Learn Hardcore Swahili: Leo bibi amevaa leso mpya yenye maua mekundu na bluu kichwani. - Today grandmother is wearing a new headscarf with red and blue flowers on her head.

amevaa = a- + -me- + -vaa
- -me- is the “perfect” aspect.
- It usually means has worn / is wearing now, focusing on the resulting state.
- In this sentence, amevaa means “she is (now) wearing” a leso.
anavaa = a- + -na- + -vaa
- -na- is the present habitual/progressive.
- It can mean is wearing (right now) or usually wears (depending on context).

Leo bibi amevaa… suggests: Today, Grandma is (now) wearing…, maybe contrasting with other days when she doesn’t wear it.
Leo bibi anavaa… would sound more like describing an ongoing action or a general habit, not so much the end result.

Does bibi only mean “grandmother”?

No, bibi is a bit broader:

Grandmother – most common in many contexts.
Old lady / elderly woman – can refer to an older woman, not necessarily your own grandmother.
Madam / Mrs (more formal, somewhat old-fashioned) – e.g. Bibi Mariam (“Mrs. Mariam”).

In this sentence, bibi likely means “grandmother” or “an older woman”, depending on context. English forces you to choose, but Swahili allows some ambiguity.

What exactly is a leso? Is it the same as a “kanga”?

Leso is a type of cloth, usually:

A headscarf or handkerchief-like piece of cloth, often tied around the head.
Sometimes smaller or simpler than a kanga.

A kanga is:

A larger, colorful piece of fabric with patterns and often a proverb written on it.
Commonly worn wrapped around the waist or torso.

In this sentence, leso…kichwani suggests a headscarf worn on the head, not a full wrap-around kanga.

Why does mpya (new) come after leso instead of before, like in English?

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun:

English: a new scarf
Swahili: leso mpya

So the order is:
[noun] + [adjective]
→ leso mpya = new scarf/headscarf

This is normal word order for most adjectives in Swahili.

What is the role of yenye in leso mpya yenye maua mekundu na bluu?

Yenye is a relative form meaning “that has / which has / with”. It links a noun to something it possesses:

leso mpya yenye maua…
= a new scarf that has flowers…
= a new scarf with flowers…

So the structure is:

leso mpya – a new scarf
yenye maua mekundu na bluu – which has red and blue flowers

Together:
leso mpya yenye maua mekundu na bluu
= a new scarf with red and blue flowers.

Why is it yenye and not ilio or ambayo?

Different relative forms are used for different functions and styles:

yenye = “that has / with” (expressing possession or a characteristic)
-lio, ambayo, etc. = more neutral “which/that” forms attached directly to the verb.

Here, we’re not attaching a verb; we just want to say “with flowers”. So:

leso mpya yenye maua… = a new scarf *with flowers…*

If you tried to use ilio or ambayo, you’d normally follow them with a verb, e.g.:

leso mpya iliyo na maua mekundu…
leso mpya ambayo ina maua mekundu…

Those are grammatical, but yenye maua is shorter and more natural for “with flowers”.

Why is it maua mekundu and not maua wekundu or maua mwekundu?

This is about noun class agreement with an adjective:

ua (flower) – class 5 (singular)
maua (flowers) – class 6 (plural)

Class 6 often has adjective forms like makubwa (big), mengi (many), etc.

The color -ekundu (red) combines with class prefixes:

For class 6 (ma-), it becomes mekundu (not maekundu in practice; a + e → e).
So:
- ua mwekundu = a red flower (class 5)
- maua mekundu = red flowers (class 6)

So maua mekundu is the correct agreement for “red flowers”.

Why doesn’t bluu change form like mekundu does?

Bluu (blue) is a borrowed word (from English/French) and is often treated as invariable in everyday Swahili:

maua bluu – blue flowers
nguo bluu – blue clothes
mkoba bluu – blue bag

Unlike adjectives like -kubwa, -ekundu, -zuri, etc., which change their prefix to match noun class, bluu usually stays the same.
That’s why we have:

maua mekundu na bluu
→ “red and blue flowers”
where mekundu agrees with maua, and bluu just sits there unchanged.

Why is it just kichwani and not kichwa chake (“her head”)?

Kichwani = kichwa + -ni, meaning “on the head / on the head area”.

In Swahili, you do not need to mark possession (my/your/her) every time if it’s obvious from context or typical for that body part. So:

amevaa leso kichwani
literally: “she has worn a leso on the head”
naturally understood as: “on her head” (because it’s her own body).

You could say kichwa chake (her head) or kichwani pake, but it’s not necessary here and can sound heavier than needed.

What exactly does the ending -ni in kichwani do?

The suffix -ni is a locative marker. It often means:

in / on / at that noun.

Examples:

nyumba (house) → nyumbani (at home)
shule (school) → shuleni (at school)
kichwa (head) → kichwani (on the head)

So in this sentence, kichwani means “on (her) head”, i.e. the location where the scarf is being worn.

Could the word order be changed, for example: bibi leo amevaa leso… or bibi amevaa leo…?

Yes, Swahili word order is fairly flexible for adverbs like leo (“today”):

Leo bibi amevaa leso…
– Today, Grandma is wearing a scarf…
Bibi leo amevaa leso…
– Grandma today is wearing a scarf… (still natural; emphasis slightly different)
Bibi amevaa leo leso…
– Less natural; splitting the verb and its object like that usually sounds awkward.

The most neutral choices are:

Leo bibi amevaa leso…
Bibi amevaa leso leo…

Both are okay; the original simply chooses to start with Leo for emphasis on “today”.

Is there a difference between saying amevaa leso kichwani and something like amefunika kichwa kwa leso?

Both are understandable, but they emphasize slightly different things:

amevaa leso kichwani
= she is wearing a leso on her head
– focuses on the fact of wearing it as an item of clothing.
amefunika kichwa kwa leso
= she has covered her head with a leso
– focuses more on the action of covering the head using the leso.

For a simple description of what she has on her head as clothing, amevaa leso kichwani is more straightforward.