Ninapofanya kazi usiku, mimi ninachoka sana.

When I work at night, I get very tired.

Breakdown of Ninapofanya kazi usiku, mimi ninachoka sana.

• mimi: I
• kazi: the work
• usiku: the night
• sana: a lot
• kuchoka: to become tired
• ninapofanya: when I do

Questions & Answers about Ninapofanya kazi usiku, mimi ninachoka sana.

What exactly does ninapofanya mean, and how is it built?

Ninapofanya roughly means “when I work / whenever I work / when I am working.”

Morphologically it is one verb made of several parts:

• ni- = I (subject prefix, 1st person singular)
• -na- = present tense (often habitual or ongoing)
• -po- = “when / where (at the time/place that)” – a relative marker
• fanya = do (here: do work / work)

So ni-na-po-fanya → ninapofanya = “when I (am) doing / when I do.”

Why is ninapofanya written as one word instead of nina po fanya?

In Swahili, tense markers and relative markers that belong to the verb are written together as one word.

• Subject prefix, tense marker, relative marker, and verb stem are all one grammatical unit.
• Only independent words (like nouns, adjectives, separate particles) are written separately.

So ni + na + po + fanya must appear as ninapofanya, not as three separate words.

What is the difference between ninapofanya kazi usiku and nikifanya kazi usiku?

Both can be translated as “when I work at night”, but there is a nuance:

• ninapofanya kazi usiku

  • Uses -po-, a relative marker.
  • Tends to sound more neutral, general, and habitual: “whenever I work at night.”

• nikifanya kazi usiku

  • Uses -ki-, a conditional/temporal marker.
  • Often means “when(ever)/if I work at night”, sometimes feeling a bit more conditional or event-focused, especially in some dialects.

In everyday speech, many people will treat them almost the same in a sentence like this, and both are acceptable.

Why do we have mimi and also ni- in ninachoka? Isn’t that saying “I” twice?

Yes, mimi and the prefix ni- both refer to “I”, but they serve slightly different roles:

• ni- is a required subject prefix on the verb: ninachoka = “I am getting tired / I get tired.”
• mimi is an independent pronoun, used for:
  • Emphasis (“me, I get very tired.”)
  • Contrast (“When I work at night, I get very tired [even if others don’t].”)

So mimi ninachoka sana is like saying “I, I get very tired.”
You can drop mimi and say Ninapofanya kazi usiku, ninachoka sana, which is still perfectly correct.

Do I have to repeat ni- in ninapofanya and ninachoka, or can I say Ninapofanya kazi usiku, nachoka sana?

Both are possible, but the most standard and clear form is to repeat the subject prefix:

• Ninapofanya kazi usiku, ninachoka sana. ✅ (very clear, fully explicit)

You will also hear:

• Ninapofanya kazi usiku, nachoka sana. ✅ (colloquial, subject sometimes dropped in the second verb)

Grammatically, each verb ideally has its own subject prefix, but in natural conversation the second one may be dropped when the subject is obvious from context.

Why is there no separate word for “I” in ninachoka sana?

Swahili normally builds the subject into the verb using a subject prefix:

• ni- = I
• u- = you (singular)
• a- = he/she
• tu- = we
• m- = you (plural)
• wa- = they

So:

• ninachoka = “I get tired / I am getting tired”
• A separate word mimi is optional and used mainly for emphasis or contrast, not required for basic meaning.

What does kazi mean here, and why do we say kufanya kazi?

Kazi means “work” (both the activity and, in some contexts, “job”).

The verb fanya means “do / make.”
So kufanya kazi literally = “to do work”, and idiomatically it just means “to work.”

• Ninapofanya kazi usiku = “When I work at night.”

This fanya kazi combination is extremely common and natural in Swahili.

What does usiku mean, and is its position after kazi important?

Usiku means “night”.

In ninapofanya kazi usiku, the order is:

• fanya kazi usiku = “do work at night / work at night”

This order (verb + object + time word) is very natural:
[verb] [what?] [when?] → fanya kazi usiku.

You can sometimes move time expressions, but fanya kazi usiku is the most natural ordering. Saying something like fanya usiku kazi is understandable but sounds unusual in standard Swahili for this meaning.

What does sana mean, and why is it at the end of the clause?

Sana means “very” / “a lot” / “so much.”

Position:

• It usually comes after the verb or adjective it is intensifying:
  • ninachoka sana = “I get very tired” / “I get so tired.”
  • mzuri sana = “very good.”
  • anapenda sana = “he/she likes (it) a lot.”

Putting sana at the end of the clause here is normal and idiomatic:
mimi ninachoka sana.

Does this sentence mean “whenever I work at night” or “right now, when I’m working at night”?

It naturally suggests a general/habitual meaning:

• “When(ever) I work at night, I get very tired.”

This is because:

• ninapo- with -na- often indicates a repeated or typical situation in the present.
• There is no word like leo (“today”) or usiku huu (“this night”) restricting it to a one-time event.

To stress a specific current situation, you might say something like:

• Nikifanya kazi usiku huu, ninachoka sana. – “When I work tonight, I get very tired.”
• Nafanya kazi usiku leo, ninachoka sana. – “I’m working at night today, I’m very tired.”

Can I put the clauses in the opposite order, like in English: “I get very tired when I work at night”?

Yes. You can say:

• Mimi ninachoka sana ninapofanya kazi usiku.

Both orders are acceptable:

1. Ninapofanya kazi usiku, mimi ninachoka sana.
2. Mimi ninachoka sana ninapofanya kazi usiku.

The meaning is the same; Swahili is quite flexible with clause order in sentences like this.