Learn Hardcore Swahili: Je, unataka kukaa upande huu wa meza, au upande ule mwingine? - Do you want to sit on this side of the table, or on the other side?

Je, unataka kukaa … ? → Are you wanting to sit … ? / Do you want to sit … ?
Without Je: Unataka kukaa upande huu wa meza, au upande ule mwingine? is still a perfectly good question. The rising intonation and the question mark (in writing) are enough.

You mainly use Je:

At the start of yes/no questions, especially in more careful or written Swahili.
Sometimes at the end of a statement as a tag, in more conversational style: Unataka kukaa upande huu wa meza, je? (something like “You want to sit on this side of the table, then?”)

So Je is helpful but not strictly required for this sentence to be a question.

Why is it unataka? How is that form built?

Unataka breaks down like this:

u- = subject marker for wewe (you, singular)
-na- = present tense marker (present/habitual: “are / do / usually”)
-taka = verb root meaning “want”

So unataka literally matches “you (are/do) want”, i.e. you want.

Other forms for comparison:

Ninataka or nataka = I want
Mnataka = you (plural) want
Anataka = he/she wants

The pattern is: [subject marker] + na + [verb root] for the basic present tense.

Why is the verb kukaa in that infinitive form with ku-?

Kukaa is the infinitive form of the verb -kaa (to sit / to stay).

In Swahili, when one verb follows another in structures like “want to do”, “like to do”, “can do”, the second verb usually stays in the infinitive with ku-:

Unataka kukaa = you want to sit / stay
Ningependa kukaa = I would like to sit
Naweza kukaa = I can sit / I am able to sit

So the pattern is similar to English want to + verb, like to + verb. The ku- is the marker that gives “to sit” rather than “sits” / “is sitting”.

Does kukaa mean “to sit” or “to stay”? How should I understand it here?

Kukaa can mean both to sit and to stay / remain / live (somewhere), depending on context.

Physical sitting: Nakaa kwenye kiti = I sit / am sitting on the chair.
Staying / living: Ninakaa Dar es Salaam = I live / stay in Dar es Salaam.

In this sentence, because you are choosing a side of a table, the natural interpretation is “to sit (on) this side / that other side”. The idea of staying there for some time is also implied, but the immediate image is “where you will sit.”

What exactly does upande mean here, and why is there no word for “on” (like “on this side”)?

Upande is a noun meaning side, direction, or part.

So upande huu wa meza is literally this side of the table.

Swahili often does not need an extra preposition like on in this kind of expression. English says sit on this side of the table, but Swahili can simply say kukaa upande huu wa meza, and the idea “sit on this side” is understood from upande itself plus the context.

If you wanted to be more explicit, you could add a locative word such as kwenye or karibu na, but it’s not necessary here:

Kukaa upande huu wa meza → to sit on this side of the table
Kukaa kwenye upande huu wa meza → also possible, literally “to sit at/on this side of the table,” but longer and less usual.

How do huu and ule work with upande? Why do they come after the noun instead of before like in English?

Huu and ule are demonstratives: this and that.

In Swahili, demonstratives normally come after the noun, not before it:

upande huu = this side (near the speaker)
upande ule = that side (farther away, not near the speaker)

So where English says this side, Swahili says side this (upande huu).

Why these specific forms?

Upande is in noun class 14 (the u- class).
The class 14 demonstratives are:
- huu = this (near the speaker)
- huyo (not used for class 14; that’s for people – ignore here)
- ule = that (farther away)

So:

upande huu → this side
upande ule → that side

In the sentence, upande huu wa meza is the side close to the speaker, and upande ule mwingine is the other side (further / opposite).

Why is it upande huu wa meza and not something like upande huu ya meza? What does wa mean?

Wa here is the genitive linker from the particle -a, which expresses of (possession or association).

-a changes its first consonant depending on the noun class of the first noun in the phrase:

For class 14 (u- nouns like upande), -a → wa.
For other classes you get things like ya, la, cha, za, etc.

So:

upande wa meza = side of the table
upande huu wa meza = this side of the table

Ya meza would be used if the first noun were in a class that takes ya, for example:

sehemu ya meza = part of the table (sehemu is class 9, which uses ya)

Because upande is a class 14 noun, the correct linker is wa, not ya.

What is mwingine doing in upande ule mwingine? Doesn’t ule already mean “that”?

Good observation: ule already tells us “that (side)”, so why add mwingine?

Ule = that (one) over there (demonstrative)
Mwingine = other / another

So upande ule mwingine is best understood as “that other side” or “that other one”.

Why both?

Ule points out which one (the side that is away from the speaker).
Mwingine adds the idea that it’s the other side (as opposed to this side).

You could say:

upande huu wa meza = this side of the table
upande mwingine wa meza = the other side of the table

That already works. Adding ule just makes it extra clear and natural in context: you are contrasting this side with that other side.

Why is it mwingine and not just wingine?

The base form is from -ngine, and the initial consonant changes depending on the noun class and the sound that follows.

For noun classes that use m-/mw- (like singular persons mtu, or some other classes), you often see mwingine:

mtu mwingine = another person / a different person
upande mwingine = another side / the other side

The m- appears for phonological reasons before the w: m + w + nyingine → mwingine.

If you said wingine by itself here, without m-, it would not be grammatically correct for upande, which takes mwingine as its agreeing form of “other.”

Why isn’t meza in the locative form mezani? I learned that -ni marks places.

You’re right that -ni often makes a noun locative:

meza = table
mezani = at the table / on the table

In this sentence, though, we are not saying “sit at the table”; we are specifying which side of the table. That structure is handled by a possessive/genitive phrase (upande wa meza) rather than a pure location:

upande wa meza = the side of the table
upande huu wa meza = this side of the table

If you wanted a sentence like “Do you want to sit at the table, or somewhere else?”, then mezani would be more natural. Here, because we are choosing between two sides of one table, meza without -ni is the correct form.

Is there any difference between au and ama for “or” here? Could I say … upande huu wa meza ama upande ule mwingine?

Both au and ama can mean or, and in this sentence you could use either:

… upande huu wa meza, au upande ule mwingine?
… upande huu wa meza, ama upande ule mwingine?

Rough tendencies (not strict rules):

Au is the more neutral, common written form for or.
Ama is very common in speech and can sound a bit more conversational. In some contexts it can also carry a slight “or rather / or else” nuance.

In this neutral choice question (this side or that other side?), au is perfectly standard; ama would also be understood and acceptable.