Learn Hardcore Swahili: Nilipofika maabara, nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku. - When I arrived at the laboratory, I felt happy and eager.

ni- = I (1st person singular subject marker)
-li- = past tense marker (“did” / “-ed”)
-po- = “when / at the time that” (or sometimes “where”)
fik- = verb root “arrive” (fika)
-a = final vowel (almost all Swahili verbs end in -a in the infinitive and in many forms)

So nilipofika literally means:
ni-li-po-fik-a → “I-PAST-when-arrive” → “when I arrived”.

What exactly does the -po- in nilipofika do? How is it different from just saying nilifika?

The -po- makes the verb part of a dependent clause that means “when / at the time that …”.

nilifika maabara = “I arrived at the laboratory.” (a simple main clause)
nilipofika maabara = “When I arrived at the laboratory, …” (it sets the time for the main action)

So -po- here works like “when” in English. It links this action to another action (in this case nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku).

Without -po-, you’d just be stating a fact: “I arrived at the lab.”
With -po-, you’re saying: “When I arrived at the lab, something else happened/followed.”

Could I say wakati nilifika maabara instead of nilipofika maabara? Are they the same?

They’re very close in meaning, but not identical in form:

Nilipofika maabara, …
- The “when” meaning is inside the verb via -po-.
- Very natural and common.
Wakati nilifika maabara, …
- Literally: “The time (when) I arrived at the laboratory, …”
- Grammatically acceptable, but sounds a bit heavier and less idiomatic than using nilipofika.

More natural with wakati would be:

Wakati nilipofika maabara, …
(here you still use -po-, and wakati just reinforces “at the time when …”)

In everyday speech and writing, nilipofika maabara, … is the smoothest choice.

Why is there no word for “to” before maabara? Why not something like nilipofika *kwa maabara*?

In Swahili, many verbs of motion or arrival don’t need a preposition before the place:

Nilifika nyumbani. – I arrived (to) home.
Alienda shule. – He/She went (to) school.
Tulipofika sokoni, … – When we arrived (at) the market, …

So:

Nilipofika maabara is natural: “When I arrived at the laboratory.”

You can use a locative, especially with kwenye:

Nilipofika kwenye maabara – also correct: “when I arrived at the laboratory.”

But kwa here would usually sound wrong or at least strange. Kwa is more often used with people (kwa mama, kwa rafiki yangu) or in some idiomatic locative expressions, not typically before maabara in this sense.

So the simplest and most idiomatic is nilipofika maabara without a separate word for “to/at”.

What does nilijisikia literally mean, and why is there a -ji- in it?

Nilijisikia comes from kujisik(i)a, which is a reflexive form of kusikia (“to hear / feel”).

Breakdown:

ni- = I
-li- = past
-ji- = reflexive marker “myself”
sik- = root of sikia (“hear, feel”)
-ia = verb ending here (part of the usual form jisikia)

So nilijisikia is roughly:

“I felt myself (to be) …” → “I felt …” (in terms of state, mood, health, etc.)

Swahili uses -ji- with some verbs to mean “do (it) to oneself”:

kuona – to see → kujiona – to see oneself / think of oneself as
kimbiza – to chase → kujikimbiza – to make oneself run around
sikia – to hear / sense → jisikia – to feel (in oneself)

Here, nilijisikia is the natural way to say “I felt (in myself)”.

What’s the difference between nilijisikia and nilihisi?

Both can translate as “I felt”, but they’re used a bit differently:

Nilijisikia …
- Very common for physical or emotional state.
- Neutral, everyday verb.
- Nilijisikia mwenye furaha – I felt happy.
- Nilijisikia mgonjwa – I felt sick.
Nilihisi … (from kuhisi = to sense / feel / suspect)
- Slightly more formal or cognitive/emotional “sense”:
  - Nilihisi maumivu – I felt pain.
  - Nilihisi wasiwasi – I felt anxious.
  - Nilihisi kuwa … – I felt that / I had the impression that …

In your sentence nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku, nilijisikia is the most natural choice because it’s about your inner state/mood at that moment.

