Learn Hardcore Swahili: Wanafunzi wakimwona mwalimu msaidizi, wanamuuliza maswali mengi. - When the students see the assistant teacher, they ask him/her many questions.

wa- – subject prefix for they (class 2, humans)
-ki- – marker meaning when / if (a kind of conditional or temporal marker)
-m- – object marker for him / her (class 1, a person)
-wona – from the verb -ona (to see); the mu + ona combination often contracts to mwona

So wakimwona literally has the sense:
they-when-him/her-see → when they see him/her.

In this sentence it refers to when the students see the assistant teacher.

What is the role of -ki- in wakimwona?

The element -ki- turns the verb into a when / if clause. It often corresponds to English “when” (and sometimes “if”) in contexts like:

Wakimwona mwalimu msaidizi, ...
When they see the assistant teacher, ...

More examples:

Nikifika, nitakupigia simu. – When I arrive, I’ll call you.
Ukisoma sana, utafaulu. – If/When you study a lot, you will pass.

So -ki- here marks a dependent clause of time or condition that links to the main clause (wanamuuliza maswali mengi).

Why is it wakimwona and not wakimuona? Where did the u go?

Underlyingly, the parts would be:

wa-ki-mu-ona → wakimuona

But in Swahili, when mu comes right before ona, it often contracts to mwo or mwo → written as mwo or mwo but usually simplified in standard spelling to mwo/mwo and then mwona. So:

mu + ona → mwona
wakimuona → wakimwona

This kind of contraction is quite common:

kumwona (to see him/her) from ku-mu-ona
nimwona (I saw him/her) from ni-mu-ona

So wakimwona is the normal contracted form and is preferred in writing.

Why do we say kumwona for “to see him/her” instead of just kuona?

kuona = to see (in general)
kumwona = to see him/her

The difference is the object marker:

ku-ona → infinitive to see
ku-mu-ona → to see him/her
contracted to kumwona

So whenever you want to explicitly say see him/her, you add the object prefix mu- to the verb, which often contracts:

ku + mu + ona → kumwona
wa + na + mu + ona → wanamwona (“they are seeing him/her”)

What exactly does wanamuuliza mean, and how is it different from just wanauliza?

Wanamuuliza is made up of:

wa- – subject prefix: they
-na- – present/habitual tense marker
mu- – object marker: him / her (class 1, a person)
uliza – verb root: ask

So:

wanauliza = they are asking / they ask (no object specified)
wanamuuliza = they are asking him/her / they ask him/her

In this sentence:

wanamuuliza maswali mengi = they ask him/her many questions

The mu shows that the person being asked is the assistant teacher.

Why is the object marker -m- in wakimwona but mu- in wanamuuliza? Aren’t they the same thing?

Yes, they refer to the same object marker (class 1, him/her), but:

Before a consonant like w, mu often contracts to m:
- wa-ki-mu-ona → wakimwona
Before a vowel like u (in uliza), the u stays:
- wa-na-mu-uliza → wanamuuliza

So:

-m- and mu- here are the same grammatical element, just appearing in slightly different forms because of sound changes and ease of pronunciation.

What is the function of wa- in both wanafunzi and wanamuuliza? Is it the same wa-?

These are two different wa’s:

In wanafunzi:
- wa- is part of the noun class prefix (class 2, plural for people)
- mwanafunzi = student (singular, class 1)
  wanafunzi = students (plural, class 2)
In wanamuuliza:
- wa- is the subject prefix on the verb: they
- wa-na-mu-uliza → wanamuuliza = they ask him/her

So:

wanafunzi = students (noun with class prefix)
wanamuuliza = they ask him/her (verb with subject prefix)

What does mwalimu msaidizi literally mean, and why is msaidizi after mwalimu?

Mwalimu msaidizi literally is:

mwalimu – teacher
m
- saidizi – helper, assistant (from -saidia, to help)

So mwalimu msaidizi = teacher (who is) a helper → assistant teacher.

In Swahili, a noun that describes another noun usually comes after it, so:

mwalimu mkuu – head teacher / principal (literally “teacher chief”)
mwalimu mgeni – guest teacher (literally “teacher guest”)
mwalimu msaidizi – assistant teacher (literally “teacher assistant/helper”)

What tense or aspect is expressed by wanamuuliza in this sentence?

Wanamuuliza uses the -na- tense marker:

wa- – they
-na- – present / habitual
mu- – him/her
uliza – ask

This -na- form can usually mean:

present progressive: they are asking him/her
present habitual/general: they (usually) ask him/her

In this sentence combined with wakimwona (“when they see him/her”), the meaning is habitual:

When they see the assistant teacher, they (always/usually) ask him/her many questions.

Why is it maswali mengi and not mengi maswali?

In Swahili the normal order is:

noun + adjective / quantifier

So you say:

maswali mengi – many questions
vitabu vingi – many books
watu wengi – many people

Putting mengi before maswali (mengi maswali) is ungrammatical in standard Swahili. Describing words usually follow the noun they describe.

Why is it mengi and not mingi in maswali mengi?

The form of “many” must agree with the noun class.

maswali is class 6 (ma- class plural)
For class 6, “many” is mengi (not mingi)

Some patterns for “many”:

class 1/2 (mtu / watu): mtu mwingi? (rare) / watu wengi
class 3/4 (mti / miti): miti mingi
class 5/6 (swali / maswali): maswali mengi
class 9/10 (nyumba / nyumba): nyumba nyingi

So maswali mengi is the correct agreement for class 6.

Could this sentence be in the past? How would I say “When the students saw the assistant teacher, they asked him/her many questions”?

Yes, you just change the tense markers:

wakimwona → walipomwona (when they saw him/her)
- wa- – they
- -li- – past
- -po- – when / at the time that
- -m- – him/her
- -wona – see
wanamuuliza → walimuuliza (they asked him/her)
- wa- – they
- -li- – past
- mu- – him/her
- uliza – ask

So the past version could be:

Wanafunzi walipomwona mwalimu msaidizi, walimuuliza maswali mengi.
= When the students saw the assistant teacher, they asked him/her many questions.

How do you pronounce wakimwona? The mw and mwo parts are confusing.

Pronounce wakimwona in four smooth syllables:

wa-ki-mwo-na

Tips:

wa – like “wah”
ki – like “key”
mwo – start with an m (lips closed), then move into wo as in “woe”, but keep it short
na – like “nah”

Say it slowly first: wa-ki-mwo-na, then speed up into wakimwona. The mw sound is like the start of English “mwa” in “mois” (if you imagine that) or the mw in “Mwalimu”.