Learn Hardcore Swahili: Hakimu mzuri akikosea, anakubali kosa ili haki itendeke. - When a good judge makes a mistake, he admits the mistake so that justice is done.

a- = subject prefix for he/she (3rd person singular, class 1 – people)
-ki- = the -ki- tense / subordinator, often meaning when / if / while (two actions happening in the same time frame, or a general condition)
kosea = the verb to make a mistake / to be wrong / to err

So akikosea literally means “when he/she makes a mistake” or “if he/she makes a mistake.”

In context, with hakimu mzuri in front, it gives the general sense:
Hakimu mzuri akikosea = When a good judge makes a mistake / If a good judge makes a mistake.

What’s the difference between akikosea and something like anapokosea?

Both can often be translated as “when (he/she) makes a mistake”, but there’s a nuance:

akikosea (with -ki-)
- Emphasizes a condition or habitual situation.
- Often understood as “whenever / if (ever) he/she makes a mistake”.
- Common in proverbs, rules, and general truths.
anapokosea (with -na- tense + -po- “when/where”)
- More strongly tied to time (when at the time that…).
- Can feel a bit more specific or situational: “(at the time) when he/she makes a mistake”.

In this kind of general moral statement, akikosea is very natural, because the sentence is talking about what a good judge generally does whenever the situation arises.

Why do we have both hakimu and the subject prefix a- in akikosea and anakubali? Isn’t that redundant?

In Swahili it’s normal (and required) to:

Name the subject with a full noun: hakimu mzuri (a good judge)
And still mark the subject on the verb with a subject prefix: a- (he/she) → akikosea, anakubali

This is not considered redundant; it’s agreement:

hakimu mzuri akikosea, anakubali kosa
- hakimu mzuri = the subject (a good judge)
- a- in akikosea, anakubali shows agreement with that subject (3rd singular, person-class).

So you almost always need the subject prefix on the verb even when the noun subject is explicitly mentioned. Leaving it out would be ungrammatical in standard Swahili.

Why does the adjective come after the noun in hakimu mzuri? Could we say mzuri hakimu?

In Swahili the normal order is:

Noun + adjective
- hakimu mzuri = good judge
- mtu mzuri = good person
- kitu kizuri = good thing

Unlike English, where adjectives usually come before the noun, Swahili adjectives typically follow the noun.

Also notice agreement: mzuri matches the noun class:

hakimu is treated as a class 1 (m-/wa-) person noun in the singular.
The adjective -zuri takes the class 1 form mzuri.

So:

mzuri hakimu is not correct; it should be hakimu mzuri.

I see kosea in akikosea and then kosa in anakubali kosa. What’s the relationship between kosea and kosa?

They are related but not identical:

kosa (noun) = a mistake, an error, a fault
- In the sentence: anakubali kosa = he/she admits the mistake.
kosa (verb) = to miss, to lack, to be without – a different verb meaning.
- e.g. Nilikosa basi = I missed the bus.
kosea (verb) = to make a mistake, to be wrong, to err, to offend
- In the sentence: akikosea = when/if he/she makes a mistake.

So:

akikosea = when he/she errs / makes a mistake
anakubali kosa = he/she admits the mistake (the noun kosa).

Could we say hakimu mzuri akikosa instead of akikosea?

It would not mean the same thing, and in this context it would sound wrong.

kosa as a verb usually means to miss / to lack / to be without:
- Nilikosa nafasi = I lacked the opportunity / I had no chance.
- Alikosa maswali mengi = He missed/got many questions wrong (contextual).
kosea as a verb means to make a mistake, to be wrong, to err:
- Nilimkosea rafiki yangu = I wronged my friend.
- Ukikosea, omba msamaha = If you make a mistake, apologize.

In Hakimu mzuri akikosea, the idea is “when a good judge makes a mistake / is in the wrong”, so akikosea is the appropriate verb. Akikosa would shift the meaning toward “when the judge lacks/misses (something)”, which is not what is meant here.

What does ili mean in ili haki itendeke? Is it the same as “so that”?

Yes. Ili is a conjunction that introduces a purpose or result clause:

ili = so that, in order that, so as to

It must be followed by a verb in the subjunctive (ending in -e), not the normal tense forms:

Nafanya hivi ili uelewe. = I’m doing this so that you understand.
Alikimbia ili asichelewe. = He ran so that he wouldn’t be late.

In the sentence:

ili haki itendeke
= so that justice may be done / so that justice can be carried out.

Why is it itendeke and not inatendeka after ili?

