Learn Hardcore Swahili: Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza, sasa yameganda kabisa. - I put the milk in the freezer, now it is completely frozen.

It’s used here because the action of putting the milk in the freezer is a finished action in the past, separate from the current result (the milk being frozen now).

Why is it niliweka and not nimeweka? Aren’t they both past?

Both refer to past time, but with different nuances:

Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza = I put the milk in the freezer (a completed past action, often with a clear past time frame in mind, like “earlier,” “yesterday,” etc.).
Nimeweka maziwa kwenye friza = I have put the milk in the freezer (recent past / relevant to the present, like reporting what you’ve just done).

In this sentence, we contrast:

Past action: I put the milk in the freezer (niliweka)
Present result: now it has frozen completely (yameganda kabisa)

So niliweka … yameganda nicely separates: past event vs. present result.

What exactly is maziwa grammatically? Is it singular or plural?

Maziwa means milk, but grammatically it’s treated as plural, in noun class 6 (ma- class).

The “singular” form ziwa exists, but it usually means lake (or udder), not “a milk.”
When talking about the drink “milk,” Swahili almost always uses maziwa and treats it as plural, even though in English “milk” is uncountable and grammatically singular.

That’s why later you see yameganda with ya- (class 6 plural agreement), not limeganda.

Why is it yameganda and not imeganda or limeganda?

The verb yameganda agrees with maziwa:

Maziwa = noun class 6 (plural)
Class 6 subject prefix in the perfect tense = ya- (they have…)
-me- = perfect tense marker (have/has)
ganda = freeze, solidify, clot

So:

yameganda = they have frozen (referring to the milk, grammatically plural).

Ime- would match a class 9/10 noun (like chai imeganda if tea somehow “froze”).
Lime- would match class 5 (ziwa limeganda – if you were talking about a lake, for example).

What does kwenye mean in kwenye friza? Is it “in,” “on,” or “at”?

Kwenye is a very flexible locative preposition. It can correspond to in, on, at, into depending on context.

In this sentence:

kwenye friza = in the freezer / into the freezer

You could also say:

ndani ya friza = inside the freezer
katika friza = in the freezer (slightly more formal or bookish)

In everyday speech, kwenye is extremely common and very natural here.

What is the difference between friza, friji, and jokofu?

All are related to cold-storage appliances, but usage differs:

friza = freezer (the freezing compartment/appliance)
friji = fridge / refrigerator (often including the freezer compartment in everyday speech)
jokofu = more standard/technical word for refrigerator, common in formal or written Swahili

In this sentence, friza is used because the milk ends up frozen, not just chilled. You might also hear in casual speech:

Niliweka maziwa kwenye friji, sasa yameganda kabisa – which can be understood as “I put the milk in the fridge, now it’s totally frozen,” especially if the fridge has a strong freezer compartment.

What role does sasa play here? Is it just “now”?

Yes, sasa means now, but it also works as a discourse connector, a bit like “so now” or “and now” in English.

In Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza, sasa yameganda kabisa:

Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza = I put the milk in the freezer
sasa yameganda kabisa = now (as a result) it has completely frozen

So sasa links the past action to the current result, with a slight sense of “so now, look what’s happened.”

What does the verb ganda mean exactly? Is it only “to freeze”?

Ganda has a few related meanings, all involving becoming solid or thick:

For liquids: to freeze, to solidify, to set
- Maji yameganda = The water has frozen.
For blood: to clot
- Damu imeganda = The blood has clotted.

In the context of maziwa yameganda, it normally means the milk has frozen (because of the freezer). In some contexts maziwa yameganda could also mean the milk has curdled or thickened, but with kwenye friza it clearly means frozen solid.

What does kabisa add to the sentence? Could I just say yameganda?

Kabisa means completely, totally, entirely, and it’s also often used simply for emphasis.

Yameganda = They have frozen.
Yameganda kabisa = They have completely frozen / They’re totally frozen.

You can absolutely say Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza, sasa yameganda – that’s correct Swahili. Adding kabisa just intensifies the idea: not just a bit frozen, but fully frozen.

It usually comes at the end of the phrase for emphasis.

Why doesn’t niliweka maziwa use an object marker, like niliyaweka maziwa?

In Swahili, you usually don’t use an object marker when the full object noun is right there in the sentence:

Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza. ✅
(I put milk in the freezer.)

Using both the object marker and the full noun is normally redundant or ungrammatical in this type of sentence:

✗ Niliyaweka maziwa kwenye friza. (sounds wrong)

You use the object marker when:

The object is already known from context, or
You don’t repeat the noun:

Examples:

Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza. Baadaye niliyaona yameganda.
I put the milk in the freezer. Later I saw it (the milk) had frozen.
Niliyaweka kwenye friza.
I put them in the freezer. (Referring to something already mentioned.)

Can I change the word order, like putting sasa or maziwa earlier?

Yes, Swahili word order is fairly flexible for emphasis. All of these are grammatical, with slightly different focus:

Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza, sasa yameganda kabisa.
Neutral: I put the milk in the freezer; now it’s completely frozen.
Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza, yameganda kabisa sasa.
Still fine; sasa then emphasizes “by now / at this point.”
Sasa maziwa niliyoweka kwenye friza yameganda kabisa.
More elaborate and emphatic: Now the milk that I put in the freezer has completely frozen.
– here sasa and maziwa are pulled forward for emphasis.

The original sentence is the simplest, most natural everyday version.

How would I say “I put the milk in the freezer, but it hasn’t frozen yet”?

You keep niliweka for the past action, and make yameganda negative with -ja- (“have not yet”):

Niliweka maziwa kwenye friza, lakini hayajaganda bado.

Breakdown of hayajaganda:

ha- = negative
ya- = class 6 subject (maziwa)
-ja- = not yet (negative perfect)
ganda = freeze

So hayajaganda bado = they haven’t frozen yet.