Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.

The town that we chose to visit is nice.

Breakdown of Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.

• ni: to be
• mji: the town
• mzuri: nice
• kutembelea: to visit
• tuliochagua: that we chose

Questions & Answers about Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.

In the sentence Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri, what does tuliochagua literally consist of?

Tuliochagua is one long verb form made of several parts stuck together:

• tu- = we (subject prefix, 1st person plural)
• -li- = past tense (“did, -ed”)
• -o- = relative marker meaning that / which / who
• chagua = to choose

So tu-li-o-chagua is literally something like “we-PAST-that-chose”, i.e. “that we chose” or “which we chose.”

That whole chunk tuliochagua functions like “that we chose” and attaches to mji to give “the city that we chose …”.

Where is the word “that” as in “the city that we chose to visit”?

Swahili doesn’t usually use a separate word like English “that” inside relative clauses.
Instead, “that/which/who” is built into the verb, in this case as -o- in tuliochagua.

• tuliochagua = tu-li-o-chagua
  
  • -o- is the relative element corresponding to English “that/which.”

So:

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea …
  = “The city that we chose to visit …”

If you want something that feels closer to a separate “that/which,” Swahili also has amba‑ forms:

• Mji ambao tulichagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
  = “The city that/which we chose to visit is nice.”

Here ambao is an explicit relative pronoun “that/which,” and the verb tulichagua no longer needs the -o- inside it.

Why is there no separate word for “we” before the verb?

In Swahili, the subject is usually built into the verb as a subject prefix, so you don’t normally put a separate word like “we” in front of the verb.

In tuliochagua:

• tu- = we (subject prefix)
• -liochagua = “chose (that …)”

So tuliochagua already means “we chose (that …)”.

If you really want to emphasize we, you can add the independent pronoun:

• Sisi tuliochagua kutembelea mji huu.
  = “We (as opposed to others) are the ones who chose to visit this city.”

But in neutral sentences, just the verb with tu- is enough. You don’t say “sisi tuliochagua” every time unless you need emphasis or contrast.

Why do we need both chagua and kutembelea — can’t we just use one verb?

The two verbs express two different ideas:

• chagua = to choose, select
• tembelea = to visit
  (kutembelea is the “to visit / visiting” form: ku-
  • tembelea)

In English, we say:

• “the city that we chose to visit”

where “chose” and “to visit” are also two verbs.

Swahili works in a very similar way:

• tuliochagua = “that we chose”
• kutembelea = “to visit”

So:

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea …
  = “The city that we chose to visit …”

If you remove kutembelea, you change the meaning:

• Mji tuliochagua ni mzuri.
  = “The city that we chose is nice.”
  (You chose it for something, but you haven’t said “to visit.”)

Or if you remove chagua and only use tembelea:

• Mji tuliotembelea ni mzuri.
  = “The city that we visited is nice.”
  (Now you just state the visit, not the act of choosing.)

So both verbs are there because the sentence wants the full idea “that we chose to visit.”

What tense is tuliochagua, and how would the sentence look in a different tense?

Tuliochagua uses the simple past tense:

• tu- = we
• -li- = past tense marker (“did / -ed”)
• -o- = relative marker
• chagua = choose

So tuliochagua = “that we chose.”

If you changed the tense, you usually change the tense marker in the same slot:

1. Present / habitual

   • Mji tunaochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
     (tu-na-o-chagua)
     = “The city that we are choosing / choose to visit is nice.”

2. (Perfect) Present result / recent past

   • Mji tuliouchagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
     (Often: tu-me-o-chagua → tuliochagua with -me- instead of -li-)
     = “The city that we have chosen to visit is nice.”

For basic learning, it’s enough to remember: -li- in the verb (e.g. tuliochagua) gives you past tense “we chose.”

Why is it mji tuliochagua kutembelea, not tuliochagua kutembelea mji?

Because mji (“city”) is the noun being described by the relative clause tuliochagua kutembelea.

Swahili normally follows this order:

[Noun] + [relative clause describing that noun]

So:

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea
  = “The city that we chose to visit”

If you say:

• Tuliochagua kutembelea mji ni mzuri,

it changes the structure and becomes confusing, more like:

• “We who chose to visit a city are nice.”