After ili, Swahili uses the subjunctive form, not the normal indicative:

Normal present: inatendeka (“it is happening / it is being done”)
Subjunctive: itendeke (“that it may be done / that it happen”)

Key points:

Subjunctive is formed by:
- Keeping the subject prefix (i- here, agreeing with haki),
- Using the verb stem (here tendek-),
- Ending with -e instead of -a.

Because ili expresses purpose, we are not simply describing what is happening; we are talking about what should / may / is intended to happen. Hence itendeke is correct:

ili haki itendeke = so that justice may be done.

How is itendeke built from the verb tenda? What does -eka mean here?

Base verb:

tenda = to do, to perform, to carry out (an action)

From that, we get the derived verb:

tendeka = to be done, to happen, to be carried out
(this uses the suffix -eka, which often makes a verb stative / intransitive / “be done-able”).

Then in itendeke:

i- = subject prefix for class 9/10, matching haki
tendek- = stem from tendeka
-e = subjunctive ending

So itendeke = “may be done / may take place / may be carried out.”

Thus ili haki itendeke = “so that justice may be done (may take place).”

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before hakimu? How do we know it means “a good judge,” not “the good judge”?

Swahili does not have separate words for the articles “a/an” and “the”. The bare noun can cover all of these possibilities:

hakimu can mean:
- a judge
- the judge
- judges in a general sense, depending on context.

In Hakimu mzuri akikosea, anakubali kosa…, the sentence is clearly giving a general principle (like a proverb), so we interpret it as:

“A good judge, when he/she makes a mistake, admits the mistake…”
or even
“A good judge always admits it when they are wrong…”

If the context were specific (we had been talking about one particular judge), we might translate as “the good judge”, but the Swahili form itself doesn’t change; context tells you which English article to choose.

In English we might translate this with gender-neutral “they” (e.g. “when they make a mistake”). Swahili uses a- (“he/she”). How do you express gender-neutral general statements in Swahili?

Swahili does not mark grammatical gender (no distinction between “he” and “she” in the verb system). The subject prefix a- simply means “he/she” for a class 1 person.

To make a general, gender-neutral statement about people, Swahili just uses:

a noun like mtu, hakimu, mwanafunzi, etc.
the normal subject prefix (a-, wa-, etc.)

So:

Hakimu mzuri akikosea, anakubali kosa…
literally: “A good judge, when he/she makes a mistake, admits the mistake…”
but naturally interpreted as referring to any good judge, male or female.

In English we often use “they” to avoid choosing “he” or “she”, but Swahili doesn’t need a special form; a- is already gender-neutral.

Can we change the word order and say something like Anapokosea, hakimu mzuri anakubali kosa or Hakimu mzuri anakubali kosa akikosea?

Some changes are possible, but the naturalness and emphasis change.

Anapokosea, hakimu mzuri anakubali kosa.
- Grammatically fine.
- Now the sentence starts with the time/condition clause (“When he makes a mistake, a good judge admits the mistake”).
- It shifts the emphasis slightly onto the situation before mentioning the kind of person (a good judge).
Hakimu mzuri anakubali kosa akikosea.
- This is understandable but less natural stylistically.
- Normally, the -ki- clause (akikosea) comes before the main clause it conditions, especially in a proverb-like sentence:
  - Hakimu mzuri akikosea, anakubali kosa…

So the original:

Hakimu mzuri akikosea, anakubali kosa ili haki itendeke

is the most natural for a general truth / proverb. Switching clauses is possible in some ways, but not all word orders sound equally idiomatic.

Could we add an object prefix to kosa, like analikubali kosa, or is anakubali kosa the right structure?

The natural structure is anakubali kosa, without an object prefix:

anakubali kosa = he/she admits the mistake

In principle, because kosa is a class 5 noun, the object prefix would be -li-, as in analikubali = “he/she accepts it.” But in this sentence:

You already have the object kosa explicitly after the verb.
Doubling it with an object prefix (analikubali kosa) is not normal in standard Swahili; it sounds awkward or wrong here.

So:

anakubali kosa is the correct, idiomatic form.
If you wanted to omit the noun and just say “he admits it”, then you could say analikubali (with -li- referring back to a previously mentioned class 5 noun).

What’s the difference between haki itendeke and something like haki ifanyike?

Both could be used in similar contexts, but they carry slightly different flavors:

tenda → tendeka → itendeke
- Emphasizes justice being carried out / being done as it should.
- Often used in more formal or legal/moral language.
fanya → fanyika → ifanyike
- More general: “be done / take place” in a broad sense.
- Sounds a bit less specifically legal/moral.

So:

ili haki itendeke = so that justice may be done / realized / carried out (very natural in legal/ethical contexts).
ili haki ifanyike is understandable but sounds slightly less idiomatic for the set phrase; haki itendeke is the more typical collocation.