Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mimi na mwenzangu tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza ndefu yenye viti vingi. - My colleague and I sit on one side of a long table that has many chairs.

In Swahili, the subject is already built into the verb: tu- in tunakaa means “we”.
So grammatically, you could say only Tunakaa upande mmoja… and it would still mean “We sit…”.

Adding mimi na mwenzangu:

makes it clear exactly who “we” are, and
adds emphasis to the people involved (almost like saying “I and my colleague…” in English).

So:

Tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza… = We sit on one side of the table.
Mimi na mwenzangu tunakaa… = I and my companion sit on one side of the table (a bit more specific/emphatic).

Why is the verb tunakaa (with tu-) and not wanakaa or something else with wa-?

Because mimi na mwenzangu includes the speaker, the subject is “we”, not “they”.

When the subject includes mimi (I), you use tu- = we.
- Mimi na mwenzangu tunakaa… = My companion and I sit…
When the subject is other people only, you use wa- = they.
- Juma na Asha wanakaa… = Juma and Asha sit…

So the rule is:
X na mimi / mimi na X → verb takes tu- (first person plural).

What does mwenzangu literally mean, and how is it formed?

Mwenzangu is made of:

mwenza = companion, fellow, partner, colleague (a person who is “with you” in something)
-angu = my

So mwenzangu literally means “my companion/fellow/colleague/partner.”
Examples:

Mwenzangu wa kazi = my workmate / colleague
Wenzangu = my companions / my colleagues (plural)

In mimi na mwenzangu, is na “and” or “with”? How can I tell?

Here na is the conjunction “and”:

mimi na mwenzangu = me and my companion

As a preposition, na can also mean “with”, for example:

Ninakaa na mwenzangu. = I live/stay with my companion.

A rough guide:

Between two nouns/pronouns as one subject → na = and
- mimi na mwenzangu tunakaa…
After a verb, linking to a person/thing → often na = with
- Ninakaa na mwenzangu. (I stay with my companion)

The spelling is the same; the function and the sentence position tell you which meaning it has.

What does upande mmoja wa meza literally mean, and why do we need wa?

Literal breakdown:

upande = side
mmoja = one
wa = of (a possessive/connecting word)
meza = table

So upande mmoja wa meza = “one side of the table.”

Wa is the “of” connector agreeing with upande.
Upande belongs to noun class 14, which uses wa for “of”:

upande wa meza = the side of the table
upande mmoja wa meza = one side of the table

If the table is obvious from context, you can sometimes shorten it to upande mmoja (one side), but adding wa meza makes it explicit.

Does upande mmoja mean “one side” or “the same side (together on one side)”?

Literally, upande mmoja means “one side.”

In this sentence, though:

Mimi na mwenzangu tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza…

the most natural understanding is that both people are on that same side together, as opposed to sitting on opposite sides.

So depending on context, a good translation can be either:

“on one side of the table”, or
“on the same side of the table.”

Why is it meza ndefu and not meza refu? How does the adjective agree here?

The basic adjective -refu means “long/tall”.
With a class 9 noun like meza (table), the agreement prefix is n-.

So in theory: meza n-refu. But in Swahili, when n- comes before r, the sound changes:

n- + refu → ndefu

That’s why you say:

meza ndefu = a long table
nyumba ndefu = a tall/long house

So meza refu is not correct; it must be meza ndefu to agree with the noun class.

What does yenye mean in meza ndefu yenye viti vingi?

Yenye is a kind of relative adjective that means roughly “which has / that has / with.”

It agrees with meza (class 9), so we use yenye.

meza ndefu yenye viti vingi
= a long table that has many chairs
= a long table with many chairs

Pattern:

[noun] + yenye + [thing(s)]
→ “a [noun] that has [thing(s)] / a [noun] with [thing(s)]”.

Some other examples:

nyumba yenye madirisha mengi = a house with many windows
chumba chenye vitabu vingi = a room that has many books

Could we say meza ndefu iliyo na viti vingi instead of meza ndefu yenye viti vingi? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

meza ndefu iliyo na viti vingi

Here:

iliyo na = “which is with / which has” (a full relative clause: -liyo- is the class‑9 relative marker).

Difference:

yenye viti vingi is shorter and very common in speech.
ilio/iliyo na viti vingi is more explicit and can sound a bit more formal or careful.

In ordinary conversation, meza ndefu yenye viti vingi is perfectly natural and maybe more typical.

Why is it viti vingi and not viti nyingi?

Because viti (chairs) is in noun class 8 (it’s the plural of kiti, class 7), and adjectives must agree with the noun class.

The adjective root for “many/much” is -ingi. It changes form depending on the noun class:

kiti kimoja, viti vingi = one chair, many chairs (classes 7/8)
meza moja, meza nyingi = one table, many tables (class 9/10)

So:

viti vingi → correct agreement for class 8
viti nyingi → wrong agreement; nyingi is for class 9/10 nouns like meza nyingi.

What tense/aspect is tunakaa? Does it mean “we are sitting (now)” or “we (usually) sit/live” there?

The -na- tense in tunakaa is the general present in Swahili. It can cover:

Present progressive (happening now)
- In this context: We are sitting on one side of the table.
Habitual/generic present (what usually happens)
- We (usually) sit on one side of the table.

The verb kukaa itself can mean:

to sit
to stay
to live/reside
to remain

So:

Tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza…
= We are sitting / We sit on one side of the table.
Tunakaa Dar es Salaam.
= We live in Dar es Salaam.

If you want to emphasise “are (already) seated,” you might also see tumekaa (“we have sat / we are seated”), depending on context.

Could we change the word order, for example Sisi tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza… or Tunakaa mimi na mwenzangu…?

Yes, but the feel changes slightly.

Sisi tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza ndefu yenye viti vingi.
- Grammatically fine.
- Sisi adds emphasis: We (as opposed to others) sit on one side…
Tunakaa mimi na mwenzangu upande mmoja wa meza…
- Possible, but less common.
- Usually the full subject phrase (mimi na mwenzangu) comes before the verb.

Most natural patterns here are:

Mimi na mwenzangu tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza…
Sisi tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza…

Just Tunakaa upande mmoja wa meza… is also correct if the context already makes it clear who “we” are.