Learn Hardcore Swahili: Hata kama hatuelewi kila neno, tunaamini tutaendelea kuboreshwa tukifanya mazoezi kila siku. - Even if we do not understand every word, we believe we will keep improving by practising every day.

kama hatuelewi kila neno
→ if we don’t understand every word (neutral condition, no “even” emphasis)
ingawa hatuelewi kila neno
→ although we don’t understand every word (often a bit more formal / written style)

So:

hata kama ≈ even if / even though
kama ≈ if
ingawa ≈ although / though

In this sentence, hata kama emphasizes that despite not understanding every word, the belief still holds.

How is the verb “hatuelewi” built, and why is there no “ku-” in front of it?

Hatuelewi breaks down as:

ha- = negative prefix (for present tense)
-tu- = subject marker for “we”
-elew- = verb root “understand” (elewa)
-i = negative present tense ending

So:

ha + tu + elew + i = hatuelewi → we do not understand

There is no “ku-” because ku- is the infinitive marker (to understand = kuelewa).
In this sentence, we have a finite verb (with subject and tense), not an infinitive:

kuelewa = to understand
tunaelewa = we understand
hatuelewi = we do not understand

So hatuelewi is correctly formed as a present-tense negative verb with the subject “we” built into it.

Why is it “kila neno” and not “kila maneno” if it means “every word”?

In Swahili, kila (every / each) always takes a singular noun, even though the meaning is plural overall.

neno = word (singular, noun class 5)
maneno = words (plural, noun class 6)

With kila, you must use the singular:

kila neno = literally each word → every word
kila siku = every day (siku = both day/days, but here treated as singular with kila)

Saying “kila maneno” would be ungrammatical.

Why doesn’t the verb mark “kila neno” as an object, like “hatulikielewi kila neno”?

Swahili can use object markers on the verb, but in this sentence it’s normal not to:

hatuelewi kila neno
→ literally: we-do-not-understand every word

You could have an object marker with some objects:

hatuyaelewi maneno yote
→ we don’t understand all (of) the words
(ya- = object marker agreeing with maneno, class 6)

But with kila neno, you usually don’t use an object marker. Reasons:

kila + singular noun already gives a clear, general sense (every word).
Object markers are more often used with definite or already known objects (e.g. those specific words), or with people.

So hatuelewi kila neno is the natural, correct form.
Something like hatulikielewi kila neno sounds off and would normally not be said.

How is “tunaamini” formed, and could you say “tunaamini kwamba…” instead?

Tunaamini breaks down as:

-tu- = subject marker “we”
-na- = present tense marker (“are / do / currently”)
-amini = root “believe”

tu + na + amini = tunaamini → we believe / we are believing

About “kwamba”:

tunaamini tutaendelea kuboreshwa…
tunaamini kwamba tutaendelea kuboreshwa…

Both are correct. Kwamba works like “that” in English:

We believe *that we will continue to be improved…*

In everyday Swahili, kwamba is often dropped if the sentence is clear without it. Keeping it can sound a bit more formal or explicit.

What is the tense and meaning of “tutaendelea”, and how is it different from “tunaendelea”?

Tutaendelea:

-tu- = we
-ta- = future tense
-endelea = continue / go on

tutaendelea = we will continue / we will keep on

Tunaendelea would be:

-tu- = we
-na- = present / progressive
-endelea = continue

tunaendelea = we continue / we are continuing

So:

tutaendelea kuboreshwa → we will continue to be improved / we will keep getting better (in the future)
tunaendelea kuboreshwa → we are continuing to be improved / we are currently getting better

The sentence you have is clearly talking about an ongoing future result of daily practice, so future tense fits: tutaendelea.

Why is it “kuboreshwa” and not “kuboresha” or “kuboreka”?

These three are related but not the same:

kuboresha
- boresha = improve (make something/someone better)
- kuboresha = to improve (something)
- Active/causative: cause improvement
kuboreka
- boreka = become better / be in a good state
- kuboreka = to improve / to get better (by itself)
- Intransitive / “it gets better”
kuboreshwa
- bore-sh-wa = be improved
- kuboreshwa = to be improved / to be made better
- Passive: something else (e.g. practice, a teacher) is improving us.

