Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kocha anamwambia kila mchezaji ajifunze kujiamini anapokosa goli. - The coach tells each player to learn to be confident when they miss a goal.

a- = subject prefix for he/she (3rd person singular, class 1)
-na- = present tense marker (is/does, is currently doing / habitually does)
-mw- = object marker for him/her (class 1 object; underlying m-, which becomes mw- before a vowel)
ambia = verb stem tell / say to

So anamwambia literally means “he/she is telling him/her” or “he/she tells him/her.”

In context, the subject is kocha (the coach), and the object marker mw- refers forward to kila mchezaji (each player):
Kocha anamwambia kila mchezaji… = The coach tells each player…

Why is kila mchezaji singular, and why are the following verbs singular instead of plural?

In Swahili:

kila always takes a singular noun:
- kila mchezaji = each/every player
- kila mtu = everyone / each person

Even though in meaning you are talking about many players, Swahili grammar treats them one by one, so everything that refers back to kila mchezaji is normally singular:

ajifunze = that he/she should learn
anapokosa = when he/she misses

You might be tempted (from English thinking) to say wanapokosa (“when they miss”), but Swahili keeps the agreement singular here:

✅ kila mchezaji anapokosa goli (each player when he/she misses a goal)
❌ kila mchezaji wanapokosa goli (ungrammatical mismatch: singular noun + plural verb)

Why is it ajifunze and not anajifunza after anamwambia?

Ajifunze is in the subjunctive mood (final -e), which is heavily used in Swahili for:

orders
advice
wishes
things someone wants someone else to do

Pattern:
[verb of telling/wanting/asking] + [subjunctive]

anamwambia ajifunze… = he tells him/her to learn / that he should learn
nataka uende = I want you to go
alituomba tusonge = he asked us to move

If you used anajifunza instead:

Kocha anamwambia kila mchezaji anajifunza kujiamini…
sounds more like: The coach tells each player that he is learning to be confident…
(a description of what is happening, not an instruction to do it)

So:

ajifunze = “(that) he should learn / (for him) to learn” ✅
anajifunza = “he is learning / he learns” (ongoing action) ➜ wrong mood for a command here

What is the internal structure of ajifunze?

Ajifunze comes from the infinitive kujifunza (to learn). The parts are:

a- = he/she (subject prefix)
-ji- = reflexive marker (oneself)
funz- = root related to learn / be taught
-e = subjunctive ending

So ajifunze literally = “that he/she learn (for himself/herself)”, i.e. “that he/she learn.”

How is kujiamini built, and what does it literally mean?

Kujiamini is:

ku- = infinitive marker (to)
-ji- = reflexive marker (oneself)
amin- = root from kuamini (to believe, to trust)
-i = final vowel

Literally: “to believe/trust oneself”.

In normal usage, kujiamini means:

to be self‑confident
to have confidence in yourself

Why do we have ji- in both ajifunze and kujiamini? Could we say ajifunze kuamini instead?

The ji- is doing slightly different jobs in each verb, and both are meaningful:

ajifunze
- From kujifunza = to learn.
- Historically reflexive (“learn for oneself”), but in modern Swahili kujifunza simply means to learn.
- You normally must use jifunza; *kufunza on its own is not used with the meaning “learn.”
kujiamini
- From kuamini = to believe, to trust.
- With ji-, it specifically means to trust oneself, be self‑confident.

If you changed the sentence to ajifunze kuamini, it would mean something like:

“He should learn to believe / to have faith (in general),”
not specifically “learn to be confident in himself.”

So both ji- forms contribute:

ajifunze = learn
kujiamini = to be self‑confident
➜ ajifunze kujiamini = “learn to be confident (in himself).”

How is anapokosa built, and what does the -po- part do?

Anapokosa can be broken down like this:

a- = he/she (subject prefix)
-na- = present tense / habitual
-po- = relative/locative/temporal marker (when / whenever / while / where)
kosa = miss, fail, make a mistake

So anapokosa ≈ “when(ever) he/she misses”.

The -po- here makes the clause work like a “when” clause:

anapokosa goli = when(ever) he/she misses a goal

Could we say akikosa goli instead of anapokosa goli? What is the difference?

Yes, akikosa goli is also grammatical, but there is a nuance:

anapokosa goli
- Uses -na- (present/habitual) + -po- (when/whenever).
- Emphasises something that happens whenever / generally:
  - “whenever he misses a goal,” “when he misses (as a habit or repeated situation).”
akikosa goli
- Uses ki-conditional/temporal: “if/when he misses a goal (on that occasion).”
- Often feels more like “if/when he happens to miss a goal (on a given occasion).”

In many everyday contexts they overlap, and both might be understood similarly, but:

anapokosa sounds more clearly habitual/general.
akikosa leans more to conditional/one‑occasion (“if he misses…”).

Is anapokosa goli a relative clause describing mchezaji, or is it a separate “when” clause?

Grammatically, anapokosa with -po- behaves like a relative or temporal clause, and it can be understood in two closely related ways:

As part of what the player should do:
- ajifunze kujiamini anapokosa goli
  = “he should learn to be confident when he misses a goal.”
As something you could expand with wakati (“time/when”):
- ajifunze kujiamini wakati anapokosa goli
  = “he should learn to be confident at the time when he misses a goal.”

You can think of anapokosa goli as a “when” clause attached to the whole idea kujiamini (“to be confident”), not just as a description of which player. Functionally it answers “When should he be confident?”

Why is there no explicit word like kwamba (“that”) before ajifunze? Can we add it?

After verbs like ambia (tell), sema (say), fikiri (think), Swahili can introduce the following clause:

with or without kwamba (“that”).

So both of these are possible:

Kocha anamwambia kila mchezaji ajifunze kujiamini…
Kocha anamwambia kila mchezaji kwamba ajifunze kujiamini…

Kwamba is optional here and usually does not change the meaning; it can sometimes make the sentence feel slightly more formal or explicit, similar to adding “that” in English.

Why is goli used here; is it different from bao?

Both goli and bao can mean “goal” in football/soccer:

goli
- Borrowed from English goal.
- Very common in everyday speech and sports talk.
bao
- Native Swahili word used for a goal or point in many sports.
- Also very common.

In this sentence, goli and bao would both be understood:

anapokosa goli
anapokosa bao

The choice here is more about style and habit than grammar.