Learn Hardcore Swahili: Siri moja ndogo ni kwamba Asha huimba usiku, lakini hajawahi kuonyesha sauti yake hadharani. - One small secret is that Asha sings at night, but she has never shown her voice in public.

You can put adjectives in different orders for emphasis, but the standard, neutral order is the one in the sentence. Ndogo siri moja or siri ndogo moja would sound odd or wrong in normal Swahili.

Does siri, moja, or ndogo change form to agree with the noun class?

Here they all appear in their “base” forms:

siri is a class 9/10 noun (same form singular and plural)
The adjective -moja for “one” does not change for class 9/10 nouns:
- siri moja – one secret
- habari moja – one piece of news
The adjective -dogo when used as ndogo is also invariable for class 9/10:
- siri ndogo – small secret
- habari ndogo – small news (minor news)

So in this sentence you don’t see any visible agreement changes, but underneath, moja and ndogo are actually agreeing with a class 9 noun.

What is the function of ni kwamba in …ni kwamba Asha huimba usiku…?

Ni kwamba is often used to introduce an explanatory clause, similar to English “is that…” or “is the fact that…”.

Siri moja ndogo ni kwamba Asha huimba usiku
→ One small secret is that Asha sings at night.

Breaking it down:

ni – “is” (the copula verb)
kwamba – “that” (introducing a clause)

You could roughly paraphrase it as:
Siri moja ndogo: Asha huimba usiku… – One small secret: Asha sings at night…

What does the hu- in Asha huimba usiku mean, and how is it different from anaimba or aliimba?

The prefix hu- on a verb usually marks a habitual/general action – something someone typically or regularly does.

Asha huimba usiku – Asha (usually / habitually) sings at night.
Asha anaimba usiku – Asha is singing at night (right now / these days).
Asha aliimba usiku – Asha sang at night (once, or at some time in the past).

So huimba tells you this is not a one‑time event; it’s Asha’s regular habit.

Why is there no explicit subject pronoun like yeye before huimba or hajawahi?

Swahili normally doesn’t use separate subject pronouns the way English does. The subject is marked:

by the noun itself (Asha)
and/or by a subject prefix on the verb (e.g., ha- for “she/he” in hajawahi)

In this sentence:

Asha huimba… – Asha is the subject. No need for yeye.
…lakini hajawahi kuonyesha… – the ha- on hajawahi already encodes “she/he”, and since we just mentioned Asha, it’s understood that it’s still about her.

You’d only add yeye for special emphasis or contrast (e.g. “she, and not someone else”).

How is hajawahi formed, and what exactly does it mean?

Hajawahi is a combination of several parts:

ha- – negative subject prefix for she/he
-ja- – auxiliary meaning “not yet / (up) to now” (negated perfect)
wahi – “ever / at any time / be in time”

Together in this common pattern, hajawahi means “(she) has never (ever)”.

So:

hajawahi kuonyesha sauti yake hadharani
→ she has never shown her voice in public (up to now / at any point in the past).

Literally, something like: she has not up to now ever done it.

What is the difference between hajawahi kuonyesha sauti yake hadharani and hajaonyesha sauti yake hadharani?

Both are negative perfect forms, but the nuance is slightly different:

hajawahi kuonyesha sauti yake hadharani
- Very clearly “she has never (ever) shown her voice in public.”
- wahi adds the “ever at any time” sense; it’s stronger and more explicit.
hajaonyesha sauti yake hadharani
- Literally “she has not shown her voice in public.”
- Depending on context, it can imply “so far she hasn’t done it,” but it doesn’t automatically carry the strong “never ever” emphasis unless the context makes that clear.

So hajawahi kuonyesha… is the more natural way to say “has never done X” in Swahili.

What does kuonyesha mean here, and how is it related to kuonesha?

Kuonyesha means “to show / to display / to reveal”.

kuonyesha sauti yake hadharani – to show/reveal her voice in public.

You will also see kuonesha in some dialects and texts; it’s a variant spelling/pronunciation of the same verb. In standard usage:

kuonyesha and kuonesha both mean “to show”
In many learning materials, kuonyesha is the preferred form.

Why is it sauti yake and not sauti wake? How does yake agree with sauti?

Possessives in Swahili agree with the noun class of the possessed noun, not with the possessor.

sauti is class 9 (same form singular/plural).
The class 9 possessive for “his/her” is yake.

So:

sauti yake – his/her voice (class 9)
kitabu chake – his/her book (class 7, uses -chake)
mtoto wake – his/her child (class 1, uses -wake)

Using sauti wake would be incorrect class agreement, because wake is for class 1 and 2 nouns (like mtoto).

What exactly does hadharani mean, and how is it used?

Hadharāni means “in public / publicly / in front of people.”

In this sentence:

hajawahi kuonyesha sauti yake hadharani
→ she has never shown her voice in public.

Usage notes:

It usually functions like an adverbial:
- Walijadili suala hilo hadharani. – They discussed that issue in public.
It contrasts with doing something privately or in secret.

Why can you just say usiku for “at night” without a preposition like “in” or “at”?

Time expressions in Swahili often appear without a preposition, acting almost like adverbs:

asubuhi – in the morning
mchana – in the daytime
jioni – in the evening
usiku – at night

So:

Asha huimba usiku – Asha sings at night.
Ninafanya kazi mchana. – I work during the day.

You usually don’t need a preposition such as kwa, katika, or muda wa unless you want a more complex phrase or special emphasis.

What role does lakini play in the sentence, and is the comma necessary?

Lakini means “but” and connects two contrasting clauses:

Asha huimba usiku, lakini hajawahi kuonyesha sauti yake hadharani.
→ Asha sings at night, but she has never shown her voice in public.

About the comma:

In Swahili writing, you can put a comma before lakini, similar to English, but it’s not strictly required by the grammar.
The important thing is that lakini marks a contrast between the two ideas: Asha does sing, but not in public.

Could the sentence use huimba usiku sana or huimba mara kwa mara, and what would those add?

Yes, you can add adverbials to give more detail about how often or how intensely she sings:

Asha huimba usiku sana – Asha sings at night a lot / very much.
Asha huimba usiku mara kwa mara – Asha sings at night from time to time / repeatedly.

These keep the habitual meaning from huimba but add extra nuance:

sana – intensity (a lot, very much)
mara kwa mara – frequency (again and again, repeatedly)

The original sentence just states the habit without specifying how often or how intensely.