Baada ya chakula, tunakunywa maziwa mgando baridi sebuleni.

After the meal, we drink cold yogurt in the living room.

Breakdown of Baada ya chakula, tunakunywa maziwa mgando baridi sebuleni.

• sisi: we
• kunywa: to drink
• baada ya: after
• chakula: the meal
• baridi: cold
• sebuleni: in the living room
• maziwa mgando: the yogurt

Questions & Answers about Baada ya chakula, tunakunywa maziwa mgando baridi sebuleni.

What does baada ya literally mean, and why do we need ya before chakula?

Literally, baada ya chakula is “the after of the food/meal.”

• baada = after (actually a noun meaning “the time after”)
• ya = “of” (a linker/possessive concord that goes with baada)
• chakula = food / meal

So baada ya chakula is “after (the) meal.”
In this expression, baada ya + [noun] is the standard way to say after [noun] in Swahili.

Why is the time phrase Baada ya chakula at the beginning of the sentence, and is that required?

Putting Baada ya chakula at the beginning is a common way to emphasize when something happens:

• Baada ya chakula, tunakunywa … = After the meal, we drink …

It is not required. You could also say:

• Tunakunywa maziwa mgando baridi sebuleni baada ya chakula.

Both are correct. Swahili allows fairly flexible word order for time and place phrases, though they often come at the beginning or the end of a sentence.

How is the verb tunakunywa built, and what tense is it?

tunakunywa breaks down like this:

• tu- = we (subject prefix)
• -na- = present tense / habitual marker
• -kunywa = to drink (verb root)

So tunakunywa can mean:

• we drink (habitually, as a routine)
• we are drinking (right now)

The exact reading (habit vs right now) depends on context, but -na- is the default present tense marker.

If tu- already means “we,” why don’t we say sisi tunakunywa?

You don’t need sisi because the subject prefix tu- on the verb already tells you the subject is “we.”

• Tunakunywa maziwa… = We drink milk…

You only add sisi for emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Sisi tunakunywa maziwa mgando, wao wanakunywa chai.
  We drink sour milk, they drink tea.

In the given sentence, normal, un-emphatic speech just uses tunakunywa.

What exactly is maziwa here, and why does it look plural when English has “milk” as uncountable?

Maziwa is a noun in class 6 and formally looks like a plural form (singular ziwa = breast / udder / lake).

However, when it means milk (the drink), maziwa behaves like a mass/uncountable noun in English:

• Ninakunywa maziwa. = I drink milk / I am drinking milk.
• There is no separate singular form for “a milk” in normal usage.

So grammatically it is a class 6 noun, but semantically it is treated like uncountable “milk.”

What does mgando mean in maziwa mgando baridi?

mgando describes milk that has:

• thickened / clotted
• fermented and turned sour
• become yogurt-like

So maziwa mgando is something like sour/fermented milk or yogurt-like milk.
It’s a fixed, common expression; learners usually just memorize maziwa mgando as “sour milk / fermented milk.”

Why do the descriptive words come after maziwa instead of before, like in English?

In Swahili, adjectives and many descriptive words usually follow the noun:

• English: cold sour milk
• Swahili: maziwa mgando baridi

So the pattern is:

• [noun] [adjective / descriptive word]

Some adjectives agree in class (like -zuri, -kubwa, etc.), others are invariable (like baridi), but their position is consistently after the noun.

Is there any reason the order is maziwa mgando baridi and not maziwa baridi mgando?

The most natural order is maziwa mgando baridi, and that is also a very common fixed phrase.

A simple way to think about the order:

1. First, describe the type/kind of thing: mgando (fermented/sour type of milk).
2. Then, describe a temporary state, like temperature: baridi (cold).

So:

• maziwa mgando baridi ≈ sour (type) milk that is cold.

Saying maziwa baridi mgando is possible but sounds odd or less natural; learners should stick with maziwa mgando baridi.

Why is baridi used here without any change or prefix? Shouldn’t it agree with maziwa?

baridi is one of those words that often functions as an invariable descriptive word (like an adjective that doesn’t change form):

• maziwa baridi = cold milk
• maji baridi = cold water
• chai baridi = cold tea

So even though maziwa is class 6, baridi itself stays the same. Agreement in Swahili is strongest with typical adjectives (like -kubwa, -zuri), but many temperature, color, and similar words are commonly used invariable in everyday speech.

What is the -ni at the end of sebuleni, and does it always mean “in”?

sebuleni comes from:

• sebule = living room
• -ni = locative suffix

Adding -ni often means in/at/on that place:

• nyumba → nyumbani = at home
• darasa → darasani = in class
• sebule → sebuleni = in the living room

So sebuleni means in the living room.
The exact preposition in English (in, at, etc.) depends on context, but -ni is the general locative marker.

Could the location phrase sebuleni appear somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Swahili location phrases are quite flexible. For example:

• Baada ya chakula, tunakunywa maziwa mgando baridi sebuleni.
• Baada ya chakula, sebuleni tunakunywa maziwa mgando baridi.
• Tunakunywa maziwa mgando baridi sebuleni baada ya chakula.

All are grammatically correct. The most neutral and common is to put sebuleni near the end, as in the original sentence.

What is the difference between baada ya chakula and baada ya kula?

Both are correct but slightly different:

• baada ya chakula = after the meal / after the food
  Here chakula is a noun (“food, meal”).

• baada ya kula = after eating
  Here kula is the verb infinitive (“to eat / eating”), used as a verbal noun.

In many contexts they are interchangeable, but:

• baada ya chakula focuses on the event/occasion of the meal.
• baada ya kula focuses slightly more on the action of eating.