Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ukiheshimu walimu na wazazi, utapata mafanikio shuleni. - If you respect teachers and parents, you will achieve success at school.

u- = subject prefix for you (singular)
-ki- = a special tense/aspect marker often used for if / when / whenever
heshimu = verb stem respect

So u-ki-heshimu = if/when you respect.
Swahili normally does not use a separate word for you; it is inside the verb as u-.

Can Ukiheshimu mean both if you respect and when you respect?

Yes. The -ki- form often covers both ideas:

if you respect (a real, possible condition)
when(ever) you respect (a general or habitual situation)

Context decides which English translation feels more natural.
In this sentence (talking about success in school), both if you respect and when you respect make sense.

Why doesn’t the sentence use kama for if?

Swahili has two common ways to say if:

Using kama
- a normal tense, e.g. Kama unaheshimu…
Using the -ki- form, e.g. Ukiheshimu…

The -ki- form is very common in everyday speech for if / when meanings, especially in general statements like this one.

If you say:

Kama utawaheshimu walimu na wazazi, utapata mafanikio shuleni.

it’s still correct, but it sounds a bit heavier and more like a clear “if X then Y” statement. Ukiheshimu… is slightly more fluent and proverbial-style here.

Why isn’t there a separate word wewe for you in the sentence?

Swahili usually does not need a separate subject pronoun, because the subject is built into the verb:

u- in Ukiheshimu = you (singular)
u- in utapata = you (singular)

You can add wewe for emphasis:

Wewe ukiheshimu walimu na wazazi, utapata mafanikio shuleni.
= You (in particular), if you respect teachers and parents, you will succeed at school.

But it is not required.

How is utapata formed, and which part shows the future tense?

utapata breaks down like this:

u- = subject prefix you (singular)
-ta- = future tense marker
pata = verb stem get/obtain

So u-ta-pata = you will get / you will obtain.
The -ta- part is what tells you it’s future tense.

What exactly does mafanikio mean, and is it singular or plural?

mafanikio usually means success / successes / achievement(s) in a general, often abstract way.

Morphologically it looks plural (ma- is a class 6 plural prefix), from a rare singular fanikio.
In real usage, mafanikio is often treated like a mass noun in English (like success), not like a countable plural.

So you can often translate mafanikio simply as success in English, even though it has ma-.

Why is it walimu, not mwalimu?

Swahili has a noun class for people with m-/mw- (singular) and wa- (plural):

mwalimu = teacher (one person)
walimu = teachers (more than one)

In the sentence, we are talking about teachers in general, so the plural walimu is used.

What about wazazi – what is the singular form, and how does it work?

The pattern is similar:

mzazi = parent (one person)
wazazi = parents (more than one)

Again, this is the m-/wa- noun class (class 1/2).
The sentence refers to parents in general, so it uses the plural wazazi.

Why don’t we say ukiwaheshimu walimu na wazazi with -wa- for them?

Swahili has an object marker -wa- for them (people), and you can use it:

Ukiwaheshimu walimu na wazazi, utapata mafanikio shuleni.
= If you respect them, the teachers and parents, you will succeed at school.

However, when the object noun phrase is already written right after the verb (here: walimu na wazazi), the object marker is often optional and frequently omitted, especially in simple sentences.

So:

ukiheshimu walimu na wazazi
is perfectly natural and common.

What does the -ni in shuleni do?

The -ni ending is a locative suffix, meaning in / at / on depending on the noun and context.

shule = school
shuleni = at school / in school

So mafanikio shuleni = success at school.
Using -ni is a compact way to express location without a separate preposition.

Could I say katika shule instead of shuleni? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say katika shule:

Utapata mafanikio katika shule.

This is grammatically correct and means you will get success in school.

The differences:

shuleni – more idiomatic and compact; very natural for common places (shuleni, nyumbani, sokoni…).
katika shule – slightly more formal or neutral; feels a bit less “fixed phrase” than shuleni.

In everyday speech, shuleni is more common in this type of proverb-like sentence.

Can I change the order of the two clauses?

Yes. You can say:

Utapata mafanikio shuleni ukiheshimu walimu na wazazi.

This is still correct. The meaning remains essentially the same: You will succeed at school if/when you respect teachers and parents.

Swahili allows both orders:

Conditional clause first: Ukiheshimu …, utapata …
Main clause first: Utapata … ukiheshimu …

The comma is just punctuation; the grammar is in the verb forms.

How would the sentence change if I were talking to you (plural) instead of you (singular)?

For you (plural), the subject prefix changes from u- to m-:

m-ki-heshimu = mkiheshimu (if/when you [plural] respect)
m-ta-pata = mtapata (you [plural] will get)

So the sentence becomes:

Mkiheshimu walimu na wazazi, mtapata mafanikio shuleni.
= If you (all) respect teachers and parents, you (all) will succeed at school.

Which noun classes do the nouns in this sentence belong to?

The main nouns are:

mwalimu / walimu – teacher(s): class 1/2 (m-/wa-)
mzazi / wazazi – parent(s): class 1/2 (m-/wa-)
shule – school: class 9/10 (no visible plural prefix in the basic form)
mafanikio – success/achievements: usually treated as class 6 (ma-) in practice

Knowing the classes helps you predict agreement patterns (subject/object markers, adjectives, etc.) in other sentences.