Learn Hardcore Swahili: Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani. - This evening we will eat half a loaf of bread at home.

Leo tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani. – Today we will eat half a loaf at home.
Jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani. – In the evening we will eat half a loaf at home.

But leo jioni is more precise and very natural.

Could I say Jioni leo tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani instead of Leo jioni…?

You can say Jioni leo…, but Leo jioni… is more common and sounds smoother in everyday speech.

Leo jioni… – Very natural, default way to say this evening.
Jioni leo… – Possible, but it sounds a bit more marked or emphatic, like “this evening, today”, and is less usual in casual conversation.

So for normal use, stick with Leo jioni.

How is tutakula built, and what does each part mean?

tutakula is made of three parts:

tu- = we (subject prefix for “we”)
-ta- = future tense marker (will)
-kula = eat (verb stem)

So:

tu- + -ta- + -kula = tutakula → we will eat

You normally don’t need a separate word like sisi (we), because tu- already shows the subject.

If tu- already means “we”, why don’t we say sisi tutakula like in English “we will eat”?

You can say Sisi tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani, but sisi is optional.

The verb prefix tu- already carries the meaning we, so tutakula by itself is enough.
Adding sisi often adds emphasis, like: We (as opposed to others) will eat half a loaf at home.

So:

Neutral: Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani.
Emphatic: Leo jioni sisi tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani.

Is tutakula closer to “we will eat” or “we are going to eat”?

In many contexts tutakula can translate as either we will eat or we are going to eat.

It is the simple future tense and mainly means we will eat (a future action).
In natural English, depending on context, you might use either:
- This evening we will eat half a loaf at home.
- This evening we’re going to eat half a loaf at home.

Swahili doesn’t distinguish those two futures the way English sometimes does; tutakula covers both.

What does nusu mkate literally mean, and why is there no ya in between?

Literally:

nusu = half
mkate = (a) loaf of bread / bread (countable loaf)

So nusu mkate = half a loaf (of bread).

In Swahili, when a quantity word like nusu, robo (quarter), kilo, lita, etc. comes right before a noun, you often just put them together with no ya:

nusu mkate – half a loaf of bread
robo sukari – a quarter kilo of sugar (context)
kilo sukari – a kilo of sugar

So Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani = This evening we will eat half a loaf (of bread) at home.

Is nusu ya mkate also correct? If yes, what’s the difference from nusu mkate?

Yes, nusu ya mkate is grammatically correct.

nusu mkate – very natural, compact, and commonly used to mean half a loaf of bread.
nusu ya mkate – sounds a bit more like “half of the bread”, slightly more explicit or “careful” speech.

In everyday talk, people normally say nusu mkate in a context like buying or eating bread. Nusu ya mkate might appear more in explanation, emphasis, or certain writing styles. Both are understood.

Why is it nyumbani and not just nyumba? What does the -ni do?

nyumba = house / home (the noun itself)
nyumba + -ni → nyumbani = at home / in the house / home (locative form)

The suffix -ni often adds a place/at/in meaning to nouns:

shule (school) → shuleni (at school)
kanisa (church) → kanisani (at church)
nyumba (house) → nyumbani (at home / in the house)

So nyumbani in the sentence tells you the location: at home.

Could nyumbani go earlier in the sentence, like: Leo jioni nyumbani tutakula nusu mkate?

Yes, Swahili word order is somewhat flexible with adverbs like time and place. These are all possible and understood:

Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani.
Leo jioni nyumbani tutakula nusu mkate.
Nyumbani leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate.

The most neutral, everyday-sounding version is probably the original:

Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani.

Moving nyumbani forward can give it extra emphasis, like highlighting at home.

Where do time and place normally go in a Swahili sentence like this?

A typical, very natural pattern is:

[TIME] + [VERB PHRASE] + [OBJECT] + [PLACE]

So your sentence fits that pattern:

TIME: Leo jioni
VERB: tutakula
OBJECT: nusu mkate
PLACE: nyumbani

→ Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani.

You can rearrange some parts (especially the time and place) for emphasis or style, but this order is a good default to copy.

If I want to expand the sentence to This evening we will eat half a loaf at home with the children, how should I say it and where does “with the children” go?

A natural Swahili version is:

Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate nyumbani na watoto.

Here:

na watoto = with the children
It comes at the end of the sentence, after the place nyumbani, which is very common.

You could also say:

Leo jioni tutakula nusu mkate na watoto nyumbani.

Both are understood. The first (…nyumbani na watoto) is often slightly clearer as: at home with the children.