Mwalimu anafundisha bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi.

The teacher teaches regardless of the age of the student.

Breakdown of Mwalimu anafundisha bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi.

• mwanafunzi: the student
• mwalimu: the teacher
• kufundisha: to teach
• wa: of
• umri: the age
• bila kujali: regardless of

Questions & Answers about Mwalimu anafundisha bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi.

What does bila kujali literally mean, and how is it used?

Literally, bila kujali means “without caring / without considering.”

• bila = without
• kujali = to care, to mind, to pay attention to, to consider

In this sentence it’s used in the sense of “regardless of / without regard to.”
You can use it in many similar sentences:

• Anasaidia bila kujali pesa. – He helps without caring about money.
• Tunawakaribisha bila kujali rangi au nchi yao. – We welcome them regardless of their color or country.

Why is it bila kujali and not bila anajali?

After bila (“without”), Swahili normally uses the infinitive (the ku- form), not a conjugated verb.

So:

• bila kujali = without caring
• bila kula = without eating
• bila kusoma = without reading/studying

Using bila anajali would be ungrammatical here; bila wants the ku- verb form.

What tense is anafundisha? Does it mean “is teaching” or “teaches”?

anafundisha is in the present tense with the marker -na-.

It can translate as both:

• “is teaching” (right now)
• “teaches” (a general or habitual action)

Swahili doesn’t sharply separate these two meanings the way English does. Context decides whether it’s a specific ongoing action or a general statement. In this sentence, it’s more like a general fact about how the teacher teaches.

How is anafundisha built morphologically?

anafundisha breaks down like this:

• a- = subject prefix for he/she (3rd person singular, noun class 1)
• -na- = present tense marker
• -fundish- = verb root meaning to teach
• -a = final vowel (normal for most verbs)

So a-na-fundish-a = he/she teaches / is teaching.

What does mwalimu mean exactly, and what is its plural?

mwalimu means teacher. It belongs to the M-/WA- noun class (class 1/2) used for people.

• Singular: mwalimu – teacher
• Plural: walimu – teachers

Example:

• Mwalimu anafundisha. – The teacher is teaching.
• Walimu wanafundisha. – The teachers are teaching.

Why do we say umri wa mwanafunzi and not just umri mwanafunzi?

Swahili normally uses the possessive linker -a- (which changes form) to express “of.”

• umri wa mwanafunzi = the age of the student

You cannot just put the two nouns together like English “student age”.
The pattern is:

• [possessed noun] + [form of -a-] + [possessor]
  Here, umri (age) takes wa (the class-11 form of -a-), followed by mwanafunzi.

Why is it specifically wa in umri wa mwanafunzi? Could it be ya or la?

The form of -a- agrees with the noun class of the first noun (umri).

• umri (age) belongs to the U- (class 11), which takes wa for “of”.

Some common forms:

• wa – for classes 1, 2, 11 etc. (e.g., umri wa, mwalimu wa)
• ya – for class 6 or 9/10 (e.g., saa ya, nguo ya)
• la – for class 5 (e.g., jina la)

So umri wa mwanafunzi is correct because umri requires wa.

What exactly does umri mean, and how is it different from miaka?

umri means age as a general concept.
miaka means years (plural of mwaka, year).

• Ana umri wa miaka kumi. – He/She has an age of 10 years.

So:

• umri = age (like “age” in “What is your age?”)
• miaka = years (the units)

In the sentence, umri wa mwanafunzi is “the student’s age.”

What does mwanafunzi literally mean, and what is its plural?

mwanafunzi means student/learner. Literally, it comes from:

• mwana- = person/child/one who…
• -funzi (from -fundisha / -jifunza) = learn/teach-related

So it’s like “one who learns” → student.

Plural:

• Singular: mwanafunzi – student
• Plural: wanafunzi – students

Example:

• Mwanafunzi anasoma. – The student is studying.
• Wanafunzi wanasoma. – The students are studying.

Could the word order be changed, for example: Mwalimu bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi anafundisha?

You can move bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi for emphasis or style, but you must be careful with clarity and naturalness.

Common, natural options:

• Mwalimu anafundisha bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi. (neutral)
• Bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi, mwalimu anafundisha. (fronted for emphasis: Regardless of the student’s age…)

Putting bila kujali… in the very middle like Mwalimu bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi anafundisha is less common and can sound awkward.

Can bila kujali be replaced with another expression like “regardless of” in Swahili?

Yes, there are other ways, though bila kujali is very common and natural. Some alternatives:

• bila kuangalia umri wa mwanafunzi – without looking at / considering the student’s age
• haijalishi umri wa mwanafunzi – the student’s age doesn’t matter
• pasipo kujali umri wa mwanafunzi – (more formal/literary) without caring about the student’s age

All have a similar idea, but bila kujali is straightforward and widely used.

Is mwalimu always “the teacher,” or can it be “a teacher”?

Swahili does not have articles like “a / the”, so mwalimu can mean “a teacher” or “the teacher” depending on context.

• If you are talking about some teacher in general: “a teacher”
• If the teacher is already known in the conversation: “the teacher”

Context, not the Swahili word itself, decides which English article is used.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in tone?

The sentence Mwalimu anafundisha bila kujali umri wa mwanafunzi is neutral and perfectly fine in both spoken and written Swahili.

It would sound natural:

• in everyday conversation
• in a school context
• in a written description of a teacher

It’s neither slangy nor highly formal; it’s standard, good Swahili.