Learn Hardcore Swahili: Nikisoma shajara yangu ya zamani, naona jinsi malengo yangu yalivyobadilika. - When I read my old diary, I see how my goals have changed.

The exact English translation (when vs if vs whenever) depends on context, but the idea is: one action happens in the time frame of another, or as a condition for it.

How is nikisoma different from ninaposoma?

Both can often be translated as “when I read”, but there is a nuance.

nikisoma (with -ki-)
- Very common and natural.
- Often feels slightly more casual and is widely used in speech and writing.
- Emphasizes the idea of overlapping / accompanying action or whenever/if this happens.
ninaposoma (with -po-)
- Built from ni-na-po-soma: I–present–when–read.
- Often a bit more explicit / formal, and strongly tied to time (“at the time when I read”).
- Emphasizes a specific time point or period.

In this sentence, both:

Nikisoma shajara yangu ya zamani, naona…
Ninaposoma shajara yangu ya zamani, naona…

are grammatically correct and natural. The difference is subtle; nikisoma is simply the more common, smooth choice here.

What is shajara, and why is it shajara yangu ya zamani instead of putting “my” at the beginning like in English?

Shajara means “diary / journal” (borrowed from Arabic).

In Swahili, possessives like “my” usually come after the noun, not before it. So:

shajara yangu = my diary
- shajara = diary
- yangu = my (agreeing with the noun class of shajara)

Then we add a descriptive phrase ya zamani (“of the past / old”):

shajara yangu ya zamani
= literally “my diary of the past”
= “my old diary” / “my diary from long ago”

So Swahili word order is roughly:

noun + possessive + descriptive phrase
→ shajara yangu ya zamani
→ diary my of past

What does zamani mean, and what nuance does ya zamani add?

Zamani literally means “a (long) time ago, the old days, the past.”

Common uses:

Hapo zamani – long ago / once upon a time
Siku za zamani – days of old / the old days
Nilikuwa hapo zamani – I used to be there long ago

In shajara yangu ya zamani:

ya = “of” (agreement with shajara)
zamani = the past / old times

So ya zamani = “from the past, of former times, old (in time)”.

The nuance is not just “physically old,” but “belonging to an earlier period in my life.” “My old diary” here implies my diary from years ago, not simply a worn notebook.

What does jinsi mean here, and how does it work grammatically?

Jinsi basically means:

“how / the way / the manner in which”

It is normally followed by a clause that describes how something happens, often with a relative verb (containing -vyo-).

In the sentence:

jinsi malengo yangu yalivyobadilika
= how my goals have changed / the way my goals have changed

Structure:

jinsi – how / the way
malengo yangu – my goals
yalivyobadilika – (the way) they have changed

So naona jinsi… means:

“I see how…” / “I see the way in which…”

How is yalivyobadilika formed, and what does each part mean?

Yalivyobadilika is a relative verb form built from kubadilika (to change). Break it down:

ya- = subject prefix for noun class 6
- agrees with malengo (goals), which is class 6
-li- = past tense marker (here functioning as part of the relative perfect)
-vyo- = relative marker meaning roughly “in the way that / how / that”
-badilik- = change
-a = final vowel

So literally:

yalivyobadilika ≈ “(the way) they changed / they have changed”

Together with jinsi, you get:

jinsi malengo yangu yalivyobadilika
→ “how my goals have changed / the way my goals have changed”

Note also:

It uses ya- (class 6) not wa-, because malengo are things, not people. Wa- is for class 2 (people), e.g., watu (people), walivyobadilika = how they (people) changed.

Why is it malengo yangu yalivyobadilika and not malengo yangu yamebadilika?

Both forms are possible, but they do slightly different jobs.

Malengo yangu yalivyobadilika
- Uses the relative form yalivyobadilika (with -vyo-).
- Fits naturally after jinsi, giving:
  - jinsi malengo yangu yalivyobadilika = how my goals have changed / the way my goals changed.
Malengo yangu yamebadilika
- yamebadilika is a normal (non-relative) verb form:
  - ya- (class 6) + -me- (perfect) + badilik-a
- Means simply: “my goals have changed.”

If you said:

Naona jinsi malengo yangu yamebadilika, it would still be understood as “I see how my goals have changed”, but grammatically the classic pattern is:
jinsi
- relative form with -vyo- → jinsi … yalivyobadilika

So yalivyobadilika is the most “textbook” match with jinsi.

Can naona be written as ninaona? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

naona
ninaona

Both mean “I see” / “I am seeing.”

Technically:

ninaona = ni- (I) + -na- (present) + -ona (see)
In everyday speech and writing, ni- and -na- often merge and the ni- is dropped, giving naona.

So:

Nikisoma shajara yangu ya zamani, naona jinsi…
Nikisoma shajara yangu ya zamani, ninaona jinsi…

are both correct. Naona is shorter and very common; ninaona is a bit more explicit and “full,” but the meaning is the same here.

Where is the English pronoun “I” in this sentence? There’s no separate “I” word.

In Swahili, the subject “I” is usually built into the verb as a prefix, not written as a separate pronoun (except for emphasis).

In the sentence:

nikisoma – the ni- at the beginning means “I”
naona / ninaona – the (ni)na- part also encodes “I”

So:

nikisoma = when I read
naona = I see

You normally don’t add a separate pronoun like mimi unless you want to emphasize:

Mimi nikisoma shajara yangu ya zamani, naona…
= As for me, when I read my old diary, I see… (emphatic “I”).