Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mimi sipendi udaku kwenye magazeti; napendelea habari rasmi tu. - I do not like gossip in newspapers; I prefer only official news.

to emphasize the subject: Mimi sipendi… = As for me, I don’t like… or I personally don’t like…
to sound a bit more contrastive (especially since a contrast follows: I don’t like X; I prefer Y).

You could also say simply:

Sipendi udaku kwenye magazeti; napendelea habari rasmi tu.

and it would still be correct.

How is sipendi formed, and what is the difference from ninapenda?

Compare the positive and negative:

ninapenda = ni- (I) + -na- (present tense) + penda (to like) → I like
sipendi = si- (I, negative) + pend
- -i → I don’t like

Key points:

In the negative present, Swahili:
- uses a negative subject prefix (si- for “I”),
- drops the present tense marker -na-,
- changes the final -a of the verb to -i.
This pattern is regular:
- ninakula → sili (I’m eating → I do not eat)
- ninakwenda → siendi (I go / I’m going → I don’t go)

So sipendi is just the normal present negative of kupenda (to like/love).

What exactly does udaku mean? Is it just “gossip”?

Udaku means gossip, but with a strong nuance of:

tabloid-style gossip
sensational or scandal-focused stories
often not very reliable, “juicy” celebrity news, rumors, etc.

It’s typically a mass noun in this sense, like “gossip” in English:

Sipendi udaku. – I don’t like gossip.

Grammatically:

udaku belongs to a U- noun class (often treated like class 11 or 14).
It is usually used without a plural when referring to “gossip” as a general idea.
If people form a plural, you might see madaku, but this is less common and somewhat informal or stylistic.

So in this sentence, udaku is “gossip (as a type of content)” rather than countable “gossips.”

Why is it kwenye magazeti and not something like katika magazeti or magazetini?

All three are possible, but with slightly different flavors:

kwenye magazeti
- kwenye = in / on / at (very common, quite neutral)
- Literally: in (the) newspapers
- Very widely used in modern Swahili, both speech and writing.
katika magazeti
- katika also means in / within / inside.
- Often a bit more formal or “bookish,” but still common.
- Meaning is basically the same here.
magazetini
- This uses the locative suffix -ni:
  - gazeti (newspaper) → magazeti (newspapers) → magazetini (in the newspapers / at the newspapers).
- Also very natural in speech and writing.

So you could say:

Sipendi udaku kwenye magazeti.
Sipendi udaku katika magazeti.
Sipendi udaku magazetini.

All mean roughly: I don’t like gossip in newspapers.
The original sentence just chooses the very common kwenye.

Why is it magazeti and not singular gazeti?

gazeti = (a) newspaper
magazeti = newspapers (plural)

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about newspapers in general, not one specific newspaper, so the plural is natural:

udaku kwenye magazeti → gossip in newspapers (in general; in the press).

Using gazeti could be possible if you mean one newspaper in a specific context:

Sipendi udaku kwenye gazeti hilo. – I don’t like the gossip in that newspaper.

What is the difference between ninapendelea and napendelea?

The full, “textbook” form is:

ninapendelea = ni- (I) + -na- (present) + pendelea (prefer) → I prefer

In everyday Swahili, the first syllable ni- is often dropped in the present tense, so:

ninapendelea → napendelea

Both:

are understood as “I prefer”,
are grammatically acceptable,
differ mostly in formality / carefulness:
- ninapendelea – more careful, often used in formal writing or teaching.
- napendelea – very common in speech and informal writing.

So in the sentence:

napendelea habari rasmi tu = ninapendelea habari rasmi tu = I prefer only official news.

Why does habari mean “news” here if I also know it from greetings like Habari gani??

Habari is a flexible noun meaning:

news, information, reports
- Habari za leo? – Today’s news? / How’s today?
(How are you?) in greetings (a polite way of asking about someone’s condition)
- Habari yako? – How are you? (literally: your news?)

In this sentence, habari clearly means news / information, because:

it is modified by rasmi (official),
it contrasts with udaku (gossip).

So habari rasmi = official news or official information (e.g., serious news, official reports, non-gossip).

How does rasmi work here? Should it agree with habari somehow?

Rasmi means official (formal, authorized).

In Swahili, most native adjectives take agreement prefixes (e.g. kubwa, mrefu, etc.), but many loan adjectives (especially from Arabic) often stay invariable, without prefixes, and simply follow the noun.

habari rasmi = official news
No prefix is added to rasmi.

So you don’t need to say anything like habari rasmi vs habari rasimi; rasmi just stays rasmi regardless of the noun class.

Why is tu at the end in habari rasmi tu? Can it go before the noun like “only official news”?

In Swahili, tu is a focus particle meaning only / just.
Its normal position is after the word or phrase it limits:

Maji tu – just water / only water
Ninakula wali tu. – I eat only rice.
Habari rasmi tu. – only official news.

So:

habari rasmi tu is the natural way to say only official news.
Putting tu before the noun (like tu habari rasmi) is not correct in standard Swahili.

If you want to add emphasis, you could say:

Napendelea tu habari rasmi. – I just prefer official news (somewhat different emphasis),
but the default neutral way is exactly what you see in the sentence: habari rasmi tu.

Is there any difference in meaning between sipendi udaku and sitaki udaku?

Yes, there is a nuance:

sipendi udaku – I don’t like gossip.
- Talks about your preference / attitude.
- Suggests you find gossip unpleasant or distasteful.
sitaki udaku – I don’t want gossip.
- Focuses on desire / will: you do not want it, you refuse it.
- Could be used, for example, when someone is trying to tell you gossip and you are rejecting it.

In the original sentence, the speaker is talking about what kind of content they like/prefer to read in newspapers, so sipendi (I don’t like) and napendelea (I prefer) match nicely.

Why is there no word for “but” between the two clauses, just a semicolon?

The two parts are:

Mimi sipendi udaku kwenye magazeti; – I don’t like gossip in newspapers;
napendelea habari rasmi tu. – I prefer only official news.

In Swahili, you can explicitly use a conjunction:

Mimi sipendi udaku kwenye magazeti, bali/ila napendelea habari rasmi tu.
- bali / ila = but / rather

However, it is also very natural to just place the contrasting clause after a pause, especially in speech or informal writing. The semicolon represents this pause and contrast in writing.

So the structure is effectively:

I don’t like X; I prefer Y.

The contrast is clear from context, so an explicit “but” is optional here.