Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kwa sasa, sisi wawili tunasoma pamoja sebuleni, lakini baadaye nitamalizia kazi peke yangu chumbani. - For now, the two of us are studying together in the living room, but later I will finish the work by myself in the bedroom.

Kwa sasa often implies a temporary situation that may change later, which fits well with the contrast in the sentence (…lakini baadaye… = but later).

You could say Sasa, sisi wawili tunasoma…, but Kwa sasa matches the idea for the moment we’re studying… but later…

Why do we say sisi wawili and not just sisi?

sisi = we / us
wawili = two (people)

Putting them together, sisi wawili literally means “we two” or “the two of us”.

You use this pattern a lot in Swahili:

sisi wawili – the two of us
nyinyi watatu – the three of you
wao wanne – the four of them

If you only say sisi, it just means we, without specifying how many. Sisi wawili emphasizes that there are exactly two people.

How is tunasoma formed, and what tense/aspect does it express?

tunasoma is built like this:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-na- = present tense marker
-soma = verb root “read / study / learn”

So tunasoma = we are reading/studying or we read/study (generally) depending on context.

Swahili doesn’t have a separate “-ing” form; -na- covers both:

Ninasoma – I am reading / I read
Tunasoma – We are studying / We study

Here, because of kwa sasa and pamoja sebuleni, it clearly means we are currently studying.

What exactly does pamoja mean, and where does it usually go in a sentence?

pamoja literally means “together” or “as one / jointly.”

Common uses:

tunasoma pamoja – we’re studying together
tulienda pamoja – we went together
tufanye kazi pamoja – let’s work together

Position:

It usually comes after the verb phrase: tunasoma pamoja
It can have na after it if you want to specify with whom:
- tunasoma pamoja na kaka yangu – we study together with my brother

In this sentence, tunasoma pamoja sebuleni = we are studying together in the living room.

What is the difference between sebule and sebuleni?

sebule = living room (the basic noun)
sebuleni = in the living room (locative form)

The -ni ending is very common and often means “in/at/on [place]”.

More examples:

shule (school) → shuleni (at school)
nyumba (house) → nyumbani (at home)
kanisa (church) → kanisani (at church)

So sebuleni already includes the idea of “in the living room”; you don’t need an extra preposition like in or inside.

Similarly, what is the difference between chumba and chumbani?

Exactly the same pattern as sebule / sebuleni:

chumba = room (often: bedroom, if context implies that)
chumbani = in the room / in the bedroom

Again, the -ni suffix turns the noun into a locative: place where something happens.

So chumbani in the sentence means “in the bedroom”.

What does baadaye mean here, and how is it different from words like kisha or halafu?

In this sentence, baadaye means “later (on)”.

baadaye – later (at some point after now; can be a bit vague)
kisha / halafu – then / after that (often used to link steps in a sequence or narrative)

Compare:

Kwa sasa tunasoma, baadaye nitapumzika.
For now we’re studying; later I’ll rest. (general “later”)
Tulisoma, kisha tukapika chakula.
We studied, then we cooked food. (sequence of events)

So lakini baadaye gives the idea of “but later (on), at a later time.”

How is nitamalizia built, and how is it different from nitamaliza?

nitamalizia is formed like this:

ni- = I (subject)
-ta- = future tense
-maliz- = root “finish”
-ia = applicative suffix (often adds a sense of “finish something for/with/to” or “finish up”)

So:

nitamaliza kazi – I will finish the work
nitamalizia kazi – I will finish up/complete the work (often with a nuance of attending to it more fully, wrapping it up, or finishing the remaining part)

In everyday speech, nitamaliza kazi and nitamalizia kazi can overlap a lot, and both will be understood as “I’ll finish the work.” Nitamalizia can sound a bit more like “I’ll finish it off / I’ll finish the rest of it.”

What does kazi cover in Swahili? Does it mean “work”, “job”, “homework”, or something else?

kazi is quite broad. It can mean:

work in general:
- Nina kazi nyingi. – I have a lot of work.
job / employment:
- Ana kazi nzuri. – He/She has a good job.
task / assignment / homework (depending on context):
- kazi ya nyumbani – homework / housework
- kazi ya shule – schoolwork

In this sentence, kazi could mean homework, study work, or some tasks the speaker needs to finish. The exact nuance would depend on the context already given to the learner.

How does peke yangu work grammatically, and what are the other forms?

peke + a possessive pronoun means “by oneself / alone.”

Structure: peke + [possessive]

peke yangu – by myself / on my own
peke yako – by yourself (singular)
peke yake – by himself / herself
peke yetu – by ourselves
peke yenu – by yourselves (plural)
peke yao – by themselves

So peke yangu chumbani = alone in the bedroom / by myself in the bedroom.

Sometimes you may also see mwenyewe used with it for emphasis, e.g. peke yangu mwenyewe, but peke yangu alone is already enough and common.

Can we change the word order, e.g. Sisi wawili kwa sasa tunasoma… or Nitamalizia kazi chumbani peke yangu?

Yes, Swahili word order is fairly flexible for adverbs and time/place phrases, as long as the verb structure stays intact.

All of these are acceptable (with small differences in emphasis):

Kwa sasa, sisi wawili tunasoma pamoja sebuleni.
Sisi wawili kwa sasa tunasoma pamoja sebuleni.
Sisi wawili tunasoma pamoja sebuleni kwa sasa.

Likewise at the end:

…nitamalizia kazi peke yangu chumbani.
…nitamalizia kazi chumbani peke yangu.

Both mean I’ll finish the work alone in the bedroom.
Placing peke yangu last can slightly highlight the “alone” part, but both are natural.