Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ukimpa mwenzi wako heshima kila siku, ndoa yenu itakuwa na furaha zaidi. - If you give your partner respect every day, your marriage will be happier.

u- = subject prefix for “you” (singular)
-ki- = marker often translated as “when / if / whenever” (a kind of conditional or temporal marker)
-m- = object prefix for “him/her” (person, class 1)
-pa = verb root meaning “give”

So literally, u-ki-m-pa is something like:
“you-when-him/her-give” → “when/if you give him/her …”

In natural English: “If/when you give your partner …”

Why does Ukimpa already mean “if/when you give”, without any separate word like “if” or “when”?

In Swahili, the little piece -ki- is attached inside the verb to express the “when/if/whenever” idea. You don’t need a separate word like if or when.

Ukimpa = u- (you) + -ki- (if/when) + -m- (him/her) + -pa (give)
So -ki- turns a normal clause into a conditional/temporal clause:
- Unampa = you are giving / you give (him/her)
- Ukimpa = if/when you give (him/her)

The meaning (more like “if” or more like “when/whenever”) is decided by context. With a general advice sentence like this one, it feels like “if/whenever you give…”.

Could I say Kama utampa mwenzi wako heshima kila siku… instead of Ukimpa…? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say something like:

Kama utampa mwenzi wako heshima kila siku, ndoa yenu itakuwa na furaha zaidi.

Differences in nuance:

Ukimpa…
- Uses -ki- inside the verb.
- Often feels more natural and smooth in everyday Swahili.
- Can suggest a general / habitual condition: “whenever you give…”
Kama utampa…
- kama is a separate word meaning “if”.
- utampa = u- (you) + -ta- (future) + -m- (him/her) + -pa (give).
- Feels a bit more like a straightforward “if (in the future) you will give…”.

Both are grammatically correct. For this kind of proverb-like advice, many speakers would prefer Ukimpa… because it sounds more generic and more like “every time you do this…”.

In Ukimpa mwenzi wako heshima, why do we have both the object prefix -m- and the full noun mwenzi wako? Isn’t that redundant?

Swahili often uses both:

an object prefix on the verb (here -m- = him/her), and
a full noun phrase (here mwenzi wako = your partner).

In many contexts, this is normal and natural, not “wrong redundancy”.

You can think of it like this:

Ukimpa heshima… = If/when you give him/her respect… (person known from context)
Ukimpa mwenzi wako heshima… = If/when you give your partner respect… (spelling out who “him/her” is)

The object prefix marks the grammatical function, while mwenzi wako makes it clear, specific, and natural sounding.

In casual speech, some people might also say Ukimpa heshima mwenzi wako, but the version in your sentence is very typical.

In the phrase mwenzi wako heshima, which noun is the direct object, and which is the indirect object? Why does the word order look different from English?

Semantically:

mwenzi wako (your partner) = the recipient → indirect object
heshima (respect) = the thing given → direct object

So it corresponds to English:

“give your partner respect”

In Swahili, both objects can come after the verb, and the recipient often comes before the thing given:

Ukimpa mwenzi wako heshima…
→ “If you give your partner respect…”

This order (recipient before thing) is quite normal, especially when you also have the object prefix -m- on the verb referring to the recipient.

What exactly does mwenzi wako mean, and how is it different from mumeo or mkeo?

mwenzi wako literally = “your companion / partner”
- It is gender-neutral, and can refer to spouse, romantic partner, or sometimes close companion, depending on context. Here, context (“marriage”) makes it mean your spouse/partner.
mumeo = “your husband” (from mume = husband + -o “your”)
mkeo = “your wife” (from mke = wife + -o “your”)

So:

The sentence with mwenzi wako is inclusive and neutral about gender.
If you want to be gender-specific, you could say, e.g.:
- Ukimpa mumeo heshima kila siku… = If you give your husband respect every day…
- Ukimpa mkeo heshima kila siku… = If you give your wife respect every day…

Why is it mwenzi wako but ndoa yenu? Why does “your” change from wako to yenu?