In tutaendelea kuboreshwa:

It literally says: “we will continue to be improved”, implying something (like practice, study, a teacher, etc.) is improving us.

If you said:

tutaendelea kuboresha = we will continue to improve (something else)
tutaendelea kuboreka = we will continue to get better (ourselves, more “naturally”)

All are grammatically fine, but kuboreshwa fits the idea “we will continue to be improved by doing practice every day.”

What does “tukifanya” mean exactly, and how does the “-ki-” part work?

Tukifanya is:

-tu- = we
-ki- = “when / while / if” (dependent clause marker)
-fanya = do

So tukifanya means something like:

“when we do”,
“while we do / are doing”, or
“if we do”.

In context:

tutaendelea kuboreshwa tukifanya mazoezi kila siku
→ we will continue to be improved as/when/if we practice every day.

The -ki- here introduces a clause that is time/condition-related and usually refers to something that happens at the same time as the main action or regularly with it. Compare:

wakati tunafanya mazoezi = when we do exercises (more explicit “wakati”)
tutakapofanya mazoezi = when we (will) do exercises (one future point/condition)

-ki- is lighter and very common in spoken/written Swahili for “when/while/if” in habitual or general statements.

What kind of word is “mazoezi”, and why doesn’t it change form for plural?

Mazoezi is a noun meaning:

exercise(s), training, or practice.

It belongs to noun class 6 (ma- class), and in everyday use it usually has no separate singular form; mazoezi is used for the general idea of exercise/practice, similar to how English often treats “exercise” as an uncountable noun (I get a lot of exercise).

So:

mazoezi can be understood as:
- exercise (uncountable)
- exercises (plural)
- practice (as an activity)

You don’t normally say something like “zoezi” to mean “one exercise” in this context; zoezi exists but is used more for a specific task / drill / practice item, e.g. in a textbook: zoezi la kwanza (exercise 1).

In mazoezi kila siku, it simply means “practice every day”.

Why is it “kila siku” (singular “day”) even though it means “every day” over many days?

This is the same pattern as kila neno:

kila always takes a singular noun:
- kila siku = every day
- kila mtu = every person
- kila mwanafunzi = every student

Even though the meaning refers to many days, the grammar keeps the noun singular after kila.

So kila siku is correct and natural Swahili for “every day”.

Why does the sentence start with the clause “Hata kama hatuelewi kila neno,”? Can we put it at the end instead?

Yes, you can change the order. Both are correct:

Hata kama hatuelewi kila neno, tunaamini tutaendelea kuboreshwa…
Tunaamini tutaendelea kuboreshwa hata kama hatuelewi kila neno.

Differences are mostly about emphasis and style:

Version 1 (given): starts with the concession (“even if we don’t understand every word”), then gives the main point (we still believe we’ll improve).
Version 2: starts with the main belief, then adds the limitation or contrast later.

Both word orders are grammatically fine in Swahili, just as in English with “Even if we don’t understand every word, we believe…” vs. “We believe…, even if we don’t understand every word.”

Where is the word “we” in this Swahili sentence? There is no separate word like “we”, but the English has “we”.

In Swahili, subject pronouns like “I, you, we, they” are usually built into the verb as prefixes, rather than used as separate words.

In your sentence:

hatuELEWI
- -tu- = we (subject marker)
- means: we do not understand
TUnaamini
- -tu- = we
- means: we believe
TUtAendelea
- -tu- = we
- means: we will continue
TUkiFAnyA
- -tu- = we
- means: when/while we do

So “we” appears repeatedly inside the verbs.
You can add the independent pronoun sisi for emphasis:

Sisi, hata kama hatuelewi kila neno, tunaamini…
→ We, even if we don’t understand every word, believe…

But it’s not required for basic meaning, and is often omitted.