Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ndugu zangu wanaishi mbali, lakini tunazungumza mara kwa mara kwa simu janja. - My relatives live far away, but we talk often by smartphone.

The exact meaning depends on context. In many everyday situations, ndugu zangu is understood as my relatives or my family members, but it can also be my siblings if the context is talking specifically about brothers and sisters.

Why is it ndugu zangu and not ndugu wangu?

Because zangu is the possessive form used for plural nouns of the N-class (class 9/10), and ndugu belongs to that class.

ndugu yangu = my (one) sibling / relative
ndugu zangu = my siblings / my relatives (plural)

You would use wangu with plural nouns in the wa- class (class 2), e.g.:

rafiki wangu = my friend
marafiki wangu = my friends

But ndugu keeps the same form in singular and plural, and its plural possessive takes zangu, not wangu.

How is the verb wanaishi built, and what tense is it?

Wanaishi breaks down as:

wa- = they (subject prefix)
-na- = present tense marker
-ishi = verb root live (from kuishi)

So wanaishi means they live or they are living. Swahili’s -na- present can cover both simple present and present progressive, depending on context. Here, it expresses a general, ongoing situation: they live far away.

What does mbali mean here, and can I say mbali sana to mean very far?

Mbali means far or far away. In this sentence, wanaishi mbali is they live far away.

You can strengthen it by adding sana:

wanaishi mbali sana = they live very far away

You can also say:

wanaishi mbali na hapa = they live far from here
wanaishi mbali na mimi = they live far from me

What does mara kwa mara literally mean, and how is it used?

Literally, mara means time / occasion, and mara kwa mara is like time by time. Idiomatically, it means:

from time to time
every so often
sometimes also quite often / regularly, depending on context

It’s used as an adverbial phrase of frequency:

Ninasoma Kiswahili mara kwa mara. = I study Swahili from time to time.
Anatembelea wazazi wake mara kwa mara. = He/She visits their parents from time to time / regularly.

Can mara kwa mara appear in other positions in the sentence, or must it be after the verb?

It’s fairly flexible. All of these are natural:

Tunazungumza mara kwa mara kwa simu janja.
Tunazungumza kwa simu janja mara kwa mara.
Mara kwa mara tunazungumza kwa simu janja.

Putting mara kwa mara at the beginning adds a slight emphasis on the frequency: As for how often – from time to time we talk by smartphone. But grammatically, all those positions are fine.

What exactly is tunazungumza? Is it different from just tunazungumza vs something like tunapiga simu?

Tunazungumza breaks down as:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-na- = present tense
-zungumza = verb root talk / converse

So tunazungumza = we talk / we are talking.

Related expressions:

tunapiga simu = we make phone calls / we call (literally we hit a phone)
tunachati = we chat (often used for text / online chat)

In the original sentence, tunazungumza … kwa simu janja means we talk (with each other) by smartphone—focusing on the act of talking, not specifically on the act of dialing.

What role does kwa play in kwa simu janja?

Here kwa expresses the means or instrument by which something is done. So:

kwa simu janja = by smartphone, using a smartphone

Some similar patterns:

Anaandika kwa kalamu. = He/She writes with a pen.
Tunazungumza kwa Kiswahili. = We speak in Swahili.
Anasafiri kwa basi. = He/She travels by bus.

So tunazungumza mara kwa mara kwa simu janja = we talk from time to time by smartphone / using a smartphone.

Is simu janja the normal way to say smartphone? Are there other common options?

Yes, simu janja (literally smart phone) is a widely used term for smartphone.

You may also hear:

simu ya mkononi = mobile phone / cell phone (literally phone of the hand)
simu ya kisasa = modern phone

In many contexts nowadays, simu janja specifically suggests a smartphone, while simu ya mkononi can be any mobile phone (smart or not), depending on context.

Why doesn’t the sentence use separate words for they and we? Where are those pronouns?

In Swahili, subject pronouns are normally built into the verb as prefixes:

wanaishi = wa- (they) + -na- (present) + -ishi (live)
tunazungumza = tu- (we) + -na- (present) + -zungumza (talk)

So you don’t usually add separate words like sisi (we) or wao (they) unless you want special emphasis:

Wao wanaishi mbali, lakini sisi tunazungumza mara kwa mara …
= They live far away, but we talk from time to time …

In normal, neutral sentences, the prefixes wa- and tu- carry that meaning.

How would the sentence change if I wanted to talk about just one relative instead of several (my relative lives far away …)?

You would make both the possessive and the verb singular:

Ndugu yangu anaishi mbali, lakini tunazungumza mara kwa mara kwa simu janja.

Changes:

zangu → yangu (plural → singular possessive for ndugu)
wanaishi → anaishi (wa- = they → a- = he/she)

The second part (tunazungumza …) stays the same, because we is still plural.

Can lakini start a new sentence, or is it better to keep it after a comma as in this example?

Both are possible. You can write:

Ndugu zangu wanaishi mbali, lakini tunazungumza mara kwa mara kwa simu janja.
Ndugu zangu wanaishi mbali. Lakini tunazungumza mara kwa mara kwa simu janja.

Using a comma keeps the two clauses more tightly connected, like in English …, but …. Starting a new sentence with Lakini is also common in informal or conversational writing, and it slightly increases the pause and emphasis on the contrast.