Two different things are happening:

Number of “you” (singular vs plural)
- wako = your (singular “you”)
  - mwenzi wako = your (one person’s) partner
- yenu = your (plural “you”)
  - ndoa yenu = your (both of you as a couple) marriage

So the sentence is talking to one spouse about their behavior towards their partner, but the marriage belongs to both of them, so it uses plural “your (you two)” for the marriage.

Agreement with noun class
- mwenzi is in the m/wa (class 1), so the possessive starts with w- → w-ako = wako
- ndoa is in the N class (class 9), so the possessive starts with y- → y-enu = yenu

So:

mwenzi wako = your (sg.) partner
ndoa yenu = your (pl.) marriage (the marriage of you two)

How does kila siku express “every day”, and does the noun change to plural?

kila = every
siku = day (also “days” – it doesn’t change form in the plural)

When you use kila, the noun that follows usually stays in its singular form:

kila siku = every day
kila mwaka = every year
kila mtu = every person

So kila siku is exactly “every day”, and there is no special plural ending added to siku after kila.

How is ndoa yenu itakuwa structured? What does itakuwa literally mean?

Breakdown:

ndoa = marriage
yenu = your (plural), agreeing with ndoa (class 9)
itakuwa = i- (subject prefix for class 9 “it”) + -ta- (future tense marker) + -kuwa (be)

So literally:

ndoa yenu itakuwa…
→ “your marriage, it will be…”

In natural English: “your marriage will be…”.

In itakuwa na furaha zaidi, what role does na play? Is it “and”, “with”, or “have”?

In this structure, kuwa na (be + with) is often best translated as “to have”:

kuwa = to be
na = with

So:

itakuwa na furaha = literally “it will be with happiness”, but idiomatically “it will have happiness / it will be happy”.

You can think of kuwa na X as “to have X” or “to be with X,” depending on context. Here, “have happiness / be happy” is the intended idea.

What does zaidi mean exactly, and where does it normally go in the sentence?

zaidi means “more / extra / further”.

In your sentence:

furaha zaidi = literally “happiness more”, i.e. “more happiness” → “happier” in natural English.

Position-wise, zaidi usually comes after the word it modifies:

pesa zaidi = more money
kazi zaidi = more work
furaha zaidi = more happiness

You can also build comparisons like:

zaidi ya = more than
- furaha zaidi ya zamani = more happiness than before.

Could the sentence be reordered, for example: Ndoa yenu itakuwa na furaha zaidi ukimpa mwenzi wako heshima kila siku? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can reorder it:

Ndoa yenu itakuwa na furaha zaidi ukimpa mwenzi wako heshima kila siku.

This is still correct and the core meaning is the same:

“Your marriage will be happier if you give your partner respect every day.”

The difference is just emphasis:

Original: Ukimpa… , ndoa yenu itakuwa…
- Puts more focus on the condition first: “If/when you give… then your marriage will…”
Reordered: Ndoa yenu itakuwa… ukimpa…
- Starts with the result, then gives the condition.

Both orders are natural in Swahili.

If I want to talk to more than one person (for example, both partners at the same time), how would Ukimpa and mwenzi wako change?

To address you (plural) instead of you (singular):

Change the subject prefix u- → m- (2nd person plural) in the verb:
- mkimpa = m- (you plural) + -ki- (if/when) + -m- (him/her) + -pa (give)
- Mkimpa… = “If/when you (plural) give him/her…”
Change the possessive wako → wenu (your, plural), agreeing with mwenzi (class 1):
- mwenzi wenu = your (plural) partner

So the plural version could be:

Mkimpa mwenzi wenu heshima kila siku, ndoa yenu itakuwa na furaha zaidi.

Here:

Mkimpa = if/when you (all) give him/her
mwenzi wenu = your (pl.) partner
ndoa yenu = your (pl.) marriage (still plural “you two/you all”).