Learn Hardcore Swahili: Bibi anafunga leso kichwani kila asubuhi kabla hajatoka nyumbani. - Grandmother ties a headscarf on her head every morning before she leaves the house.

In this sentence, the most natural reading is “Grandmother / Grandma wraps a headscarf…”, but context (a story, previous sentences, etc.) would decide whether it’s specifically “grandmother” or just “an old lady.”

What exactly is a leso? Is it just “scarf”?

A leso is:

A piece of cloth typically used as a headscarf, kerchief, or wrap.
Often smaller and simpler than a full khanga (the brightly printed cloth many women wear).
Similar to a bandana or headscarf in use.

So anafunga leso kichwani is something like “she ties / wraps a scarf on her head”, with the cloth specifically being this common everyday headscarf.

Why is it anafunga and not anavaa, since this is about wearing something?

Swahili distinguishes how you put something on:

vaa = to wear / put on (clothes, shoes, etc.)
- Anavaa gauni – She is wearing a dress / She puts on a dress.
funga = to tie / fasten / wrap (ropes, belts, cloths, scarves, etc.)
- Anafunga mkanda – She is fastening a belt.
- Anafunga leso kichwani – She is tying/wrapping a scarf on her head.

Here, because a leso is something you wrap or tie, funga is more precise than vaa.

What tense or aspect is anafunga, and how can it mean “every morning”?

Anafunga uses the present -na- tense:

a- = he/she (3rd person singular subject marker)
-na- = present tense marker
funga = verb stem “tie, wrap”

Anafunga by itself can mean:

“she is tying / she is wrapping” (right now), or
“she ties / she wraps” (habitually), depending on context.

In this sentence, kila asubuhi (every morning) makes the meaning clearly habitual:

Bibi anafunga leso kichwani kila asubuhi…
= “Grandma wraps a scarf on her head every morning…”

Could we say Bibi hufunga leso kichwani kila asubuhi instead? What’s the difference from anafunga?

Yes, you could say:

Bibi hufunga leso kichwani kila asubuhi.

Difference in feel:

hufunga (habitual tense with hu-)
- Strongly marks a regular habit or customary action.
- Often used for general truths or routines.
- Feels slightly more formal/bookish.
anafunga with kila asubuhi also clearly means a habit, but sounds a bit more conversational and everyday.

Both are correct; anafunga is very natural in spoken Swahili here.

What does kichwani mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Kichwani comes from:

kichwa = head
-ni = locative ending (in/on/at)

So:

kichwani ≈ “on the head / on (her) head / on one’s head”

The -ni suffix is used with many nouns to show location:

nyumba → nyumbani = in/at home
meza → mezani = on/at the table
shule → shuleni = at school

So anafunga leso kichwani literally: “she ties a scarf on (the) head”, which in normal English becomes “on her head.”

Why isn’t there a word for “her” in leso kichwani, even though English says “on her head”?

Swahili often omits possessive pronouns for body parts and clothing when the possessor is obvious from context, especially if it’s the subject’s own body:

Anaosha mikono = He/she is washing (his/her) hands.
Amejiuma ulimi = He/she has bitten (his/her) tongue.
Anafunga leso kichwani = She is tying a scarf on (her) head.

“Her” is understood automatically because Bibi is the subject and we’re talking about her own head. You would add a possessive only if you need to clarify someone else’s body part, e.g.:

Anafunga leso kichwani kwa mtoto = She ties a scarf on the child’s head.
Anafunga leso kichwani mwenzake = She ties a scarf on her friend’s head.

Does the word order have to be anafunga leso kichwani? Can I say anafunga kichwani leso?

The normal, natural order is:

Verb + direct object + place expression
- anafunga leso kichwani

So:

anafunga leso kichwani = very natural
anafunga kichwani leso = possible but sounds awkward or marked; speakers would rarely say it that way.

Think of leso as the main object being acted on, and kichwani as an added detail of where the action happens. In Swahili, the object usually comes before the locative phrase.

What does nyumbani mean exactly, and how is it different from nyumba?

nyumba = house (just the noun)
nyumbani = at home / in the house / home (locative sense)

Again, -ni adds a location meaning:

Niko nyumbani = I am at home.
Anaenda nyumbani = He/she is going home.
Alitoka nyumbani = He/she left home.

So hajatoka nyumbani = “she has not (yet) left home.”

Why is it hajatoka and not ametoka or anatoka after kabla?

Hajatoka is:

ha- = negative
-ja- = perfect aspect (in negative: “not yet”)
toka = to leave, come out

So hajatoka ≈ “has not yet left”.

After kabla (before), Swahili very often uses this negative perfect form to express “before (something) has happened” = “before it has yet happened”:

kabla hajatoka nyumbani
literally: “before she has not yet left home”
idiomatic English: “before she leaves home / before she has left home.”

You will also hear and see:

kabla ya kutoka nyumbani = before leaving home (using ku- infinitive)

But kabla hajatoka nyumbani is a very normal, idiomatic pattern with a full verb form.

Where is the “she” in hajatoka? Why isn’t there a separate pronoun like in English?

In Swahili, the subject is normally built into the verb via prefixes and tense markers.

Compare:

ametoka = he/she has left
hajatoka = he/she has not yet left

There is no separate word for “she” here because:

The form ha-…-ja- for the negative perfect already implies a 3rd person singular subject (“he/she”).
In general, Swahili rarely uses independent subject pronouns (like English “she”) unless you want to emphasize the subject or contrast people.

So hajatoka nyumbani by itself already means “she (or he) has not yet left home.” The Bibi earlier in the sentence tells you that “she” is Grandma.

Why is there no ya after kabla in kabla hajatoka nyumbani? When do you use kabla vs kabla ya?

There are two common patterns:

kabla + finite clause (full verb with subject marking)
- kabla hajatoka nyumbani
- kabla mimi sijaondoka – before I have left
  Here, kabla is directly followed by a full verb form, so no ya.
kabla ya + noun / infinitive (ku- verb)
- kabla ya kutoka nyumbani – before leaving home
- kabla ya safari – before the trip

So:

kabla hajatoka nyumbani (full clause)
kabla ya kutoka nyumbani (verbal noun/infinitive)

Both are grammatical; they just use different structures.

What does kila asubuhi do here, and can it be moved to another position in the sentence?

kila asubuhi = every morning, an expression of time/frequency.

In the given sentence:

Bibi anafunga leso kichwani kila asubuhi kabla hajatoka nyumbani.

It modifies anafunga, telling you how often she does this action.

You can move it around quite freely:

Kila asubuhi, bibi anafunga leso kichwani kabla hajatoka nyumbani.
Bibi kila asubuhi anafunga leso kichwani kabla hajatoka nyumbani.

All are acceptable. The original position (after kichwani) is very natural, but placing kila asubuhi at the beginning of the sentence is also very common and can slightly emphasize the routine.

How would I say “before I leave home” or “before we leave home,” following the pattern of kabla hajatoka nyumbani?

Using the negative perfect pattern (the same structure as hajatoka) you get:

before I leave home
- kabla sijaondoka nyumbani
  (sijaondoka = I have not yet left)
before we leave home
- kabla hatujaondoka nyumbani
  (hatujaondoka = we have not yet left)

These are directly parallel to kabla hajatoka nyumbani (“before she has not yet left home” → idiomatically, “before she leaves home”). You can also use the infinitive version:

kabla ya kuondoka nyumbani – before leaving home (subject understood from context).