Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mimi ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu kila usiku. - I write my dreams in my little notebook every night.

Emphasis:
- Mimi ninaandika… = I write… (as opposed to someone else)
Clarity or contrast in a longer conversation:
- Wewe unasoma, lakini mimi ninaandika.
  You are reading, but I am writing.

You can also say just:

Ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu kila usiku.

This is perfectly correct and very natural.

Can I say naandika instead of ninaandika? What’s the difference?

In standard Swahili, the correct form is ninaandika. It clearly shows:

ni- = I
-na- = present tense
-andika = write

However, in informal spoken Swahili, especially in Tanzania and Kenya, people often drop the initial “ni” and just say:

Naandika ndoto zangu…

This is understood as “I’m writing…” from context, but it’s colloquial. For writing, teaching, and exams, you should use:

ninaandika (standard)

So:

Standard / formal: Mimi ninaandika… / Ninaandika…
Colloquial speech: Naandika…

Does ninaandika mean “I am writing” (right now) or “I write” (as a habit)?

Both are possible, depending on context. The Swahili present tense -na- covers:

Present continuous (right now)
- Sasa hivi ninaandika barua.
  Right now I am writing a letter.
Habitual / repeated action
- Ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu kila usiku.
  I write my dreams in my notebook every night.

The phrase kila usiku (“every night”) clearly signals a habit, so here ninaandika is best translated as:

“I write (my dreams) … every night.”

If you want a more clearly habitual form, Swahili also has:

Huandika ndoto zako kila usiku.
= You (usually) write your dreams every night.

But the -na- tense is already very commonly used for habits, especially with time phrases like kila siku / kila usiku / mara nyingi, etc.

Why is it ndoto zangu and not ndoto yangu?

The difference comes from number:

ndoto yangu = my dream (singular)
ndoto zangu = my dreams (plural)

The noun ndoto (dream) belongs to noun class 9/10, where:

Singular: ndoto
Plural: ndoto (same form)

Since the form doesn’t change, you know it’s plural because:

The meaning/context implies more than one.
The possessive changes: yangu (singular) → zangu (plural).

So:

Nilikumbuka ndoto yangu.
I remembered my dream.
Ninaandika ndoto zangu.
I write my dreams.

Here, zangu tells you “dreams” rather than “dream.”

What exactly is zangu in ndoto zangu? How is it formed?

Zangu is a possessive adjective meaning “my”, and it must agree with the noun class and number of the noun it modifies.

The base for “my” is -angu, and it takes different class prefixes:

yangu – for many singular nouns (e.g. chai yangu, ndoto yangu)
zangu – for many plural nouns in noun class 10 (e.g. chai zangu, ndoto zangu)

For ndoto zangu:

ndoto = dreams (class 10 plural)
Class 10 possessive marker = z-
Base “my” = -angu
→ z
- angu = zangu

More examples with -angu:

kitabu changu – my book (ki/vi class)
vitabu vyangu – my books
rafiki yangu – my friend (sing.)
marafiki zangu – my friends

So zangu isn’t a separate word for “my” – it’s class- and number-agreed “my.”

What is kijitabu? How is it different from kitabu?

Kitabu means “book.”
Kijitabu comes from kitabu plus a diminutive element -ji-, and it usually means:

small book, little booklet, notebook, or jotter

In many contexts, kijitabu is used exactly as “notebook” in English: a smaller book you write notes in.

Structurally:

kitabu = book
kijitabu = small book / booklet / notebook

The diminutive -ji- often adds meanings like:

small size
affection or familiarity
sometimes a bit of modesty or informality

Other examples:

mtoto (child) → kijitoto (little child, often affectionate or descriptive)
kijiji (village) ← from ji base, also has a “smallness”/unit sense

So in this sentence, kijitabu is very naturally understood as “my notebook.”

Why is it kijitabu changu and not kijitabu yangu?

Again, this is about noun class agreement.

Kijitabu is in the ki-/vi- noun class:

Singular: kijitabu (ki-)
Plural: vijitabu (vi-)

Possessive “my” must agree with this class:

For ki- singular nouns, -angu takes the prefix ch-:
- kijitabu changu – my notebook
- kiti changu – my chair
For vi- plural nouns, -angu takes the prefix vy-:
- vijitabu vyangu – my notebooks
- viti vyangu – my chairs

So:

kijitabu changu = my notebook (correct)
kijitabu yangu = wrong, because yangu doesn’t match the ki- class.

Why use katika in katika kijitabu changu? Could I use something like ndani ya or kwenye instead?

Katika is a general preposition meaning “in / inside / within.”

In this sentence:

katika kijitabu changu = in my notebook

You have some options:

Katika – neutral, quite general and common
- Ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu.
Ndani ya – emphasizes inside something
- Ninaandika ndoto zangu ndani ya kijitabu changu.
  = I write my dreams inside my notebook.
Kwenye – very common in speech, similar to “at / in / on” depending on context
- Ninaandika ndoto zangu kwenye kijitabu changu.

All three are grammatically OK here. Differences:

katika – a bit more neutral/standard
ndani ya – more explicit “inside”
kwenye – very common, colloquial-neutral, flexible in meaning

In practice, you will often hear kwenye and ndani ya in everyday speech.

Can I change the word order, like saying Kila usiku ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu?

Yes. Swahili word order is fairly flexible, especially for time expressions.

Common options:

Mimi ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu kila usiku.
Kila usiku ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu.
Kila usiku mimi ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu.

All are correct. The differences are about emphasis:

Starting with kila usiku emphasizes “every night”:
- Kila usiku ninaandika… → The time frame comes first.
Starting with Mimi emphasizes “I (as opposed to others)”.

What you generally cannot change freely is the internal order of verb–object–prepositional phrase in this sort of sentence:

ninaandika ndoto zangu katika kijitabu changu
(verb) (direct object) (location phrase)

That order is the most natural and should normally be kept.

Does kila usiku mean “every night” in a general sense, or “every single night without exception”?

Kila usiku literally means “every night”, and by default it implies regularity, not necessarily mathematical perfection.

In normal conversation, kila usiku ≈ “every night / most nights as a habit.”
If you really wanted to stress without fail, you could add words like:
- kila usiku bila kukosa – every night without missing
- kila usiku, bila kushindwa – every night, without fail

So in this sentence, kila usiku is best understood just like English “every night” when describing a habitual routine.