

So kijana mmoja anapiga kinanda can be translated as either A young man is playing the keyboard or One young man is playing the keyboard, depending on the situation.

What is the role of ana- in anapiga and anaimba?

Swahili verb forms bundle several pieces of information into one word. Take anapiga:

• a- = subject prefix for he/she (3rd person singular, human)
• -na- = present tense marker (now / generally)
• piga = verb root hit / beat / play (an instrument)
• final -a = normal verb ending

So:

• anapiga ≈ he/she is hitting / he/she hits / he/she is playing
• anaimba ≈ he/she is singing / he/she sings

There is no separate “he/she” or “is” word; those ideas are built into ana- at the start of the verb.

Why do you use anapiga kinanda instead of a verb that literally means “to play” (like playing a game)?

In Swahili, kupiga (root piga) is used in many collocations, including for playing instruments:

• kupiga kinanda – to play the keyboard/piano
• kupiga gitaa – to play the guitar
• kupiga ngoma – to play/drum the drum

The more general verb kucheza (to play, to dance) is not used for instruments. You say:

• anacheza mpira – he/she plays football
• anacheza dansi – he/she dances

…but for instruments you say anapiga [instrument], not anacheza [instrument].

What exactly does kinanda refer to? Is it just “piano”?

Kinanda is a general word for a keyboard-type musical instrument. In practice it can refer to:

• an electronic keyboard
• a piano
• an organ (especially electronic)

Context often tells you which one. Grammatically, kinanda is in the ki-/vi- noun class:

• kinanda – one keyboard/piano
• vinanda – keyboards/pianos (plural)

What does kanisani mean, and how is it different from kanisa?

• kanisa = church (the building, as a noun)
• kanisani = in the church / at church

The ending -ni is a common locative suffix that can mean in, at, on, depending on the noun:

• nyumba → nyumbani = at home
• shule → shuleni = at school
• kanisa → kanisani = at church

So anapiga kinanda kanisani = he is playing the keyboard in church / at church.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “is” between kijana mmoja and anapiga?

Swahili does not normally use a separate verb like English “is” before another verb.

English:

• The young man *is playing the keyboard.*

Swahili puts the subject and present-tense information directly into the main verb:

• kijana mmoja anapiga kinanda
  
  • a- = he/she
  • -na- = present tense
  • piga = play (an instrument)

So anapiga itself already means is playing / plays, and no extra “is” is needed.

What is the difference between kijana and msichana?

• kijana – young person / youth; often understood as young man, but can also be used more generally for a young person (especially in some contexts).
• msichana – girl / young woman.

Both are in the m-/wa- noun class (class 1/2):

• kijana (singular) → vijana (plural)
• msichana (singular) → wasichana (plural)

So the sentence contrasts a young man (kijana mmoja) with a girl/young woman (msichana).

Does kwaya mean “choir” or “song”? How should I understand msichana anaimba kwaya?

Kwaya means choir (the group of singers), not “song”.

In many contexts, kuimba kwaya is understood as:

• to sing in the choir
• to do choir singing / perform with the choir

You may also hear more explicit versions:

• anaimba katika kwaya – she sings in the choir
• anaimba kwenye kwaya – she sings in the choir

But anaimba kwaya is natural and usually means she is taking part in choir singing, not that “she sings a choir” as an object.

What does na do in this sentence? Can na also mean “with”?

In this sentence, na is a conjunction meaning “and”:

• … kanisani, na msichana anaimba kwaya.
  = … in church, and a girl is singing in the choir.

Elsewhere, na can also be:

1. A preposition meaning “with”:

   • ninaenda na rafiki yangu – I’m going with my friend.

2. A tense marker -na- inside verbs, as in anapiga, anaimba, where it marks the present tense.

So here na = and, not with.

Why is the verb form the same (anapiga, anaimba) for both the young man and the girl? Shouldn’t there be different forms for “he” and “she”?

Swahili does not mark gender in the verb. The subject prefix a- is used for both he and she:

• kijana anapiga – the young man is playing
• msichana anapiga – the girl is playing

Both use a- as the subject prefix.

Likewise, the pronoun yeye can mean either he or she, depending on context. The language doesn’t grammatically distinguish masculine and feminine the way English does.

Is the sentence talking about something happening right now, or about a general habit?

The present marker -na- (as in anapiga, anaimba) can express both:

1. An action happening now (progressive):

   • A young man is playing the keyboard in church, and a girl is singing in the choir (right now).

2. A general or repeated action (simple present / habitual):

   • A young man plays the keyboard in church, and a girl sings in the choir (that’s what they usually do).

Swahili uses the same -na- form for both meanings; context usually makes it clear which one is intended.