Learn Hardcore Swahili: Nyumba zenu ni nzuri.

So the whole sentence means: “Your (plural) houses are nice.”
(It could also be understood as “Your house is nice” if context makes it singular, because nyumba doesn’t change form in the plural.)

How do you pronounce Nyumba zenu ni nzuri?

Approximate pronunciation (in English spelling):

Nyumba – nyoom‑bah
- ny like “ny” in canyon
- u like “oo” in food
- stress on NYU: NYUm‑ba
zenu – zeh‑noo
- e like “e” in bet
- u like “oo” in food
- stress on ZE: ZE‑nu
ni – nee
- like English “knee”
nzuri – n‑ZOO‑ree
- start with an n then z (like saying “nz” together)
- u like “oo” in food
- stress usually on ZU: n‑ZOO‑ri

Swahili stress is usually on the second‑to‑last syllable, so:
NYUm‑ba ZE‑nu NI n‑ZOO‑ri.

Why is it zenu and not yenu for “your”?

In Swahili, possessives like “my/your/our” change form to agree with the noun class and number of the thing being owned.

The base form for “your (you plural)” is ‑enu, but it needs a class prefix:

For class 9 (singular nyumba), the possessive prefix is ya‑, so:
- nyumba yenu = your (plural you) house is nice
For class 10 (plural nyumba), the possessive prefix is za‑, so:
- nyumba zenu = your (plural you) houses are nice

So:

yenu = ya‑
- ‑enu (used with singular nyumba)
zenu = za‑
- ‑enu (used with plural nyumba)

In Nyumba zenu ni nzuri, zenu tells you that nyumba is being treated as plural: “your houses.”

How would I say “Your house is nice” (speaking to more than one person)?

Use the singular agreement for nyumba:

Nyumba yenu ni nzuri.
- nyumba – house
- yenu – your (you plural, agreeing with singular nyumba)
- ni – is
- nzuri – nice

So: Nyumba yenu ni nzuri. = “Your (plural you) house is nice.”

How would I say “Your house is nice” if I’m speaking to one person?

Change the possessive to match “you (singular)”:

Nyumba yako ni nzuri.
- yako = your (you singular), agreeing with singular nyumba

So: Nyumba yako ni nzuri. = “Your (one person) house is nice.”

How would I say “Your houses are nice” if I’m speaking to one person?

Make the owned thing (nyumba) plural, but keep you singular:

Nyumba zako ni nzuri.
- zako = your (you singular), agreeing with plural nyumba

So: Nyumba zako ni nzuri. = “Your (one person) houses are nice.”

Why is ni used for both “is” and “are”? It doesn’t change?

In this kind of sentence (linking a noun to an adjective or another noun), Swahili uses ni as a copula meaning “to be.”

It does not change for singular or plural:
- Nyumba ni nzuri. – The house is nice.
- Nyumba nyingi ni nzuri. – Many houses are nice.
- Wewe ni mwalimu. – You are a teacher.
- Ninyi ni walimu. – You (all) are teachers.

So in Nyumba zenu ni nzuri, ni covers both “is” and “are”; the plural meaning comes from zenu (and possibly context).

Can I drop ni and just say “Nyumba zenu nzuri”?

In standard Swahili, you normally keep ni in this type of sentence:

Nyumba zenu ni nzuri. – Your houses are nice.

You might hear Ni nzuri or noun + adjective used without ni in some colloquial speech or fixed expressions, but for clear, correct, textbook Swahili:

Keep ni in sentences like this.
Nyumba zenu nzuri without ni will sound incomplete or non‑standard in most contexts.

Does nyumba mean “house” or “home”?

Nyumba can mean both, depending on context:

house / building where people live:
- Nina nyumba kubwa. – I have a big house.
home in a more emotional or general sense:
- Ninakwenda nyumbani. – I’m going home.

So Nyumba zenu ni nzuri can be understood as:

“Your houses are nice”
or, more naturally in some contexts: “Your homes are nice.”

How do I make the sentence negative: “Your houses are not nice”?

To negate this kind of ni sentence, you usually drop ni and use si before the adjective or complement:

Nyumba zenu si nzuri. – Your houses are not nice.

You may also hear:

Nyumba zenu siyo nzuri. – also understood as “Your houses are not nice,” slightly more emphatic or colloquial in some areas.

But the clean, standard form is: Nyumba zenu si nzuri.

Is there any visible plural ending on nyumba or nzuri to show “houses” vs “house”?

No visible plural ending in this case:

nyumba = house or houses
nzuri = nice (same form for singular and plural with this noun class)

Plural is indicated by:

agreement words, like the possessive:
- nyumba yenu (singular house) vs nyumba zenu (plural houses)
or by other context, like demonstratives or numbers:
- nyumba hii – this house
- nyumba hizi – these houses
- nyumba moja – one house
- nyumba tatu – three houses

So in Nyumba zenu ni nzuri, it’s zenu that tells you we’re talking about plural “houses.”

Can I change the word order, for example say “Nzuri ni nyumba zenu”?

The normal and most natural order is:

[Subject] + ni + [Adjective]
Nyumba zenu ni nzuri.

You can sometimes move words around for emphasis in Swahili, but something like “Nzuri ni nyumba zenu” sounds unnatural or poetic/very marked, not like everyday speech.

For regular conversational Swahili, keep:
Nyumba zenu ni nzuri.

What noun class is nyumba, and how does that affect this sentence?

Nyumba belongs to the N class (often called class 9/10):

class 9 – singular: nyumba (house)
class 10 – plural: nyumba (houses)

Effects on this sentence:

Possessive form:
- class 9 singular: nyumba yenu – your (plural you) house
- class 10 plural: nyumba zenu – your (plural you) houses
Adjective form:
- the adjective zuri takes n‑ to agree with this class: nzuri
- same form for singular and plural:
  - nyumba nzuri – nice house
  - nyumba nzuri – nice houses

So class 9/10 is why you see yenu/zenu and nzuri, and why nyumba itself doesn’t change shape for plural.