Learn Hardcore Swahili: Usiku, tunafunga pazia zito lenye rangi ya kahawia kwa faragha zaidi. - At night, we close a heavy curtain with a brown color for more privacy.

In Swahili, time words like asubuhi (in the morning), mchana (in the afternoon), jioni (in the evening), usiku (at night) can often stand alone without a preposition. So:

Usiku tunafunga… = At night we close…
There is no need for "kwa", "katika", or "hapo" before usiku.

The comma is just normal punctuation; it doesn’t affect the grammar.

What exactly does "tunafunga" mean? Is it more like "we close" or "we are closing", and what tense is this?

"Tunafunga" is made of:

tu- = we (subject prefix, 1st person plural)
-na- = present tense marker
funga = close / shut / fasten / tie

So tunafunga is present tense, and it can translate as either:

"we close" (habitual/general)
"we are closing" (right now / ongoing)

Swahili present -na- covers both English simple present and present continuous; context decides which English form sounds more natural.

Is "pazia" singular or plural, and how would I say "curtains" instead of "curtain"?

"Pazia" is singular and belongs to noun class 5/6.

Singular: pazia = curtain
Plural: mapazia = curtains

So:

Tunafunga pazia… = We close the curtain… (one curtain)
Tunafunga mapazia… = We close the curtains… (more than one curtain)

Why is the adjective "zito" used after "pazia", and what does it agree with?

"Zito" means "heavy, thick, dense" and it is describing "pazia".

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

pazia zito = a thick/heavy curtain

Agreement:

pazia is class 5 → for this adjective, the singular form is just zito.
The plural would be mapazia mazito (ma- prefix in the adjective for class 6 plural).

So the pattern is:

pazia zito – thick curtain
mapazia mazito – thick curtains

What does "lenye" mean in "pazia zito lenye rangi ya kahawia", and how is it formed?

"Lenye" comes from the root -enye, which roughly means "having" or "that has / with".

It is a relative adjective that must agree with the noun class:

For class 1: mwenye
For class 2: wenye
For class 5: lenye
For class 6: yenye
etc.

Because pazia is class 5, we use lenye:

pazia … lenye rangi ya kahawia
→ a curtain … having the color brown
→ a curtain with a brown colour

So lenye here means "that has / with", introducing the description "rangi ya kahawia".

Why do we say "rangi ya kahawia" instead of just "rangi kahawia"?

"Rangi ya kahawia" literally means "colour of brown" = brown color.

rangi = color (class 9)
ya = associative marker for class 9 (like “of”)
kahawia = brown

In Swahili, when one noun describes another (like “color of X”), we often use the associative construction:

rangi ya bluu = blue color
rangi ya kijani = green color
rangi ya kahawia = brown color

So "ya" is required here to link rangi and kahawia.

Could we say "pazia la kahawia" instead of "pazia lenye rangi ya kahawia"? If yes, what is the difference?

Yes, you could also say:

pazia la kahawia = a brown curtain

Here:

la is the -a agreement for class 5 (pazia)
kahawia acts like a color adjective/noun after -a

Difference in nuance:

pazia la kahawia → simply “a brown curtain” (short, direct)
pazia zito lenye rangi ya kahawia → emphasizes having the color brown; slightly more descriptive or formal.

Both are correct; the original version sounds a bit more elaborate.

What does "kwa faragha zaidi" literally mean, and why do we need "kwa" here?

Breakdown:

faragha = privacy, seclusion
zaidi = more
kwa faragha zaidi ≈ "for/with more privacy"

"Kwa" is commonly used to form adverbial phrases of manner, reason, or purpose with abstract nouns:

kwa furaha = with joy / happily
kwa hasira = angrily
kwa makini = carefully
kwa faragha = privately

So kwa faragha zaidi expresses the manner or purpose: for more privacy / in a more private way.

Could we drop "kwa" and just say "faragha zaidi" at the end?

You might hear "faragha zaidi" in informal speech, but "kwa faragha zaidi" is more natural and clearly adverbial.

kwa faragha zaidi → grammatically clear: for more privacy / in greater privacy
plain faragha zaidi at the end sounds more like a bare noun phrase (more privacy) without a clear linking preposition.

So for standard, clear Swahili, keep the "kwa" here.

Is the pronoun "we" (sisi) missing here, and if so, why is that acceptable?

Swahili usually does not need a separate subject pronoun because the subject is built into the verb.

tunafunga already includes tu- = we.
Adding sisi (sisi tunafunga…) is optional and usually used only for emphasis or contrast (e.g., we as opposed to others).

So "Usiku, tunafunga…" is the normal, natural way to say "At night, we close…" without explicitly saying "sisi".

Is the word order "pazia zito lenye rangi ya kahawia" fixed, or can we move "zito" and the "lenye…" phrase around?

The usual and most natural order is:

Noun
Simple adjective(s)
Longer relative/descriptor phrases

So:

pazia zito lenye rangi ya kahawia
(noun + simple adjective + “with the color…” phrase)

You could technically rearrange, for example:

pazia lenye rangi ya kahawia zito

but that sounds awkward and less natural, because the heavy descriptive phrase comes before the simple adjective.

Best to keep:

pazia zito lenye rangi ya kahawia
as in the original, following the common pattern: noun → basic adjective → longer description.