Learn Hardcore Swahili: Huenda nikajiandikisha kwenye kozi hiyo, ili niboreshe kazi yangu. - Perhaps I will register for that course, so that I improve my work.

With huenda, it is especially common to follow it with a subjunctive or -ka- form (huenda nikasafiri, huenda tukachelewa), as in your sentence.

How is nikajiandikisha built up, and why does it have so many parts?

Nikajiandikisha is one long verb made of several parts glued together:

ni- = I (subject prefix, 1st person singular)
-ka- = the -ka- tense/aspect, often called the narrative / sequential form
ji- = reflexive prefix (“oneself”)
andik = root meaning “write”
-ish- = causative suffix (“cause to…”, often part of the verb to register/enroll)
-a = final vowel of the infinitive/indicative verb

So nikajiandikisha roughly = ni- + ka + ji + andik + ish + a
→ I (then) register myself / I (might) go and enroll.

In this sentence after huenda, the -ka- form gives a sense like “I might go and enroll (myself)” or “I might (then) enroll,” sounding a bit like a possible future action.

What does the ji- in jiandikisha do? Could I just say kuandikisha?

Ji- is a reflexive prefix, meaning the subject is acting on themselves.

kujiandikisha – to register / enroll oneself
kuandikisha – to register/enroll someone or something else

Examples:

Nataka kujiandikisha kwenye kozi.
I want to enroll (myself) in the course.
Nataka kuwaandikisha wanafunzi kwenye kozi.
I want to enroll the students in the course.

So in your sentence, nikajiandikisha correctly means “that I might enroll myself” in that course.

Why is kwenye used before kozi, and could I use katika or kwa instead?

Kwenye is a very common preposition meaning “in / at / on / into.” It marks a location or “place” in a broad sense:

kwenye kozi hiyo – in/for that course
kwenye chuo – at the college
kwenye kazi – at work

You could often replace kwenye with:

katika – more formal, very common in writing:
nikajiandikisha katika kozi hiyo – perfectly acceptable, a bit more formal.
kwa – more context-dependent; kwa kozi hiyo would be less natural. Kwa is used more for “by/through/with/for (someone)” and many fixed phrases, not as the default “in/at” for a course.

So here the most natural choices are kwenye kozi hiyo or katika kozi hiyo, with kwenye sounding very normal in everyday speech.

Why is it kozi hiyo and not hiyo kozi?

In standard Swahili, the normal order is:

NOUN + DEMONSTRATIVE

So you say:

kozi hiyo – that course
mtoto huyu – this child
kitabu kile – that book (over there)
kazi hii – this work

Putting the demonstrative before the noun (hiyo kozi) is generally not standard in neutral sentences. You might occasionally see fronted forms for special emphasis or in certain dialects, but the basic rule you should learn is:

Noun first, demonstrative second → kozi hiyo, kazi yangu hii, etc.

What does ili do here, and does it always take a subjunctive like niboreshe?

Ili introduces a purpose clause, meaning “so that / in order that.”

…ili niboreshe kazi yangu
→ “…so that I may improve my work.”

After ili, Swahili normally uses the subjunctive mood:

ni-bore-sh-e → niboreshe (so that I may improve)
uende – so that you may go
tupate – so that we may get

So:

Ninafanya mazoezi ili nipungue uzito.
I exercise so that I may lose weight.

Yes, the pattern ili + subjunctive is very regular and good to memorize.

How is niboreshe formed, and why doesn’t it use -ta- like the normal future tense?

Niboreshe is in the subjunctive mood, not the simple future.

Breakdown:

ni- = I (subject prefix)
boresh = verb stem (boresha = to improve)
-e = subjunctive final vowel (replacing the usual -a)

So:

ninaiboresha kazi yangu – I am improving my work.
nitaiboresha kazi yangu – I will improve my work.
ili niboreshe kazi yangu – so that I may improve my work.

After ili, you don’t normally say nitaiboresha; you use the subjunctive (niboreshe) to express a desired or intended result, not a straightforward future statement.