What does mwenye furaha literally mean? Why not just say nilijisikia furaha?

Mwenye comes from the root -enye, meaning “having / with / possessing”, with a prefix agreeing with the noun class. For a person (class 1), it’s mwenye.

mwenye furaha = “one who has happiness” → “(being) happy”

So nilijisikia mwenye furaha is literally:

“I felt (myself) a person having happiness” → “I felt happy.”

About nilijisikia furaha:

It is understandable and some speakers do say things like this, but it’s less standard and less idiomatic than using mwenye furaha.
More natural alternatives:
- Nilihisi furaha. – I felt happiness.
- Nilijawa na furaha. – I was filled with happiness.

For “I felt happy (as a state)”, nilijisikia mwenye furaha is a very natural structure.

Can mwenye furaha be used on its own to describe someone, without nilijisikia?

Yes. Mwenye furaha can be used like an adjective phrase meaning “happy / joyful”:

Yule mtoto ni mwenye furaha. – That child is (a) happy (child).
Alikuja akiwa mwenye furaha. – She came being happy / in a happy mood.
Wanadamu wenye furaha huishi maisha marefu. – Happy people live long lives.

So the pattern is quite flexible:

nilijisikia mwenye furaha – I felt happy.
ni mwenye furaha – (he/she) is happy.
alikuwa mwenye furaha – he/she was happy.

What exactly does shauku mean? Is it just “excitement”?

Shauku is a noun meaning:

eagerness, enthusiasm, passionate interest, strong desire, longing.

In your sentence mwenye furaha na shauku, it suggests:

happiness plus eager, keen, excited anticipation.

So it’s a bit richer than just “excitement”; it includes desire / longing / keen interest. Depending on context, you might translate it as:

excitement
enthusiasm
eagerness
passionate interest

Here, “happy and excited/eager” is a good natural rendering.

Why is it mwenye furaha na shauku and not repeated as something like mwenye furaha na mwenye shauku?

In Swahili, when you have two similar nouns describing the same person/state, you often:

Use mwenye only once, then join the nouns with na:
- mwenye furaha na shauku – “(one) having happiness and enthusiasm”
- mtu mwenye nguvu na afya njema – a person with strength and good health
- mwanafunzi mwenye bidii na nidhamu – a student with diligence and discipline

You could say mwenye furaha na mwenye shauku, and it’s not wrong, but it’s:

Less smooth and a bit repetitive stylistically.
More natural is to apply one mwenye to both nouns when they share the same possessor (you).

Could I say Nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku nilipofika maabara (without the comma in the middle)? Is that still correct?

Yes, that word order is also grammatical:

Nilipofika maabara, nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku.
Nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku nilipofika maabara.

Both are correct.

Differences in feel:

Nilipofika maabara, …
- Puts more focus on the time/condition first: “When I arrived at the lab, I felt …”.
Nilijisikia … nilipofika maabara.
- Puts more focus on the feeling, and the time clause comes after: “I felt … when I arrived at the lab.”

In writing, you usually put a comma between the clauses, but Swahili punctuation is somewhat flexible. Grammatically, both orders are fine.

If I want to say just “I was happy and excited at the lab”, could I simplify this sentence?

Yes. Several simpler versions are possible, depending on exactly what you want to say:

Nilikuwa mwenye furaha na shauku maabara.
– I was happy and excited at the lab.
(You can also say … katika maabara or … kwenye maabara.)
Nilikuwa na furaha na shauku maabara.
– I had happiness and excitement at the lab.
Nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku maabara.
– I felt happy and excited at the lab.
(Here you drop nilipofika and just state the feeling at that place.)

The original sentence Nilipofika maabara, nilijisikia mwenye furaha na shauku emphasizes the moment of arrival triggering the feeling. The simplified ones state the state without that specific timing.