Learn Hardcore Swahili: Maktaba ya kijiji inafunguliwa asubuhi mapema na kufungwa jioni. - The village library is opened early in the morning and closed in the evening.

In your sentence, inafunguliwa starts with i-, agreeing with a singular class‑9 noun (maktaba), so we know it’s “the library”, not “the libraries”.

How is inafunguliwa built, and what tense or aspect does it express?

inafunguliwa breaks down like this:

i- = subject prefix for “it” (class 9 noun: maktaba)
-na- = present tense marker (often “is/are …ing” or “usually/nowadays …”)
fungu- = root from fungua (“to open”)
-liw- / -liw- (realized as -liw- / -liw- → written -liw-/-liw-, surfacing as -liw-/-liw-; conventionally just seen as -liw- inside -liwa) = passive
-a = final vowel

So structurally: i-na-fungu-liw-a → inafunguliwa

Meaning: “is opened / is being opened / gets opened” in the present or habitual sense.

In context here, it means something like:

“The village library is opened (every day)…”

What is the difference between kufungua and kufunguliwa?

kufungua = to open (active voice)
- Mlinzi anafungua maktaba. – The guard opens the library.
kufunguliwa = to be opened (passive voice)
- Maktaba inafunguliwa asubuhi. – The library is opened in the morning.

So:

kufungua focuses on who does the opening (the agent).
kufunguliwa focuses on what is being opened, and the person doing it can be left out or is unimportant/obvious.

Why does the sentence use passive forms (inafunguliwa, kufungwa) instead of active verbs with a subject like “the guard”?

Swahili often uses the passive when:

the doer is not important, unknown, or obvious, or
the focus is on what happens to something, not who does it.

Your sentence:

Maktaba ya kijiji inafunguliwa asubuhi mapema na kufungwa jioni.
= The village library is opened early in the morning and closed in the evening.

Here we care about the schedule of the library, not about who opens/closes it.

If you did want to mention the person, you could use the active:

Mlinzi hufungua maktaba asubuhi mapema na kuifunga jioni.
– The guard opens the library early in the morning and closes it in the evening.

Why is the second part na kufungwa jioni and not na inafungwa jioni?

Both are grammatically correct, but they feel slightly different.

na kufungwa jioni

Uses kufungwa (infinitive “to be closed / being closed”) without repeating the subject and tense.
It is understood as:
“…inafunguliwa asubuhi mapema na (inafungwa) jioni.”
This is very natural in Swahili when two actions share the same subject and time frame.

na inafungwa jioni

Repeats the full verb with subject and tense.
Emphasis becomes a bit more balanced:
“It is opened early in the morning, and it is (also) closed in the evening.”

Your original form (na kufungwa jioni) is neat and common, especially in written or more formal styles.

What does asubuhi mapema mean exactly, and why is it in that order?

asubuhi mapema literally is:

asubuhi = morning
mapema = early

Together: “early in the morning”.

Word order:

asubuhi mapema and mapema asubuhi are both used.
asubuhi mapema slightly feels like: “in the morning, (and specifically) early”.
mapema asubuhi can feel like: “early, in the morning”.

In everyday speech, both can be heard; the difference is small. Your sentence is very natural as it is:

inafunguliwa asubuhi mapema – “is opened early in the morning”.

How does asubuhi work here without a word for “in” (like “in the morning”)?

In Swahili, time words often act on their own, without a separate preposition:

asubuhi – in the morning
mchana – in the afternoon
jioni – in the evening
usiku – at night

So instead of saying “in the morning”, Swahili simply uses asubuhi after the verb:

Ninafika asubuhi. – I arrive in the morning.
Maktaba inafunguliwa asubuhi mapema. – The library is opened early in the morning.

The idea of “in/at” is built into the way the time noun is used.

What does jioni cover in terms of time of day?

jioni generally means evening, but in East African usage it often includes a broad late afternoon to early night period.

Roughly:

mchana – midday / afternoon
jioni – late afternoon / evening / early night
usiku – night (later at night)

So kufungwa jioni means “being closed in the evening”, typically sometime around when people are finishing work or shortly after dark, depending on context.

Could I use hufunguliwa instead of inafunguliwa? What would change?

Yes, you can say:

Maktaba ya kijiji hufunguliwa asubuhi mapema na kufungwa jioni.

Difference in feel:

inafunguliwa
- Present progressive / present habitual:
- “is opened (nowadays / every day / currently)”
- Often used for current, ongoing routines.
hufunguliwa
- Typical / general habit (no explicit tense marker; the hu- marker):
- “is usually opened”, “is opened (as a rule)”
- Sounds a bit more timeless or like a standing rule or schedule.

In many everyday contexts they overlap, and both would be understood as saying this is the regular daily routine.

How would I say “The village library is opened early in the morning and closed at night” using only active verbs?

You’d need an explicit subject who does the opening and closing. For example, mlinzi (guard):

Mlinzi hufungua maktaba ya kijiji asubuhi mapema na kuifunga usiku.

Breakdown:

Mlinzi – the guard
hufungua – (habitually) opens
maktaba ya kijiji – the village library
asubuhi mapema – early in the morning
na kuifunga – and closes it (ku-
- -i- object marker “it” + funga)
usiku – at night

How do you pronounce jioni and kufungwa?

jioni

Syllables: ji-o-ni (3 syllables)
Pronounce the i and o separately, not like English “joe”.
Approximate: jee-OH-nee

kufungwa

Syllables: ku-fung-wa (3 syllables)
ngw is like “ng” in “singer” plus a w sound: fung-wa.
Approximate: koo-FOONG-wah

Swahili vowels are pure and short, roughly:

u as in “put”
i as in “machine”
o as in “for” (but shorter)
a as in “father”
e as in “they” (but shorter)

How would I make the subject plural: “The village libraries are opened early in the morning and closed in the evening”?

You change the verb agreement to plural class 10 (still maktaba in form, but plural in agreement):

Maktaba za kijiji – the village libraries
hufunguliwa asubuhi mapema – are (usually) opened early in the morning
na kufungwa jioni – and closed in the evening

So a natural plural sentence:

Maktaba za kijiji hufunguliwa asubuhi mapema na kufungwa jioni.

Key changes:

ya → za (possessive for class 10 plural)
Verb now understood as referring to plural (maktaba class 10). You can keep hufunguliwa or use zinafunguliwa:
- Zinafunguliwa asubuhi mapema… – They are opened early in the morning…