Learn Hardcore Swahili: Hakimu akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini, uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi. - If the judge listens carefully to the lawyer, the decision of the case becomes more just.

Hakimu akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini,
→ a dependent clause (a kind of when/while/if clause)
uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi.
→ the main clause (the result/general statement)

In English, this is something like:

When/If the judge listens carefully to the lawyer, the decision in the case is more just.

The Swahili -ki- in akimsikiliza often gives a sense of:

when(ever), while, or if (in a general, habitual sense)

So the first clause sets a condition or situation, and the second clause states what is generally true in that situation.

How is the verb akimsikiliza built up, and what does each part mean?

akimsikiliza can be broken down as:

a- : subject prefix for class 1 singular (he/she)
→ refers back to hakimu (judge)
-ki- : a special tense/aspect marker often used for when/while/if in a general or ongoing sense
-m- : object prefix for class 1 singular (him/her)
→ refers to mwanasheria (lawyer)
sikiliza : verb stem meaning to listen

So literally:

a-ki-m-sikiliza = when/if he/she listens to him/her

In full: Hakimu akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini
= (When/If) the judge listens carefully to the lawyer

Why is akimsikiliza used instead of anamsikiliza?

anamsikiliza is a straightforward present tense:

Hakimu anamsikiliza mwanasheria.
→ The judge is listening to the lawyer / The judge listens to the lawyer.

akimsikiliza with -ki- does something different:

It links this action to another action/result.
It usually has the sense when(ever) he listens / if he listens / while he is listening.

So:

Hakimu akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini, uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi.
→ When(ever)/If the judge listens carefully to the lawyer, the decision in the case is more just.

If you used anamsikiliza in that structure, you’d lose that clear when/if flavor and it would sound less like a general rule.

Does akimsikiliza here mean “when” or “if”? How do I know?

-ki- can cover several English ideas: when(ever), while, and sometimes if.

In this sentence:

Context: it’s describing a general truth about what happens in situations where the judge listens carefully.
In English, both when(ever) and if could work:
- When the judge listens carefully… the decision is more just.
- If the judge listens carefully… the decision is more just.

Swahili doesn’t always force you to choose as sharply as English does; -ki- comfortably covers both ideas here. It’s more like:

In any case where the judge listens carefully, the outcome is more just.

What does huwa mean in uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi, and why not just use ni?

huwa comes from the verb kuwa (to be), but it has a special, common usage:

huwa often expresses habitual action, general truths, or typical states.
It’s like saying usually is, tends to be, is (as a general rule).

So:

uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi
≈ the decision in the case is usually more just / tends to be more just.

If you said:

uamuzi wa kesi ni wa haki zaidi, it would sound more like:
- the decision in the case is more just (in this specific instance)
  or a simple statement with less emphasis on habit/general rule.

Using huwa here matches the idea of a general principle: whenever the judge listens carefully, the decision tends to be more just.

What is the function of wa in uamuzi wa kesi?

wa is a possessive/associative marker (the of-marker) for class 11/14 (and others), and it connects two nouns.

uamuzi = decision (class 11)
kesi = case (court case, lawsuit)

uamuzi wa kesi literally: the decision of the case → the decision in the case.

So wa here corresponds to English of (or sometimes in or for), linking:

uamuzi (decision)
kesi (case)

Why is it wa haki zaidi and not ya haki zaidi?

This is about agreement with noun classes.

The linking wa / ya / la / cha / vya / za / etc. must agree with the noun they describe.

In uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi:

The noun being described is uamuzi (decision), which is noun class 11.
The appropriate associative/adjectival form for class 11 is wa.

So:

uamuzi wa haki = a just decision (decision of justice/rightness)
uamuzi wa haki zaidi = a more just decision

If the head noun were class 9, for example:

kesi ya haki → a just case (here kesi is class 9, so ya is used)

But because the thing that is more just is uamuzi (class 11), we use wa.

What does kwa makini mean literally, and why is kwa used?

makini means something like care, attention, carefulness.

kwa is a preposition often used to form adverb-like phrases:

kwa haraka = quickly (with speed)
kwa sauti ya juu = loudly (with a loud voice)
kwa makini = carefully (with care/attention)

So kwa makini literally is with care / with attention, and functionally it means carefully.

In the sentence:

akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini
→ listening to the lawyer carefully.

Can the order of words in the first clause change, e.g. Hakimu akimsikiliza kwa makini mwanasheria?

In theory, Swahili word order is fairly flexible, especially because subject and object markers are on the verb. However:

The most natural and clear order here is:
- akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini
  - verb + object (+ adverbial phrase)

If you say:

Hakimu akimsikiliza kwa makini mwanasheria, it’s not wrong, but it may sound less natural and might feel slightly awkward, because the object mwanasheria is separated from the verb by the adverbial phrase.

Standard, natural order:

[Verb + object] + [adverbial]
→ akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini

Could I say Wakati hakimu anamsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini, uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, and it’s grammatical:

Wakati hakimu anamsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini, uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi.

Differences:

Wakati + anamsikiliza
- This uses wakati = when/while, plus the ordinary present (anamsikiliza).
- It sounds a bit more explicit and slightly more formal/literal: When the judge listens…
akimsikiliza (with -ki-)
- More compact.
- Very common and natural in spoken and written Swahili.
- Smoothly expresses the when(ever)/if/while relationship without needing wakati.

Both express the same basic idea, but akimsikiliza is the more typical Swahili way to build this kind of clause.

Why is there a comma after kwa makini? Is that standard in Swahili?

Yes, this matches a common punctuation pattern in Swahili:

A dependent (subordinate) clause first,
then a comma,
then the main clause.

Here:

Hakimu akimsikiliza mwanasheria kwa makini,
→ subordinate clause (condition/time)
uamuzi wa kesi huwa wa haki zaidi.
→ main clause (result)

So the comma is used very much like in English:

When the judge listens carefully to the lawyer, the decision in the case is more just.

What noun classes are involved here (for hakimu, mwanasheria, uamuzi, kesi), and how do they affect the agreement?

The key nouns and their classes:

hakimu (judge) → class 1 (person)
mwanasheria (lawyer) → class 1 (person)
uamuzi (decision) → class 11 (often U- nouns)
kesi (case) → usually treated as class 9

How this shows up in the sentence:

Subject prefix a- in akimsikiliza
- Matches hakimu (class 1 singular) → a-
Object prefix -m- in akimsikiliza
- Matches mwanasheria (class 1 singular) → -m-
wa in uamuzi wa kesi
- The head noun is uamuzi (class 11), so its associative marker is wa:
  - uamuzi wa kesi (decision of the case)
huwa wa haki zaidi
- huwa doesn’t change with class in the same way the simple copula ni does; it’s derived from kuwa and used as a general form for is (habitually/typically)
- wa in wa haki zaidi again agrees with uamuzi (class 11).

This class agreement is why we see a-, -m-, and wa in these particular places.