Learn Hardcore Swahili: Tafadhali fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi. - Please arrive at exactly nine o'clock in the morning.

In this sentence, Tafadhali fika… = Please arrive…
It usually comes at the beginning or end of the sentence:
- Tafadhali fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi.
- Fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi, tafadhali.

It doesn’t change form (no plural/singular, no tense); it’s just a fixed politeness word.

Why is there no word for “you” in fika? How is that telling “you” to arrive?

Swahili uses a special imperative form to give direct commands or requests.

The plain verb stem fika by itself = (you) arrive!
English needs a separate pronoun: You arrive / Please arrive.
Swahili drops the subject in the imperative; it’s implied to be “you”.

So fika on its own is already “(you) arrive,” and tafadhali fika is “please arrive.”

Why is fika used instead of kuja (to come)? Isn’t “Please come at nine” more natural in English?

Both verbs are common, but they differ slightly in meaning:

fika = to arrive / reach a place (focus on the endpoint)
kuja = to come (focus on the movement towards the speaker or place)

In scheduling or appointments, Swahili often prefers fika because the important part is what time you arrive, not the moving itself.

Compare:

Tafadhali fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi.
→ Please arrive at exactly nine in the morning.
Tafadhali uje saa tatu kamili asubuhi.
→ Please come at exactly nine in the morning. (also correct, a bit more “come here” in feel)

What grammatical form is fika here? How would I say “you arrive” in a normal sentence?

In Tafadhali fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi, fika is the imperative (command/request) form.

To make a normal present tense sentence, you add subject and tense markers:

Unifika saa tatu kamili asubuhi. → incorrect
Unafika saa tatu kamili asubuhi. → You arrive at exactly nine in the morning.

Pattern:
u- (you) + -na- (present) + -fika (root) → unafika.

I thought tatu means three. How can saa tatu asubuhi mean nine o’clock?

You’re right that tatu = three, and literally saa tatu = “three o’clock.”
But in everyday East African Swahili, clock time is often counted from 7:00 a.m., not from midnight.

Rough mapping (daytime):

7:00 a.m. → saa moja asubuhi (hour one in the morning)
8:00 a.m. → saa mbili asubuhi (hour two in the morning)
9:00 a.m. → saa tatu asubuhi (hour three in the morning)
10:00 a.m. → saa nne asubuhi
11:00 a.m. → saa tano asubuhi
12:00 noon → saa sita mchana

So saa tatu asubuhi is the third hour after 7 a.m., which is 9:00 a.m. in the “Western” clock system.

Learners are often told the English equivalent directly (here: 9 a.m.), but under the hood the Swahili system is shifted by six hours.

What does kamili add to the meaning?

Kamili means exact / full / complete. With times, it means:

o’clock exactly / sharp / on the dot

So:

saa tatu asubuhi → around nine / at nine (not emphasizing exactness)
saa tatu kamili asubuhi → exactly nine o’clock in the morning / 9:00 a.m. sharp

You can drop kamili if you don’t care about the exact minute:

Tafadhali fika saa tatu asubuhi. → Please arrive at nine in the morning. (not stressing “exactly”)

What does asubuhi mean, and do I always need to say it with the time?

Asubuhi means in the morning.

Typical time-of-day words:

asubuhi – morning
mchana – afternoon / daytime
jioni – evening
usiku – night

You use these to clarify which part of the day you mean:

saa tatu asubuhi → 9:00 a.m.
saa tatu usiku → 9:00 p.m. (depending on local usage, often clarified with context)

You don’t always have to say asubuhi. If the context makes the time of day obvious, you can just say:

Fika saa tatu kamili. → Arrive at nine sharp. (and context tells you whether that’s a.m. or p.m.)

Why is there no word for “at” before the time? In English we say “at nine o’clock.”

Swahili often does not use a preposition like “at” with times. The time expression alone usually functions as an adverbial:

Fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi.
Literally: “Arrive nine sharp morning.”

The position of the time phrase tells you it is when the action happens. You don’t need an extra word equivalent to “at” here.

You could add mnamo in very formal or written language (similar to “on/around”), but in everyday speech it’s usually omitted:

Fika mnamo saa tatu kamili asubuhi. → quite formal.

Can the word order change, like putting asubuhi or tafadhali somewhere else?

Yes, Swahili word order is fairly flexible with adverbs and polite words, though some versions sound more natural than others.

Some acceptable variations:

Asubuhi tafadhali fika saa tatu kamili.
Fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi, tafadhali.

The most natural and neutral version is close to your original:

Tafadhali fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi.

Putting tafadhali at the start or end is most common. Moving asubuhi earlier is possible but can sound slightly marked or emphatic.

Is Tafadhali fika… polite enough, or could it sound too direct?

Tafadhali fika… is generally polite and acceptable in many everyday situations (e.g., texting a colleague, writing a short note).

If you want to be softer or more formal, you can use the subjunctive with a subject marker:

Tafadhali ufike saa tatu kamili asubuhi.
Naomba ufike saa tatu kamili asubuhi. (literally: I request that you arrive…)

These sound more like “Please would you arrive…” or “I kindly ask that you arrive…” and are often preferred in more formal contexts or when you want extra politeness.

How would I say “Please don’t arrive at nine sharp in the morning”?

For a negative imperative, you use usi- (don’t you…) with the subjunctive verb form:

Tafadhali usifike saa tatu kamili asubuhi.
→ Please don’t arrive at nine sharp in the morning.

Pattern:
usi- (don’t you) + -fike (subjunctive of fika) → usifike.

Why is there no “ni” (is/are) in this sentence, and when would I use it with saa tatu kamili asubuhi?

In Tafadhali fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi, the time phrase is just telling when to arrive, so you don’t need ni (“is/are”).

You use ni when the time expression forms a full sentence about the time:

Ni saa tatu kamili asubuhi.
→ It is nine o’clock sharp in the morning.

Compare:

Fika saa tatu kamili asubuhi. → Arrive at nine sharp in the morning.
Ni saa tatu kamili asubuhi. → It is nine o’clock sharp in the morning.

So ni is used when you’re stating the time, not when you’re using the time as a modifier of an action.