Watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni.

The children are cooking by themselves at home in the evening.

Breakdown of Watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni.

• kupika: to cook
• mtoto: the child
• nyumbani: at home
• jioni: in the evening
• wenyewe: themselves

Questions & Answers about Watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni.

In wanapika, what do the different parts mean?

Wanapika is made of three parts:

• wa- = subject prefix for they (class for watoto, children)
• -na- = present tense marker (present/habitual)
• -pika = verb root cook

So wanapika literally is they-PRES-cook → “they are cooking / they cook.”

Why does the verb start with wa- and not something else?

The verb must agree with the subject’s noun class and number.

• Watoto (children) belongs to the wa-/a- noun class in the plural.
• The corresponding subject prefix is wa- (they).

If it were singular:

• Mtoto anapika… – The child is cooking…
  
  • m-toto → child
  • a-na-pika → he/she is cooking

So:

• Watoto wanapika… – The children are cooking…
• Mtoto anapika… – The child is cooking…

Is wanapika “are cooking” (right now) or “cook” (in general)?

The -na- tense can cover both:

1. Present progressive (right now):
   
   • The children are cooking (right now).
2. Present habitual / regular action:
   
   • The children cook (by themselves) at home in the evening (as a routine).

Context usually makes it clear. Because the sentence includes jioni (in the evening), many speakers might understand it as a habitual action, but it can also describe a specific evening if context suggests that.

What exactly does wenyewe mean here?

Wenyewe here means “by themselves / on their own / themselves”.

It emphasizes that the children are doing the cooking without other people’s help. Compare:

• Watoto wanapika nyumbani jioni.
  The children cook at home in the evening.
  (No information about help.)

• Watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni.
  The children cook by themselves at home in the evening.
  (Adds the idea of independence / no help.)

Grammatically, wenyewe behaves a bit like an emphatic/reflexive pronoun: it refers back to watoto.

Can wenyewe be used with other persons, like “by myself”, “by yourself”, etc.?

Yes. It adjusts to the subject. Some common patterns:

• Ninapika mwenyewe. – I cook by myself.
• Unapika mwenyewe. – You (sg.) cook by yourself.
• Anapika mwenyewe. – He/she cooks by himself/herself.
• Tunapika wenyewe. – We cook by ourselves.
• Mnapika wenyewe. – You (pl.) cook by yourselves.
• Wanapika wenyewe. – They cook by themselves.

So the verb subject prefix changes (ni-, u-, a-, tu-, m-, wa-), while mwenyewe / wenyewe changes mainly with number and class. For people in plural, wenyewe is used.

Is there a difference between wenyewe and peke yao for “by themselves”?

Both can mean “by themselves,” but there are some nuances:

• wenyewe – often just emphasizes that they themselves are doing it.

  • Watoto wanapika wenyewe. – The children themselves are cooking.

• peke yao – more strongly suggests without anyone else, “on their own / alone.”

  • Watoto wanapika peke yao. – The children cook on their own, with nobody else involved.

In many everyday contexts, they can be used interchangeably, but peke yao tends to highlight “alone” a bit more explicitly.

Why is it nyumbani and not just nyumba?

• nyumba = house
• nyumbani = at home / in the house (locative form)

The -ni ending often makes a noun locative, meaning “in/at/on [place].”
So:

• nyumbani → at home / in the house
• shuleni (from shule = school) → at school
• kanisani (from kanisa = church) → in/at church

In this sentence, nyumbani means “at home” rather than just “house” as a thing.

Can the position of nyumbani change? For example, can I say Watoto wanapika nyumbani wenyewe jioni?

Word order in Swahili is relatively flexible for adverbs (time, place, manner), but some orders sound more natural.

Most natural here is:

• Watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni.
• Watoto wanapika nyumbani wenyewe jioni. (also possible, but slightly less smooth)

Putting wenyewe immediately after the verb or right after the subject is very common. Many speakers prefer wenyewe to come before place/time phrases, as in the original.

Very unusual and less natural would be something like:

• Watoto wenyewe wanapika nyumbani jioni.
  This shifts the emphasis to the children themselves (as opposed to other people) are the ones who cook, which is a slightly different focus.

Where does jioni normally go in the sentence? Could it come at the beginning?

Jioni means “in the evening.” Time expressions are free to move around, with slight changes in emphasis:

• Watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni.
  Neutral: just stating when it happens.

• Jioni watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani.
  Emphasizes “In the evening…” (contrast with other times of day).

Both are grammatically correct. Swahili often puts time and place either at the end or the beginning of the sentence.

Why is there no word for “the” in Watoto wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni?

Swahili does not have separate words for “the” or “a/an”. There is no direct equivalent of English definite or indefinite articles.

Watoto on its own can mean:

• the children
• children
• some children

Context and sometimes word order, or additional words (like hawa watoto = these children, wale watoto = those children) provide the specificity that English expresses with “the” / “a.”

Could I drop Watoto and just say Wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni?

Yes, you can. The subject is already marked on the verb:

• wa- in wanapika = they

So Wanapika wenyewe nyumbani jioni is grammatically correct and means “They cook by themselves at home in the evening.”

However:

• If it’s the first time you mention them, or it’s not obvious who “they” are, you usually say Watoto wanapika…
• If you already mentioned the children, or it’s clear from context, you can safely drop Watoto and just say Wanapika…

What would the sentence look like in the singular: “The child cooks by himself/herself at home in the evening”?

You would adjust the noun and subject prefix:

• Mtoto anapika mwenyewe nyumbani jioni.
  
  • mtoto – child (singular)
  • a-na-pika – he/she is cooking / cooks
  • mwenyewe – by himself/herself
  • nyumbani – at home
  • jioni – in the evening

Why is it wenyewe (plural form) while Watoto is already plural?

That’s exactly the point: wenyewe agrees with a plural human subject:

• mtu mmoja (one person) → mwenyewe (by himself/herself)
• watu / watoto (people / children, plural) → wenyewe (by themselves)

So in this sentence:

• Watoto (children, plural) → wenyewe (themselves)

The plural form wenyewe matches the plural subject watoto.