Could I say ili kuboresha kazi yangu instead of ili niboreshe kazi yangu? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

ili niboreshe kazi yangu
- Finite verb in the subjunctive.
- Literally: so that I may improve my work.
- Focuses on me as the doer of the action.
ili kuboresha kazi yangu
- Uses the infinitive kuboresha (“to improve”).
- Literally: in order to improve my work.
- More neutral and slightly more “impersonal”; the subject I is implied from context, not explicitly marked in that second clause.

Both are grammatical. The original with niboreshe is very natural and clearly shows I as the subject of the improving.

Does kazi yangu mean “my job” or “my work,” and why is it yangu and not wangu?

Kazi can mean:

work in general
a job / occupation
a task / assignment, depending on context

So kazi yangu could be:

my work (in general)
my job (the job I do)
my task, depending on what has been discussed.

As for yangu:

kazi is in noun class 9/10.
Possessive agreements for class 9/10 take -yangu, -yake, -yetu, etc.

So:

kazi yangu – my work
kazi yako – your work
kazi yake – his/her work

Wangu is used with class 1/2 nouns (people):

mtoto wangu – my child
rafiki wangu – my friend

So kazi yangu is correct agreement for the noun class of kazi.

Why is there a comma before ili in the sentence? Is that required in Swahili?

The comma before ili here:

Huenda nikajiandikisha kwenye kozi hiyo, ili niboreshe kazi yangu.

is mainly punctuation style, not a strict grammar rule. It reflects a natural pause in speech between:

The main clause: Huenda nikajiandikisha kwenye kozi hiyo
The purpose clause: ili niboreshe kazi yangu

You can often find it with or without a comma:

Huenda nikajiandikisha kwenye kozi hiyo ili niboreshe kazi yangu.

Both are acceptable; Swahili punctuation follows many of the same general principles as English, but it is somewhat looser in everyday writing.

Can I say Huenda nitajiandikisha kwenye kozi hiyo instead of Huenda nikajiandikisha…? How would the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

Huenda nitajiandikisha kwenye kozi hiyo…

Differences in nuance:

huenda nitajiandikisha
- ni-ta-ji-andikisha: straight future (I will enroll myself).
- This means “I might enroll myself”, with huenda providing the “maybe” and -ta- giving explicit future time.
huenda nikajiandikisha
- ni-ka-ji-andikisha (no -ta-).
- The -ka- form here adds a softer, somewhat more tentative or “I might (go and) enroll” feel, less like a plain future statement.

Both are used in real language. To learn the basics, you can treat them as two ways to say “I might enroll”, with the nitajiandikisha version being structurally closer to the English idea of “maybe I will enroll.”

Could Swahili drop the “I” like English does in “Maybe (I’ll) enroll in that course”? Why do we need ni- in nikajiandikisha and niboreshe?

In Swahili, finite verbs almost always require a subject prefix. That prefix is how you know who is doing the action:

ni- = I
u- = you (sing.)
a- = he/she
tu- = we
m- = you (pl.)
wa- = they

So:

nikajiandikisha = I might enroll myself
niboreshe = (so that) I may improve

You can add an independent pronoun (mimi) for emphasis, but you cannot drop the ni-:

Huenda mimi nikajiandikisha… – Maybe I (as opposed to others) will enroll…

Unlike English, Swahili does not usually allow a finite verb with no subject marker; the subject information is built into the verb.

Why are forms like nikajiandikisha and niboreshe written as one word in Swahili? Can they be split apart?

Swahili is an agglutinative language: many grammatical pieces (subject, tense, object, reflexive, etc.) attach directly to the verb stem as prefixes or suffixes. They are written together as one word:

ni
- ka
  - ji
    - andik
      - ish
        a → nikajiandikisha
ni
- boresh
  - e → niboreshe

You should not separate them with spaces:

✗ ni ka ji andikisha (incorrect as separate words)
✓ nikajiandikisha (correct)

So when you see a long verb in Swahili, it is usually many small grammatical units fused into a single written word.