Breakdown of Leo jioni tutakaa ukingoni mwa bahari, tukiangalia machweo na kuzungumza kwa utulivu.
Questions & Answers about Leo jioni tutakaa ukingoni mwa bahari, tukiangalia machweo na kuzungumza kwa utulivu.
Leo means today, and jioni means in the evening.
Together Leo jioni is literally today evening, i.e. this evening.
It’s not considered redundant in Swahili. Time expressions often combine like this:
- Leo asubuhi – this morning
- Kesho mchana – tomorrow afternoon
You could also say jioni ya leo, but Leo jioni is shorter and very natural.
Tutakaa breaks down as:
- tu- – subject prefix for we
- -ta- – future tense marker will
- kaa – verb sit, stay, or remain
So tutakaa = we will sit / we will stay.
In this context, kaa is more like sit and spend time there rather than just the physical act of sitting down for a second. It suggests remaining in that place for a while.
The noun ukingo means edge, rim, or shore.
When you add -ni to ukingo, you get ukingoni, meaning at/on the edge or on the shore.
So:
- ukingo – edge, shore
- ukingoni – at the edge, on the shore
In the sentence, ukingoni mwa bahari means on the shore of the sea or by the seashore.
Mwa is a variant of the possessive connector -a (the “of” word) used in certain combinations, especially after some locative or body-part nouns, and often sounds more natural than plain wa.
- ukingoni mwa bahari – on the shore of the sea
- katikati mwa jiji – in the middle of the city
You could see ukingoni wa bahari, but ukingoni mwa bahari is the standard and more idiomatic form.
Yes, you can say kando ya bahari, which also means by the sea / at the seaside.
Nuance:
- ukingoni mwa bahari – emphasizes the edge/shore of the water; it evokes the actual shoreline.
- kando ya bahari – literally beside the sea; slightly broader, not as tied to the physical “lip” of the water.
In most everyday contexts, they overlap a lot, and both are fine.
The -ki- marker often means while / when (simultaneous action).
- tutakaa …, tukiangalia machweo
→ we will sit … while watching the sunset
Formed as:
- tu- (we) + -ki- (while/when) + angalia (look/watch)
= tukiangalia – while we watch / as we watch
It shows that watching happens at the same time as sitting there.
Yes, you can say tukizungumza, and it would be perfectly correct:
- … tukiangalia machweo na tukizungumza kwa utulivu.
In the original:
- tukiangalia – while (we are) watching
- kuzungumza – to talk / talking (infinitive)
Both actions share the same subject (we) and happen at the same time. Using -ki- for the first verb already sets up the while doing X and Y idea, so it’s common and natural to write:
- tukiangalia machweo na kuzungumza
This is understood as while watching the sunset and talking. Adding a second tu-ki- is allowed but not required.
Machweo refers to sunset(s). It’s a JI/MA noun, where the plural often has ma- (like jicho / macho, jambo / mambo).
Although sunset feels singular in English, Swahili commonly uses the plural form machweo, especially in phrases like:
- machweo ya jua – the sun’s setting, sunset(s)
You can think of it as the colors / phases of the sunset rather than a single event, which helps explain the plural feel.
You often see both:
- Machweo ni mazuri sana hapa. – The sunsets are very beautiful here.
- Tuliangalia machweo ya jua. – We watched the sunset.
In many contexts, machweo on its own is clear enough, especially when you’re talking about the time of day or scenery. Adding ya jua just makes it explicit that it’s the sun’s setting.
Utulivu is a noun meaning calmness or peacefulness (from the adjective tulivu – calm).
In Swahili, kwa + noun is a common way to create an adverb-like expression:
- kwa haraka – quickly (with speed)
- kwa upole – gently, politely
- kwa utulivu – calmly, in a calm manner
So kuongea kwa utulivu = to speak calmly / in a calm way.
In the sentence, ku zungumza kwa utulivu = to talk calmly/peacefully.
Yes, there’s a nuance:
tutakaa …, tukiangalia machweo
→ we will sit …, while watching the sunset
The actions overlap; watching happens during the sitting.tutakaa … na tutaangalia machweo
→ we will sit … and we will watch the sunset
Grammatical, but feels more like two separate actions listed in sequence, not necessarily simultaneous.
In natural description of a scene like this, the -ki- form is more idiomatic because it gives a smooth “we’ll sit there, watching…” image.
You normally don’t need sisi, because tu- in tutakaa already means we.
To emphasize, you can add sisi before the verb:
- Leo jioni sisi tutakaa ukingoni mwa bahari…
→ This evening, we (as opposed to others) will sit by the sea…
The subject prefix tu- still stays on the verb; you don’t drop it when you add sisi.
Yes, Swahili word order is somewhat flexible with time and place phrases, though the original order is very natural:
- Leo jioni tutakaa ukingoni mwa bahari… (original)
Other acceptable orders:
- Tutakaa ukingoni mwa bahari leo jioni, tukiangalia machweo…
- Leo jioni, tukiwa ukingoni mwa bahari, tutaangalia machweo… (slightly rephrased)
Time expressions like Leo jioni often appear at the beginning or end of the sentence. Place expressions like ukingoni mwa bahari usually come after the verb, but can move a bit for emphasis or style.
In actual Swahili writing, punctuation is more flexible than in English. The comma before tukiangalia is helpful but not strictly required.
- Leo jioni tutakaa ukingoni mwa bahari, tukiangalia machweo… (clear separation)
- Leo jioni tutakaa ukingoni mwa bahari tukiangalia machweo… (also acceptable)
The comma just makes it easier to see that tukiangalia machweo na kuzungumza kwa utulivu is a “while doing X and Y” description attached to tutakaa.