Here tuliochagua kutembelea is now describing an understood “we”, not mji, and mji is just the object of “visit.”

To keep mji as “the city that …”, the relative clause must come right after it:

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.

What does ni do in ni mzuri? Could we leave it out?

Ni is the copula — roughly the verb “to be” (is/are) in this kind of sentence.

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea = “The city that we chose to visit”
• ni = “is”
• mzuri = “nice / good / beautiful”

So:

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
  = “The city that we chose to visit is nice.”

Can you leave ni out?

• With a short, simple subject, Swahili often allows “zero copula” in the present:
  • Mji huu mzuri. (colloquial) = “This city (is) nice.”

• But with a long, complex subject like:

  • Mji tuliochagua kutembelea …

  it is much clearer and more natural to include ni.

So in this sentence, you really should keep ni:

• ✅ Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
• ❌ Mji tuliochagua kutembelea mzuri. (sounds wrong/unnatural)

Why is it mzuri and not zuri? How does agreement work here?

The basic adjective root is -zuri- (good, nice, beautiful).

In Swahili, most adjectives take a prefix that agrees with the noun class and number of the noun they describe.

• mji = city (class 3, singular: m-/u- class)
• The matching adjective form for -zuri- in class 3 singular is mzuri:
  • mji mzuri = “a nice city”

So:

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
  = “The city that we chose to visit is nice.”

If the noun were plural miji (“cities,” class 4), the adjective would change too:

• Miji tuliyochagua kutembelea ni mizuri.
  
  • miji = cities
  • mizuri = nice (class 4 plural agreement)

So mzuri (and not plain zuri) is there to agree with mji in its noun class and number.

Could we say Mji ambao tulichagua kutembelea ni mzuri instead? Is that the same?

Yes, that’s also correct and means essentially the same thing:

• Mji ambao tulichagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
  = “The city that we chose to visit is nice.”

Here:

• ambao is a relative pronoun meaning “that/which.”
• The verb tulichagua is just tu-li-chagua (“we chose”) with no relative marker inside.

So we have two styles:

1. Short, verb‑internal relative (more common in speech):

   • Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
     (tu-li-o-chagua)

2. “amba‑” relative pronoun (very common in writing, also fine in speech):

   • Mji ambao tulichagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
     (ambao
     • tu-li-chagua)

You normally do not combine both:

• ❌ Mji ambao tuliochagua kutembelea … (double marking; sounds wrong)

Is Mji tuliouchagua kutembelea ni mzuri also correct? What’s the difference from tuliochagua?

Yes, Mji tuliouchagua kutembelea ni mzuri can also be correct, and the difference is the presence of an object marker.

• tuliochagua = tu-li-o-chagua
  = “that we chose”
• tuliouchagua = tu-li-o-u-chagua
  
  • -u- is an object marker for a class 3 noun (mji, “it”)
    = literally “that we chose it”

So:

• Mji tuliochagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
  = “The city that we chose to visit is nice.”

• Mji tuliouchagua kutembelea ni mzuri.
  = “The city that we chose (it) to visit is nice.”
  (the “it” refers to the city)

In practice:

• Both forms are understandable and used.
• Including the object marker (tuliouchagua) tends to feel a bit more explicit/emphatic about that specific city.
• Leaving it out (tuliochagua) is simpler and very common, especially in everyday speech.

For learning purposes, tuliochagua is perfectly good and often easier to work with.

How could I express a simpler version of this idea in Swahili, using only basic structures?

You can avoid the relative clause and split the idea into two simpler sentences, or keep just one main verb idea.

Some options:

1. Two simpler sentences:

   • Tulichagua kutembelea mji huu. Mji huu ni mzuri.
     = “We chose to visit this city. This city is nice.”

2. Single simple sentence without a relative clause:

   • Tulichagua kutembelea mji mzuri.
     = “We chose to visit a nice city.”

3. Or: describe the city first, then mention your choice:

   • Mji huu ni mzuri. Tumechagua kuutembelea.
     = “This city is nice. We have chosen to visit it.”

These avoid the more complex relative verb form (tuliochagua) and still convey essentially the same idea.