Breakdown of Usichelewesha kazi yako bila sababu, kwa sababu kuchelewesha kutakuletea msongo wa mawazo.
Questions & Answers about Usichelewesha kazi yako bila sababu, kwa sababu kuchelewesha kutakuletea msongo wa mawazo.
Usi- is the negative prefix used with the subjunctive/imperative in Swahili.
- chelewesha = to delay (something)
- usichelewesha = do not delay (you, singular), addressed as an instruction or warning
So usichelewesha kazi yako means “don’t delay your work” (speaking to one person). It’s a polite or general negative command, roughly like “Don’t…” in English.
They are related but not the same:
- chelewa = to be late
- Nimechelewa. = I am late / I have come late.
- chelewesha = to make something/someone late, to delay
- Usichelewesha kazi yako. = Don’t delay your work.
In this sentence, the focus is on delaying the work, not just being late yourself, so chelewesha is the correct choice.
Yes, kazi is quite broad and can mean:
- work (in general)
- Nina kazi nyingi. = I have a lot of work.
- job (employment)
- Nina kazi mpya. = I have a new job.
- task / assignment / duty depending on context
In kazi yako here, it can be understood as your work, your job, or your tasks, depending on the learner’s broader context. The sentence is warning you not to delay the things you’re supposed to be doing.
bila sababu literally means “without reason”:
- bila = without
- sababu = reason / cause
So Usichelewesha kazi yako bila sababu =
Don’t delay your work without a reason (i.e., for no good reason).
It’s commonly used like English “for no reason” or “without a good reason”:
- Usifanye hivyo bila sababu. = Don’t do that without a reason.
It looks repetitive because sababu appears twice, but the phrases have different functions:
- bila sababu = without (a) reason
- kwa sababu = because
So the structure is:
- Don’t delay your work without reason, because delaying will bring you stress.
The second sababu is part of kwa sababu, the normal and very common way to say “because” in Swahili. It’s not considered awkward or repetitive in Swahili.
In the second part, kuchelewesha is being used as a verbal noun / infinitive, functioning as the subject of the clause:
- kuchelewesha = delaying (the act of delaying)
The structure is:
- Kuchelewesha kutakuletea msongo wa mawazo.
= Delaying will bring you stress.
So:
- First part: usichelewesha (verb, command)
- Second part: kuchelewesha (verbal noun, “delaying” as a thing)
Using chelewesha without ku- there would not be grammatical, because you need a noun-like form as the subject.
kutakuletea can be broken down like this:
- ku- (subject prefix for class 15, referring to kuchelewesha = the act of delaying)
- -ta- (future tense marker)
- ku- (object prefix = you, singular)
- -letea (verb stem = bring/bring for, cause for)
So literally:
ku-ta-ku-letea = it (the delaying) will-to-you-bring/bring-for
Natural English: “will bring you” or “will cause you”.
Because kuchelewesha (the act of delaying) is class 15, the subject marker is ku-, giving kuta- in the future (ku- + ta-).
ita- is the future marker for class 9/10 or contexts where you’re referring to something like it (a thing) that is class 9/10, for example:
- Hali itakuletea shida. = The situation will bring you problems.
Here, however, the subject is kuchelewesha (the act of delaying), which is in class 15 (the ku- infinitive class). For class 15, the subject prefix is ku-, so the future form is:
- ku- + ta- = kuta-
That’s why we get kutakuletea, not itakuletea.
msongo wa mawazo literally means “pressure of thoughts”:
- msongo = pressure, strain, tension
- wa = of (possessive connector)
- mawazo = thoughts, ideas
Idiomatic meaning: mental stress, anxiety, overthinking, mental pressure.
In everyday Swahili, msongo wa mawazo is a very natural, common way to talk about:
- psychological stress
- being mentally overwhelmed
- having too many worries on your mind
People might also say “stress” (borrowed from English), but msongo wa mawazo is widely understood and often preferred in more formal or neutral speech.
If you say:
- Usichelewe bila sababu. = Don’t be late without reason.
you’re telling someone not to arrive late (e.g., to a meeting, class, etc.).
In the original sentence:
- Usichelewesha kazi yako bila sababu.
= Don’t delay your work without reason.
The focus is not on you being late, but on you causing your work to be late / postponing it. So usichelewesha is better because it talks about delaying the work, not just your own arrival.
Swahili usually includes the subject inside the verb through subject prefixes, so an explicit pronoun is often unnecessary.
In usichelewesha:
- The u- inside usi- refers to “you (singular)”.
- usi- = u- (you) + -si- (negation) in this imperative/subjunctive pattern.
So usichelewesha already carries the meaning “you, don’t delay”, and you don’t need to add wewe (you) unless you want to emphasize:
- Wewe usichelewesha kazi yako…
= You, don’t delay your work… (emphasizing you in contrast to someone else).
To speak to more than one person, you change the subject to plural “you” (m-), and adjust the negative imperative accordingly:
Singular (original):
- Usichelewesha kazi yako bila sababu, kwa sababu kuchelewesha kutakuletea msongo wa mawazo.
Plural version:
- Msichelewesha kazi yenu bila sababu, kwa sababu kuchelewesha kutawaletea msongo wa mawazo.
Changes:
- Usichelewesha → Msichelewesha (don’t you [plural] delay)
- kazi yako → kazi yenu (your [plural] work)
- kutakuletea → kutawaletea (it will bring you [plural])