Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mjukuu wa bibi yangu anasoma darasa la saba; mjukuu wake mwingine bado ni mdogo sana. - My grandmother's grandchild is in seventh grade; her other grandchild is still very small.

It does not mark gender; it can be male or female.
The plural is wajukuu (class 1 → class 2):
- mjukuu mmoja – one grandchild
- wajukuu watatu – three grandchildren

In the sentence, mjukuu wa bibi yangu = my grandmother’s grandchild.

Why is it mjukuu wa bibi yangu and not mjukuu ya bibi yangu or something else?

The little word wa is a genitive connector, meaning of, and it must agree with the first noun (the thing possessed).

First noun (possessed): mjukuu – class 1
Genitive connector for class 1: wa

So we get:

mjukuu wa bibi yangu – the grandchild of my grandmother
If the first noun were class 9, we’d use ya, e.g. rafiki ya familia (friend of the family).

So wa appears because mjukuu is class 1, not because of bibi.

Why do we have both wa and yangu in mjukuu wa bibi yangu? Isn’t that like saying “grandchild of grandmother my”?

Structurally, yes—Swahili does literally say “grandchild of grandmother my”, but that’s normal.

Breakdown:

mjukuu – grandchild
wa – of
bibi yangu – my grandmother
- bibi – grandmother
- yangu – my (agreeing with bibi, class 9)

So:

mjukuu wa bibi yangu = grandchild of my grandmother

You need:

wa to link mjukuu and bibi (X of Y), and
yangu to show that bibi is my grandmother.

Both are required for natural Swahili.

How is anasoma built, and why does it mean “is in/attends (grade seven)” here?

Anasoma breaks down as:

a- – subject marker for he / she (class 1 person)
-na- – present tense marker
soma – verb root “read / study”

So anasoma literally = he/she reads / is studying.

When used with a school level:

anasoma darasa la saba
→ literally: “he/she is studying class seven”
→ naturally: he/she is in grade seven / is a seventh-grader.

So in school contexts, kusoma covers “to study / to go to school / to be in (a given grade).”

Why is it darasa la saba and not just darasa saba?

The la is another genitive connector, agreeing with darasa (class 5).

Pattern:

First noun (darasa – class 5)
Genitive connector for class 5: la
Number: saba (seven)

So:

darasa la saba – literally “class of seven” → seventh grade

For school grades, Swahili naturally uses this structure:

darasa la kwanza – first grade
darasa la pili – second grade
darasa la saba – seventh grade

Just darasa saba would sound incomplete or odd in this meaning.

Could I say anasoma katika darasa la saba instead of anasoma darasa la saba?

You can say it, but the nuance changes slightly:

anasoma darasa la saba – normal, very common way to say “he/she is in grade seven.”
anasoma katika darasa la saba – more literally “he/she studies in grade seven.” It’s grammatically fine but sounds a bit heavier / more formal.

In everyday speech about what grade a child is in, anasoma darasa la saba is the most natural.

In mjukuu wake mwingine, who does wake refer to? The grandchild or the grandmother?

Wake means his/her, and here it refers back to bibi yangu (my grandmother), not to the first grandchild.

Context:

First we hear: mjukuu wa bibi yangu – my grandmother’s grandchild.
Then: mjukuu wake mwingine – literally “her other grandchild.”

Swahili often uses wake / wangu / wao etc. without repeating the noun:

bibi yangu ana wajukuu wawili. Mjukuu wake mmoja anasoma…
→ my grandmother has two grandchildren. One of her grandchildren studies…

So wake = her (the grandmother’s), understood from context.

Why is it wake in mjukuu wake mwingine and not yake or wangu?

Possessive forms in Swahili agree with the noun possessed (not with the possessor).

Here:

Possessed noun: mjukuu (class 1)
Possessor: bibi yangu (my grandmother)
Possessive for 3rd person singular with class 1: wake

So we get:

mjukuu wake – her/his grandchild (class 1 noun)
If it were my grandchild: mjukuu wangu
If it were a class 9 noun like bibi, you’d use yake/yangu:
- bibi yake – his/her grandmother

So wake is chosen because mjukuu is in class 1, not because of who owns it.

Why is the word order mjukuu wake mwingine and not mwingine wake mjukuu?

Normal noun phrase order in Swahili is:

Noun + (possessive) + (adjective-like words such as mwingine)

So:

mjukuu – noun
wake – possessive (his/her)
mwingine – “other / another”

Together: mjukuu wake mwingine – his/her other grandchild / another grandchild of his/hers.

If you said mwingine wake mjukuu, it would be ungrammatical or at least very unnatural; it breaks expected word order.

What does bado ni mdogo sana literally mean? How do bado, ni, mdogo, and sana work?

Breakdown:

bado – still / not yet (here: still)
ni – “is/am/are” (copula)
mdogo – small / young
sana – very (intensifier, usually at the end)

So:

bado ni mdogo sana = he/she is still very young (literally, “still is young very”).

Word order:

bado usually comes before the verb/copula:
- bado ni mdogo – he/she is still young
- bado hajafika – he/she has not arrived yet
sana normally comes at the end of the phrase:
- anafurahi sana – he/she is very happy
- mdogo sana – very young/small

Does mdogo mean “small” or “young”? Could I have used a different word for “young”?

Mdogo covers both small and younger/young, depending on context.

Common uses:

mtoto mdogo – a small / young child
kaka mdogo – younger brother
mjukuu mdogo sana – a very young grandchild

You could also use:

mchanga – very young (often babies / very small children)
- bado ni mchanga sana – he/she is still very young (baby/toddler)
kijana – a young person (teen / youth), not a small child
- bado ni kijana – he is still a young man

In the sentence, mdogo sana is natural and idiomatic.

If I want to say “another of my grandchildren” instead, how would I say that?

Change the possessor in the phrase:

mjukuu wake mwingine – another / the other grandchild of his/hers
mjukuu wangu mwingine – another of my grandchildren / my other grandchild

Structure:

mjukuu – grandchild
wangu – my (for class 1)
mwingine – another/other

Example full sentence:

Mjukuu wangu mmoja anasoma darasa la saba; mjukuu wangu mwingine bado ni mdogo sana.
→ One of my grandchildren is in grade seven; my other grandchild is still very young.

How would the sentence change if I were talking about several grandchildren instead of one? How do I make the key words plural?

Make the relevant nouns and agreements plural:

mjukuu → wajukuu (grandchild → grandchildren)
anasoma (he/she studies) → wanasoma (they study) where needed
Adjectives and mwingine also change form in some contexts.

Example plural version:

Wajukuu wa bibi yangu wanasoma darasa la saba; wajukuu wake wengine bado ni wadogo sana.
→ My grandmother’s grandchildren are in grade seven; her other grandchildren are still very young.

Changes to notice:

wajukuu wa bibi yangu – grandchildren of my grandmother
wanasoma – they study
wajukuu wake wengine – her other grandchildren
wadogo sana – very young (plural adjective agreeing with wajukuu)