Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mchezo wa bodi tuliochagua leo unahitaji umakini na uvumilivu. - The board game that we chose today requires concentration and patience.

So mchezo wa bodi can mean a board game or the board game, depending on what the speaker and listener already know. The Swahili sentence doesn’t need to mark that difference explicitly.

Why is it mchezo wa bodi and not mchezo ya bodi?

Because of noun-class agreement.

mchezo (game) is in noun class 3 (m-/mi-).
The connective “of” for class 3 singular is wa.
So: mchezo wa bodi = game of board → board game.

If it were plural:

michezo (games) is class 4.
The connective for class 4 plural is ya.
So: michezo ya bodi = board games.

So wa/ya are not random; they follow noun-class rules.

What exactly does bodi mean here? Is it borrowed from English?

Yes. bodi is borrowed from English “board”.

In different contexts it can mean:

bodi = board (a flat surface, a game board)
bodi = board (committee, e.g. bodi ya wakurugenzi – board of directors)

In mchezo wa bodi, it means board in the sense of a game board, so the whole phrase means board game.

How is tuliochagua formed, and what does each part mean?

tuliochagua breaks down as:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-li- = past tense (did)
-o- = relative marker (agreeing with mchezo, the noun being described)
chagu = verb root choose
-a = final vowel for many verb forms

So tuliochagua literally means “we-past-that-chose” → that we chose.
It’s a relative verb form modifying mchezo wa bodi: mchezo wa bodi tuliochagua = the board game that we chose.

Why does tuliochagua come after mchezo wa bodi instead of before, like in English?

In Swahili, relative clauses normally come after the noun they describe:

mchezo tuliochagua = the game that we chose
kitabu nilichosoma = the book that I read

So the word order mchezo wa bodi tuliochagua is normal:
[mchezo wa bodi] [tuliochagua leo]
= the board game [that we chose today].

Putting the relative clause before the noun is not grammatical in Swahili.

What exactly does leo modify here – the choosing or the needing?

Here leo is attached to the relative clause tuliochagua, so it naturally reads as:

tuliochagua leo = that we chose today

So the most natural reading is:

The board game that we chose today requires concentration and patience.

If you wanted leo to modify unahitaji (the needing/requiring), you’d usually move it closer, e.g.:

Mchezo wa bodi tuliochagua unahitaji leo umakini na uvumilivu.
(The board game we chose requires concentration and patience today.)

As written, leo most clearly goes with the choosing.

Why does unahitaji start with u- instead of a- or ni-?

The prefix u- is the subject agreement for noun class 3 (singular), which matches mchezo:

mchezo (class 3) → subject prefix u-
unahitaji = u- (it) + -na- (present) + hitaji (need/require)

So literally: unahitaji = it (the game) is needing / requires.

a- would agree with a class 1 noun (a person, like mtu).
ni- would be the “I” subject prefix (I need).

What is the difference between unahitaji and something like unataka?

Both are present tense with u-, but the verbs are different:

unahitaji = it requires / it needs (hitaji = need, requirement)
unataka = it wants (taka = want)

In this sentence, unahitaji gives the idea of necessity:
The game requires concentration and patience (you must have them to play well).

Unataka umakini na uvumilivu would sound more like the game wants…, which is unusual in English and weaker in Swahili for this context.

What kind of words are umakini and uvumilivu, and why do they both start with u-?

They are abstract nouns formed with the prefix u-:

makini (careful, attentive) → umakini (carefulness, concentration)
vumilia (to endure, tolerate) → uvumilivu (patience, endurance)

The u- prefix is commonly used to turn adjectives or verb roots into abstract nouns like humility, patience, care, laziness, etc.

In this sentence they are direct objects of unahitaji:

unahitaji umakini na uvumilivu = [it] requires concentration and patience.

Does na here mean “and” or “with”, and how can I tell?

In umakini na uvumilivu, na clearly means “and”.

Clues:

It links two similar noun phrases: umakini
- uvumilivu.
There is no verb directly next to na that would suggest “have” or “with”.

Common uses of na:

“and”:
- chai na kahawa = tea and coffee
“with”:
- anakula na kijiko = he is eating with a spoon
As part of “have” constructions:
- ana kalamu (literally he is with a pen) = he has a pen

Here it’s the first use: simple coordination (and).

How would the sentence change if we were talking about board games (plural) instead of a single board game?

You’d change the noun and all the agreeing parts from singular class 3 to plural class 4:

mchezo wa bodi → michezo ya bodi (board games)
Subject agreement: u- → i- (for plural class 4)

So a natural plural version is:

Michezo ya bodi tuliyochagua leo yanahitaji umakini na uvumilivu.

Breakdown of changes:

michezo (plural of mchezo)
ya (plural connective agreeing with michezo)
tuliyochagua – relative verb agreeing with a plural head noun
yanahitaji – ya- (they, class 4) + -na- (present) + hitaji

Meaning: The board games we chose today require concentration and patience.

Can I add an object marker and say mchezo wa bodi tuliouchagua leo? Is that correct?

Yes, that is grammatically correct and common in Swahili.

tuliouchagua = tu- (we) + -li- (past) + -u- (object marker for mchezo, class 3) + -o- (relative) + chagu
- -a

So:

mchezo wa bodi tuliochagua leo
mchezo wa bodi tuliouchagua leo

Both mean “the board game that we chose today”.

Including the object marker -u- (tuliouchagua) often adds a bit of emphasis or clarity (the game that we chose it), but in many cases it’s optional, and tuliochagua without the object marker is also very natural.

Could I use ambao instead of the -o- relative form, e.g. something like mchezo wa bodi ambao tulichagua leo?

Yes, Swahili has an alternative amba- relative construction.

For a class 3 noun like mchezo, you can say:

Mchezo wa bodi ambao tulichagua leo unahitaji umakini na uvumilivu.

Here ambao is a separate relative pronoun (which / that), and tulichagua is a normal past tense verb (tu- + -li- + chagua).

So you have two main options:

Infix relative (more compact):
- mchezo wa bodi tuliochagua leo
amba- relative (more explicit):
- mchezo wa bodi ambao tulichagua leo

Both are correct; learners usually start with the amba- form because it feels more like English “which/that …”, then later get comfortable with the infix form -o-.