Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kesho tutakutana kwako saa mbili usiku kuangalia filamu. - Tomorrow we will meet at your place at eight in the evening to watch a movie.

So tutakutana literally means “we-will-meet.”
Swahili usually doesn’t need a separate pronoun (like we) because the subject is already built into the verb.

Why is there no separate word for “we”? Why don’t we say sisi tutakutana?

The subject is normally shown by the prefix on the verb:

ni-na-... = I …
u-ta-... = you will …
a-na-... = he/she …
tu-ta-... = we will …

So tutakutana already contains “we.”

You can add sisi for emphasis or contrast:

Sisi tutakutana kwako, si wao.
We will meet at your place, not them.

But in a neutral sentence like Kesho tutakutana kwako …, adding sisi would usually be unnecessary.

What exactly does kwako mean? Why not just kwa wewe?

kwako is a fixed form meaning “at your place / to you.” It combines:

kwa = at/to (someone’s place or care)
-ko = locative/possessive ending “your (place)” for wewe (you, singular)

So:

kwako = at/to your place
kwangu = at/to my place
kwake = at/to his/her place
kwenu = at/to your (plural) place
kwetu = at/to our place

You don’t say kwa wewe in this meaning; instead, you use kwako.

If you want to be more explicit, you can say:

nyumbani kwako = at your home
ofisini kwako = at your office (your workplace)

Does kwako always mean “your house,” or just “wherever you are”?

kwako is flexible. It usually means “at your place,” and what “your place” is depends on context:

At home
At your room
At your office
At your stall/shop, etc.

In tutakutana kwako, most listeners will understand “we’ll meet at your place,” which often implies your home unless the context says otherwise.

What time is saa mbili usiku in a more English-style clock? Is it 2 a.m., 2 p.m., or something else?

Swahili commonly uses a time system that starts counting at about 7 o’clock:

7:00 = saa moja
8:00 = saa mbili
9:00 = saa tatu, etc.

For the evening/night:

7:00 p.m. = saa moja usiku
8:00 p.m. = saa mbili usiku
9:00 p.m. = saa tatu usiku

So saa mbili usiku is about 8:00 p.m.

Context matters: in some modern, especially urban settings, people may also use “European” time (2 = 2), but traditionally saa mbili usiku = 8 p.m.

Why do we add usiku after saa mbili? Can we just say saa mbili?

saa mbili literally means “two o’clock,” but it doesn’t tell you which part of the day. Adding usiku (night) makes it clear:

saa mbili asubuhi – 8 a.m. (morning)
saa mbili mchana – 2 p.m.-ish (midday/afternoon, depending on region)
saa mbili jioni – early evening
saa mbili usiku – 8 p.m. (night)

You can say just saa mbili if the time of day is already understood from context, but saa mbili usiku is clearer: “two o’clock at night” in Swahili terms, which corresponds to about 8 p.m.

Is the word order of the time expressions fixed? Could we move kesho or saa mbili usiku somewhere else?

Swahili word order is fairly flexible for time expressions. All of these are possible:

Kesho tutakutana kwako saa mbili usiku.
Kesho saa mbili usiku tutakutana kwako.
Tutakutana kesho saa mbili usiku kwako.

Putting kesho at the beginning is very common and sounds natural, like in English: “Tomorrow we’ll meet at your place…”

However, you usually keep the verb phrase together, and you don’t break up things like:

tutakutana kwako – we will meet at your place
saa mbili usiku – at 8 p.m.

So avoid splitting them in unnatural ways.

Why is kuangalia used instead of just angalia? What does the ku- do?

kuangalia is the infinitive form: “to watch / to look at.”
The ku- at the beginning plays a role similar to English to:

kuangalia – to watch
kusoma – to read
kucheza – to play

In this sentence, kuangalia filamu expresses purpose:

…tutakutana kwako … kuangalia filamu.
= “…we’ll meet at your place to watch a movie.”

If you dropped ku- and said just angalia, it would sound like an imperative (“Look!” / “Watch!”), not “to watch.”

Could we say tutaangalia filamu instead of kuangalia filamu?

tutaangalia filamu is a full sentence on its own: “We will watch a movie.”

If you tried to put it directly into the original sentence:

✗ Kesho tutakutana kwako saa mbili usiku tutaangalia filamu.

it would sound like you’ve jammed two separate sentences together.

To show purpose (why you’re meeting), Swahili normally uses the infinitive with ku-:

Tutakutana kwako kuangalia filamu.
We will meet at your place to watch a movie.

If you really want two separate actions, you’d link them:

Kesho tutakutana kwako saa mbili usiku, halafu tutaangalia filamu.
Tomorrow we’ll meet at your place at 8 p.m., then we’ll watch a movie.

What’s the difference between kuangalia, kutazama, and kuona when talking about a film?

All three can appear with filamu, but they have slightly different shades:

kuangalia filamu – to look at/watch a film (very common in everyday speech)
kutazama filamu – to watch a film, often a bit more “deliberate” or “focused” than kuangalia, but in practice often interchangeable
kuona filamu – literally “to see a film,” like English “to see a movie”

In your sentence, kuangalia filamu is completely natural and widely used.

Why is there no object marker on the verb, like kuiangalia filamu?

Object markers in Swahili (like -i-, -ki-, -wa-) usually refer to definite, known, or already-mentioned objects.

Naiangalia filamu. – I am watching it (the movie we both know about).

In kuangalia filamu, filamu is just “a film / movies” in general, not something previously specified or emphasized. So you normally don’t use an object marker.

If you had already been talking about a particular film, you might say:

Kesho tutakutana kwako saa mbili usiku kuiangalia filamu ile.
Tomorrow we’ll meet at your place at 8 p.m. to watch that (specific) film.

How would this sentence change if I were talking to more than one person (you plural)?

You mainly change kwako (“at your [singular] place”) to kwenu (“at your [plural] place”):

Kesho tutakutana kwenu saa mbili usiku kuangalia filamu.
Tomorrow we’ll meet at your (all of you) place at 8 p.m. to watch a movie.

The verb tutakutana stays the same (“we will meet”). The subject is “we,” not “you,” so plural vs. singular “you” only affects kwako/kwenu.

Could we leave out usiku and just say Kesho tutakutana kwako saa mbili kuangalia filamu?

Yes, grammatically that’s fine. It would mean:

“Tomorrow we’ll meet at your place at two o’clock to watch a movie.”

But:

With usiku, and using the usual Swahili time system, listeners understand “about 8 p.m.”
Without usiku, they might understand “two o’clock” with whatever system they are using (traditional or European-style), and the time of day would be less clear.

So if you want to be precise that it’s in the night/evening, keep usiku.