Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ni vizuri watoto wajifunze kuuliza maswali kwa uhuru na kutoa maoni yao bila kuogopa. - It is good for children to learn to ask questions freely and express their opinions without fear.

Swahili often uses an impersonal structure here. Instead of saying “It is good that…” with an explicit dummy subject “it,” Swahili just says Ni vizuri … and then continues with the clause:

Ni vizuri watoto wajifunze…
= It is good (that) children learn…

So the “it” is simply understood from context; Swahili doesn’t need a separate word for it.

Why is it watoto wajifunze and not watoto wanajifunza?

The difference is between subjunctive and normal present tense:

wajifunze is subjunctive (wa-ji-funz-e)
wanajifunza is normal present (wa-na-ji-funz-a)

In this sentence we have an evaluation / opinion at the beginning:

Ni vizuri = It is good (that)…

After phrases like Ni vizuri, Ni muhimu, Ni bora, Swahili usually uses the subjunctive to express what should or is recommended to happen:

Ni vizuri watoto wajifunze kuuliza maswali…
= It is good (that) children learn / should learn to ask questions…

If you say:

Watoto wanajifunza kuuliza maswali…
you are just stating a fact: “Children are learning to ask questions…”

Using wajifunze matches the idea of what is desirable, not just what is happening.

What exactly is going on inside the verb wajifunze?

wajifunze is made of several pieces:

wa- = subject prefix for they / children (3rd person plural, noun class for people)
-ji- = reflexive marker (“themselves”)
-funz- = verb root “teach / learn” (in reflexive form it gives the meaning “learn”)
-e = subjunctive ending (instead of the normal -a)

So:

wajifunze ≈ “that they learn (for themselves)” / “may they learn”

The regular present tense equivalent would be:

wanajifunza = wa- (they) + -na- (present) + -ji-
- -funz-
  - -a
    = “they are learning” / “they learn.”

Why is the reflexive -ji- used (wajifunze) instead of just wafunze?

The reflexive -ji- turns “teach” into “learn.”

Verb root -funza = to teach (someone else)
kujifunza (with -ji-) = to learn (literally “to teach oneself”)

So:

wafunze = “that they teach (others)”
wajifunze = “that they learn”

This sentence is about children learning to ask questions, not teaching others; therefore wajifunze is correct.

Why do we say kuuliza maswali? Isn’t kuuliza already “to ask”? Is “ask questions” redundant?

In Swahili, kuuliza usually needs an object, similar to “ask (something)” in English.

kuuliza on its own is just “to ask” but feels incomplete: ask… what?
maswali means “questions” (plural of swali, class 5/6)

The phrase kuuliza maswali is the natural way to say “to ask questions.”

You could also say:

kuuliza jambo = “to ask (about) something”
kuuliza swali = “to ask a question”

So kuuliza maswali is not redundant; it is how you give the verb its object.

What does kwa uhuru mean here, and how does kwa + noun work to form something like “freely”?

kwa uhuru literally means “with freedom” and functions as an adverb “freely.”

uhuru = freedom
kwa = preposition “with / by / in”

Swahili often uses kwa + noun to express manner, similar to English “-ly” adverbs:

kwa haraka = quickly (literally “with speed”)
kwa makini = carefully (literally “with carefulness”)
kwa uhuru = freely (literally “with freedom”)

So in the sentence:

…kuuliza maswali kwa uhuru…
= “…to ask questions freely…”

What is maoni yao exactly? Is maoni singular or plural, and why is the pronoun yao?

maoni is a plural noun in noun class 6 (ma-) meaning “opinions” or “views.”

oni (class 5) would be the singular, but in practice maoni is almost always used as plural meaning “opinion(s)” in general.

Because maoni is class 6 (ma-), the possessive pronoun must agree with class 6:

class 6 possessive “their” = yao
so maoni yao = “their opinions”

If you used zao, it would agree with noun classes like 9/10 (N-class), not with ma-. That would be grammatically wrong here.

Why is yao used for “their” instead of wao, since we are talking about children (people)?

In possessive constructions, the choice of -ao form depends on the noun class of the possessed noun, not on whether the owners are people.

Here, the possessed noun is:

maoni = class 6 (ma-)

The class 6 possessive stem is -ao with y- as the agreement consonant:

yao (for class 6 nouns like maoni, majibu, majani)

So:

maoni yao = “their opinions” (opinions = class 6)

If the possessed noun were a class 2 people noun, like watoto itself, you would use wao:

watoto wao = “their children”

So yao here agrees with maoni, not with watoto directly.

How does bila kuogopa work? Why is a ku- verb used after bila?

bila means “without.” When you say “without doing X” in Swahili, a very common pattern is:

bila + ku- + verb = “without doing (verb)”

In this sentence:

kuogopa = “to fear / to be afraid”
bila kuogopa = “without being afraid / without fear”

This pattern is quite general:

bila kula = without eating
bila kusema = without speaking
bila kusoma = without reading / without studying

You could also express the idea with a noun:

bila hofu = without fear

Both bila kuogopa and bila hofu are natural, but bila kuogopa emphasizes the act of fearing.

Why is there no word like “that” after Ni vizuri, as in English “It is good that children learn…”?

Swahili has a word kwamba that can correspond to English “that” in this kind of clause, but it is often omitted in everyday speech.

Full form (more explicit):
Ni vizuri kwamba watoto wajifunze kuuliza maswali…
Common form (the one you see):
Ni vizuri watoto wajifunze kuuliza maswali…

Both are correct. In many cases, Swahili simply places the clause directly after the evaluative phrase without an explicit “that.” The meaning is the same.

What does na do in …kuuliza maswali kwa uhuru na kutoa maoni yao…? Is it joining two verbs?

[ANSWERER]
Yes, na here is the coordinating conjunction “and.”

It links two infinitive verb phrases:

kuuliza maswali kwa uhuru = to ask questions freely
kutoa maoni yao bila kuogopa = to express their opinions without fear

So the structure is:

… wajifunze [kuuliza …] na [kutoa …] …
= … learn to [ask questions freely] and [express their opinions without fear] …

na can join nouns, adjectives, verbs, or entire clauses, similar to English “and.”

Is the word order fixed, or could we move Ni vizuri to the end, like Watoto wajifunze… ni vizuri?

Putting Ni vizuri at the beginning is the natural, standard structure here.

Ni vizuri watoto wajifunze…
= It is good that children learn…

If you say Watoto wajifunze… ni vizuri, it sounds awkward or at least unusual. You would more likely hear a different structure if you want Ni vizuri at the end, something like:

Watoto wajifunze kuuliza maswali kwa uhuru na kutoa maoni yao bila kuogopa, na hilo ni jambo zuri.
= Let children learn to ask questions freely and express their opinions without fear, and that is a good thing.

So for this simple evaluative statement, the normal order is:

Ni vizuri + [clause in the subjunctive]

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Are there common alternatives to Ni vizuri?

The sentence is neutral and fits well in both spoken and written contexts, including education, parenting advice, or general discussion.

Common variations that keep the same meaning:

Ni vyema watoto wajifunze…
Ni bora watoto wajifunze… (slightly stronger: “It is better / more desirable that…”)
Inafaa watoto wajifunze… (more like “It is appropriate / fitting that…”)

All of these would keep the rest of the sentence unchanged and sound natural.