Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kabla sijalala leo, nitaandika ndoto hiyo kwenye shajara yangu binafsi. - Before I sleep today, I will write that dream in my personal diary.

Kabla sijalala literally looks like “before I have not slept”, but in Swahili this is the normal way to say “before I sleep / before I have slept.”

si- = negative marker for I
-ja- = perfect aspect (have done)
-lala = sleep

So sijalala = “I have not slept.”

With kabla, Swahili usually uses this negative perfect form:

Kabla sijaondoka, … = Before I leave / before I have left, …
Kabla hujalala, … = Before you sleep / before you have slept, …

The idea is “before the action has happened”, so Swahili expresses it as “before I have not yet done X”, which is why sijalala is used.

Could I say kabla ya kulala leo instead of kabla sijalala leo? Are they the same?

They are very close in meaning and both are correct:

Kabla sijalala leo, nitaandika …
- Literally: “Before I have not slept today, I will write …”
- Usual idiomatic meaning: “Before I go to sleep today…”
- Uses a full clause with a conjugated verb (sijalala).
Kabla ya kulala leo, nitaandika …
- Literally: “Before sleeping today, I will write …”
- Uses kabla ya + verb in the infinitive (kulala = “to sleep / sleeping”).

Differences:

Register / style:
- Kabla sijalala feels a bit more clausal, often used in everyday speech.
- Kabla ya kulala is slightly more neutral / textbook, also very common.
Meaning:
- In practice, in this sentence they mean the same thing: “before I sleep today.”

So yes, you can say kabla ya kulala leo, nitaandika…, and it will be understood the same way.

What is the structure of nitaandika?

Nitaandika breaks down like this:

ni- = subject prefix for “I”
-ta- = future tense marker
-andika = verb root “write”

So nitaandika = “I will write / I will write down.”

Related forms for comparison:

ninaandika = ni- (I) + -na- (present/progressive) + -andika → I am writing / I write
niliandika = ni- (I) + -li- (past) + -andika → I wrote

In this sentence, nitaandika clearly places the action in the future (later today).

Where is the subject “I” in this sentence? Why don’t we see mimi?

In Swahili, the subject is normally shown by a prefix on the verb, so you don’t have to use a separate pronoun:

sija‑lala
- si- = I (negative)
- So this already means “I have not slept.”
ni‑ta‑andika
- ni- = I
- So this means “I will write.”

The pronoun mimi is only added for emphasis or contrast, e.g.:

Mimi kabla sijalala leo, nitaandika…
= Me, before I sleep today, I will write… (contrast with others).

In normal, neutral speech, the prefixes si- and ni- are enough, so there is no separate “I” word in the sentence.

Why is leo placed after sijalala? Could it go somewhere else?

Leo (today) is a time adverb, and Swahili is quite flexible about where it goes. In your sentence it is attached to the first clause:

Kabla sijalala leo, nitaandika …
= Before I sleep today, I will write …

Other natural possibilities:

Leo kabla sijalala, nitaandika ndoto hiyo …
(Today, before I sleep, I will write that dream …) – more emphasis on “today.”
Kabla sijalala, leo nitaandika ndoto hiyo …
(Before I sleep, today I will write that dream …) – contrast with other days.

All are grammatical; the difference is mostly focus / emphasis, not correctness. Putting leo right after sijalala keeps the time clearly attached to the sleeping, not to the writing.

How do I know whether ndoto here means “dream” (singular) or “dreams” (plural)?

Ndoto belongs to noun class 9/10, where singular and plural look the same:

ndoto = dream / dreams

To know if it’s singular or plural, you have to look at agreement words like demonstratives, adjectives, or verbs.

Here we have:

ndoto hiyo
- hiyo is the singular form of “that” for class 9
- The plural form would be hizo (“those”).

So ndoto hiyo must mean “that dream” (singular), not “those dreams.”

Why is it ndoto hiyo and not hiyo ndoto? What’s the rule for demonstratives?

In Swahili, demonstratives (this/that) can go after or before the noun, but the default, most common pattern is:

noun + demonstrative
- ndoto hiyo = that dream
- mtoto huyu = this child
- kitabu kile = that book (far)

Putting the demonstrative before the noun (e.g. hiyo ndoto) is possible, but it is:

Less common in many modern contexts.
Often used for extra emphasis or in more formal / written styles.

For a learner, it’s safe to treat noun + demonstrative (like ndoto hiyo) as the normal, neutral pattern.

What is the difference between hiyo and ile in ndoto hiyo? Could I say ndoto ile?

Both hiyo and ile are demonstratives meaning “that”, but they express slightly different degrees / types of distance:

For class 9 (ndoto):

hii = this (near the speaker)
hiyo = that (near the listener / in the shared context)
ile = that (far from both / more distant, often narrative)

So:

ndoto hiyo – that dream (the one we both know about / in our shared context).
ndoto ile – that dream (over there / that more distant one / that one in the story).

In many real-life sentences, ndoto hiyo and ndoto ile would both be understood as “that dream”, with only a small nuance of distance or narrative style. Your choice of hiyo here is natural if the dream is known in the conversation.

What exactly does kwenye mean here, and could I use katika or ndani ya instead?

Kwenye is a very common preposition meaning roughly “in / at / on”, indicating location.
In this sentence:

kwenye shajara yangu binafsi = in my personal journal / diary

Possible alternatives:

katika shajara yangu binafsi – also “in my personal journal”, a bit more formal / neutral; common in writing and careful speech.
ndani ya shajara yangu binafsi – literally “inside my personal journal”, slightly more literal / physical (“inside” something).

In most everyday speech:

kwenye feels natural and conversational
katika is fine and a bit more formal
ndani ya adds a sense of inside (physically)

Here, kwenye is a very good, natural-sounding choice.

Why is it shajara yangu binafsi and not shajara binafsi yangu?

Word order with possessives and adjectives in Swahili often follows this common pattern:

Noun
Possessive (my, your, his…)
Other adjectives or modifiers

So:

shajara yangu binafsi
- shajara = journal
- yangu = my (agrees with class 9)
- binafsi = personal

This matches a very common pattern like:

rafiki yangu mzuri – my good friend
mwalimu wetu mpendwa – our dear teacher

You can sometimes hear shajara binafsi yangu, but it sounds less neutral and can feel more marked / emphatic, as if stressing binafsi in a special way.

For learners, noun + possessive + other adjective (as in shajara yangu binafsi) is the safest and most natural pattern.

What does binafsi add here? Could I just say kwenye shajara yangu?

Binafsi means “personal / private / of oneself.”

shajara yangu = my journal / my diary
shajara yangu binafsi = my personal journal (implies it is private, just for you)

If you say only kwenye shajara yangu, it still means “in my journal”, but you lose the nuance of “personal / private”. The sentence is still correct, but it no longer emphasizes that this is your own private diary.

So binafsi is optional for grammar, but it adds a meaningful nuance.

Is the comma after leo necessary in Swahili?

The comma in “Kabla sijalala leo, nitaandika …” separates the time clause from the main clause, just like in English:

Kabla sijalala leo, = Before I sleep today,
nitaandika … = I will write …

In Swahili:

The pause is natural in speech.
In writing, the comma is common and helpful, but not absolutely mandatory according to strict traditional rules.

You will often see the comma in published Swahili texts for clarity, so it is good practice to keep it:
Kabla sijalala leo, nitaandika ndoto hiyo kwenye shajara yangu binafsi.