Learn Hardcore Swahili: Aliposikia mtu akibisha hodi, mama alifungua mlango polepole. - When she heard someone knocking and saying “hodi,” mother slowly opened the door.

In Swahili, it is very common to build time/condition clauses by inserting -po-, -ki-, -ko- etc. inside the verb, instead of using a separate word like “when”.

alisikia = he/she heard
aliposikia = when he/she heard

So the -po- does the job that English “when” does.
You could also use a full phrase like wakati aliposikia (at the time when he/she heard), but it is not necessary here; aliposikia alone already means “when he/she heard”.

Who is the subject of aliposikia? How do we know it refers to mama?

Grammatically, aliposikia just tells us “he/she” because of the a- prefix. It does not say who that person is.

We discover from context that the subject is mama:

Aliposikia mtu akibisha hodi, mama alifungua mlango polepole.

The second clause names mama clearly as the subject of alifungua. In a normal narrative, we understand that the same person (mama) is doing the hearing and the opening, unless there is a reason to think otherwise.

Swahili very often omits explicit pronouns (yeye) and relies on:

the subject prefix on the verb, and
context from the surrounding clauses.

What does mtu akibisha mean? Why is it not mtu anabisha or mtu alipobisha?

mtu = a person/someone
akibisha = a- (he/she) + -ki-
- bisha (knock)

The -ki- here usually indicates something like “while/when doing X” in a background or ongoing sense.

So mtu akibisha is roughly “someone knocking / while someone was knocking”, matching English “someone knocking” in “when she heard someone knocking…”.

Why not other forms?

mtu anabisha = someone is knocking (a normal present/ongoing tense)
mtu alipobisha = when someone knocked (completed one-time event)

Using -ki- in akibisha makes the knocking sound like an ongoing action in progress when she hears it, which is exactly what English expresses with the -ing form: heard someone knocking.

What is the role of -ki- in akibisha in this sentence?

The -ki- here is a dependent/“while” tense marker. Common uses:

Akibisha on its own: “while he/she is knocking / as he/she knocks”
In this sentence: mtu akibisha hodi = someone (who was) knocking hodi

It often expresses:

An action that is in progress when something else happens
A background or simultaneous action

So we have:

Aliposikia … = when she heard…
mtu akibisha hodi = …someone knocking hodi

That is very parallel to English “When she heard someone knocking…”.

What does hodi mean, and why do we say kubisha hodi?

Hodi is a special word used when you arrive at someone’s house/room and you want to get permission to enter. It is like saying “Knock knock, may I come in?” or “Anyone home?”

The common idiom is:

kubisha hodi = to knock and call out “hodi” to ask permission to enter

In the sentence:

mtu akibisha hodi = someone was knocking and saying “hodi” (or knocking for permission to enter).

So hodi is not a normal noun; it is a polite call or interjection, and kubisha hodi is a fixed expression.

Why do we have both bisha and hodi? Isn’t one of them enough?

Each part adds something:

bisha (as in kubisha mlango) = to knock (physically hit the door)
hodi = the word you say to ask permission to enter

You can:

Just kubisha mlango = knock on the door (no speech mentioned)
Or kubisha hodi = knock and call hodi (the culturally typical way to announce yourself)

In everyday language, kubisha hodi is a very natural way to talk about someone arriving at a door and asking to come in.

How do we know that mtu is the subject of akibisha, not mama?

Swahili word order and agreement show this:

mtu akibisha hodi is a mini-clause:
- mtu = subject noun (someone)
- a- in akibisha = agrees with that subject (he/she/it)

The nearest matching noun before akibisha is mtu, so mtu is its subject.

If mama were the subject of akibisha, the sentence would have to be structured differently, for example:

Aliposikia, mama akibisha hodi… (When she heard, mother was knocking hodi…) – a different meaning.

In the original, mama only appears in the second clause as the subject of alifungua.

What is the exact role of mama here? Does it mean “my mother”, “the mother”, or just “mother”?

mama by itself can mean:

mother (general)
mum/mom (often referring to someone’s or our mother, depending on context)
A respectful way of referring to a woman of a motherly age

In writing, with no extra clues, it is safest to take mama here as “the mother” or just “mother” in the story.

Swahili does not require words like “the” or “my”; those meanings are often understood from context. If the speaker wanted to be explicit, they might say:

mama yangu = my mother
yule mama = that mother/that woman

Why don’t we see a pronoun like yeye (“she”) before alifungua?

Swahili normally does not use separate subject pronouns in front of verbs:

mama alifungua mlango already contains the subject information:
- mama = the noun subject
- a- in alifungua = he/she (agreeing with mama)

Adding yeye would usually sound unnecessary or emphatic:

Yeye mama alifungua mlango – this sounds like “SHE, the mother, opened the door”, with strong emphasis on she.

So, the normal, neutral sentence just relies on the noun + verb agreement.

What does polepole do in this sentence, and why is it at the end?

polepole is an adverb meaning slowly / gently.

mama alifungua mlango polepole
= mother opened the door slowly.

In Swahili, adverbs of manner like polepole often come after the verb phrase:

alisema polepole = he/she spoke quietly
walitembea polepole = they walked slowly

So its position at the end is completely natural.

You will also hear synonyms like:

taratibu = gently, carefully
polepole sana = very slowly

Can we change the word order and start with Mama instead of Aliposikia?

Yes, Swahili word order is fairly flexible with clauses. Both are possible:

Aliposikia mtu akibisha hodi, mama alifungua mlango polepole.
Mama alifungua mlango polepole aliposikia mtu akibisha hodi.

Both mean essentially the same thing.

Version 1 puts more emphasis on the hearing event first (When she heard…, she opened…).
Version 2 starts with what mother did, then explains under what condition (She opened when she heard…).

Both are grammatically correct.

How would this sentence change in the present or future tense?

Starting point (past):

Aliposikia mtu akibisha hodi, mama alifungua mlango polepole.
= When she heard someone knocking, mother opened the door slowly.

Present tense

Anaposikia mtu akibisha hodi, mama hufungua mlango polepole.
= When she hears someone knocking, mother (usually) opens the door slowly.
- a-
  - -na-
    - -po-
      - sikia = anaposikia (when she hears)
- You could also just say: anapomsikia mtu akibisha hodi, mama hufungua…

Future tense

Atakaposikia mtu akibisha hodi, mama atafungua mlango polepole.
= When she hears someone knocking (in the future), mother will open the door slowly.
- a-
  - -ta-
    - -ka-
      - -po-
        sikia = atakaposikia (at the time when she will hear)
- atafungua = she will open.

The structure with -po- stays; only the tense markers (-na-, -li-, -ta-, sometimes -ka-) change around it.