Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mimi ninavaa koti hili jioni kwa sababu kuna baridi. - I am wearing this coat in the evening because it is cold.

kuvaa is the infinitive: to wear / to put on
- e.g. Ninapenda kuvaa koti. = I like to wear a coat.
ninavaa is a conjugated verb in the present tense:
- ni- (I) + -na- (present) + vaa (wear)
- ninavaa = I am wearing / I wear

So:

kuvaa → dictionary form (to wear)
ninavaa → actual sentence form with subject and tense (I wear / I am wearing)

Is ninavaa “I am wearing” or “I wear”? How do I show that it’s happening right now?

Swahili’s -na- tense usually covers both:

present progressive (“I am wearing right now”)
simple present (“I wear (generally)”)

So Ninavaa koti can mean:

I am wearing a coat (now)
I wear a coat (as a habit), depending on context

If you really want to emphasize “right now / at this very moment”, you can add a time phrase like:

Sasa hivi ninavaa koti. = Right now I am wearing a coat.

But in normal conversation, ninavaa is enough, and context plus time words (like jioni) carries the rest.

Why is it koti hili and not hili koti when I want to say “this coat”?

Swahili word order for “this/that + noun” is usually:

noun + demonstrative

So:

koti hili = this coat
koti lile = that coat (far)

This is the opposite of English, where we say “this coat” (demonstrative + noun).

Some more examples:

mtoto huyu = this child
kitabu hiki = this book
gari lile = that car

So koti hili is the normal Swahili order. *hili koti is not standard.

Why is the demonstrative hili and not hii with koti? I often see hii used for “this”.

Demonstratives in Swahili agree with the noun class.

Koti (coat) is usually treated as noun class 5 in this kind of sentence.

Class 5 “this” = hili
Class 5 “that” = lile

So:

koti hili = this coat
koti lile = that coat

You do also see some people use koti hii (treating koti as class 9), but with hili the sentence is following the class 5 pattern. Your example is consistent with that pattern.

Why is there no word for “in” before jioni? Shouldn’t it be “in the evening”?

Time expressions in Swahili often appear without a preposition. The time word itself functions like an adverb.

So:

jioni = in the evening / this evening
asubuhi = in the morning
usiku = at night

That’s why:

Ninakuja jioni. = I am coming in the evening.
Nitalala usiku. = I will sleep at night.

You can say jioni hii (this evening) or jioni ya leo (this evening / this day’s evening), but you don’t need “in”. Jioni alone already carries the “in the evening” idea.

What does kwa sababu literally mean, and can I use something shorter for “because”?

Kwa sababu is the standard way to say “because”. Literally:

kwa = by/for/with
sababu = reason

So kwa sababu roughly = “for (a) reason”, but in practice it just functions as because.

Full expression:

Mimi ninavaa koti hili jioni kwa sababu kuna baridi.
= I am wearing this coat this evening because it is cold.

Alternatives you might hear:

maana = because / since (more informal, often used in speech)
sababu (alone) sometimes used like “because”:
- Siendi sababu nina kazi. = I’m not going because I have work.

But safest, neutral option is kwa sababu.

What does kuna mean in kuna baridi, and why is it used for “it is cold”?

Kuna comes from kuwa na = to have. In this impersonal form, kuna means “there is / there are”.

So:

Kuna baridi. = There is cold → It is cold (weather).

Swahili often talks about weather using kuna (there is):

Kuna jua. = It’s sunny (there is sun).
Kuna mvua. = It is raining / there is rain.

You don’t normally say *Ni baridi for the weather. Kuna baridi is the natural expression:

Leo kuna baridi sana. = Today it is very cold.

Can I leave out kuna and just say baridi to mean “it’s cold”?

In casual speech, people sometimes just say:

Baridi sana! = (It’s) very cold!

That’s understood, especially as an exclamation. However, in a full sentence describing the situation, kuna baridi is standard:

Ninavaa koti kwa sababu kuna baridi. = I am wearing a coat because it is cold.

So:

Exclamation: Baridi sana! – fine.
Normal statement: use kuna baridi.

Where would adjectives or other words go if I expand koti hili? For example, “this warm coat”.

Typical order in Swahili is:

noun + adjective(s) + demonstrative

So:

koti hili = this coat
koti zuri hili = this nice coat
koti zuri jeupe hili = this nice white coat

For “this warm coat”:

koti hili lenye joto (literally “this coat that has warmth”)
Or simply koti hili la joto (this warm coat) in some styles

The key point: the demonstrative (hili) usually comes at the end of the noun phrase.

If I want to say “I will wear this coat this evening”, how do I change the verb?

To express future, change the -na- marker to -ta-:

ni- (I) + -ta- (future) + vaa (wear)
nitavaa = I will wear

So:

Nitavaa koti hili jioni kwa sababu kuna baridi.
= I will wear this coat this evening because it is (will be) cold.

Can this sentence also mean “I wear this coat in the evenings because it is cold (in general)”?

Yes. The form ninavaa with jioni can express:

A specific evening now/soon
- Context: you’re talking about today’s evening.
A regular habit in the evenings
- Context: you’re describing what you usually do.

So:

Mimi ninavaa koti hili jioni kwa sababu kuna baridi.
Could mean:
- I’m wearing this coat this evening because it is cold.
- I wear this coat in the evenings because it’s cold.

Context (or added words like kila jioni = every evening, leo jioni = this evening) clarifies which meaning you intend.