Breakdown of Nilikuwa nikitazama runinga wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia kwenye simu yangu.
Questions & Answers about Nilikuwa nikitazama runinga wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia kwenye simu yangu.
Nilikuwa nikitazama is the Swahili way of expressing a past continuous / past progressive action, like English "I was watching".
- nilikuwa = I was (ni- = I, -li- = past, -kuwa = be)
- nikitazama = (while) I was watching (ni- = I, -ki- = “while/when” marker, -tazama = watch)
Together, nilikuwa nikitazama puts an action in the background as something ongoing when another event happens (here: the voice message entering the phone).
You can say Nilitazama runinga wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia…, but the meaning changes slightly.
- Nilikuwa nikitazama runinga… ≈ I was watching TV (at that moment) when… → emphasizes an action in progress.
- Nilitazama runinga wakati… ≈ I watched TV when… → sounds more like a complete act, not clearly shown as ongoing/background.
In English you naturally say:
- “I was watching TV when the voice message came in.”
So the Swahili past continuous nilikuwa nikitazama is the most natural match.
-ki- here adds a “while/as” or “in progress” nuance:
- nikitazama literally = (while) I watch / I am watching
After nilikuwa, this gives a very natural past progressive:
Nilikuwa nikitazama runinga… = I was watching TV…
You can also say:
- Nilikuwa natazama runinga wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia…
This is also understood as I was watching TV when… and is common in speech.
Very roughly:
- nilikuwa nikitazama → slightly more explicit “while I was watching”, often used when contrasting with another event.
- nilikuwa natazama → more straightforward “I was watching”, without the extra “while” flavor.
Both are acceptable and would work in this sentence.
-ki- can indeed be:
- conditional: ukija = if/when you come
- “while/when” in time clauses: alipika akisikiliza redio = he cooked while listening to the radio
In nilikuwa nikitazama runinga wakati…, the context and the presence of wakati (“when/while”) make nikitazama clearly “while I was watching”, not conditional.
So here -ki- is functioning as a “while/as” marker supporting the past continuous meaning.
Wakati means “time / when / while”. In this sentence it introduces the event that happened during that time:
- …wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia kwenye simu yangu.
= …when a voice message came into my phone.
You have several stylistic options:
- Wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia kwenye simu yangu, nilikuwa nikitazama runinga.
- Nilikuwa nikitazama runinga wakati ambapo ujumbe wa sauti uliingia kwenye simu yangu.
wakati ambapo is a bit more formal or explicit, like saying “at the time when”. All of these orders are grammatical; they mainly change emphasis (whether you foreground the time clause or the action of watching TV).
Swahili verbs agree with the noun class of their subject.
- ujumbe (message) belongs to a class whose subject prefix in the singular is u-.
- Therefore, the verb must begin with u- to show agreement:
- ujumbe u-li-ingia
subject‑prefix (u-) + past (‑li-) + verb (ingia)
- ujumbe u-li-ingia
So:
- ujumbe wa sauti uliingia
= the voice message entered (literally: message of voice it-entered).
If the subject were, say, simu (a class 9 noun), you would expect a i- subject prefix on the verb instead.
wa is the associative/possessive “of” that links two nouns in Swahili.
- ujumbe wa sauti = message of voice → voice message
You cannot normally just put two nouns together like English “voice message”. You must use the -a connector, whose form changes according to the noun class of the first noun:
- ujumbe (message) → takes wa
- ujumbe wa sauti = voice message
- simu (phone) → takes ya
- simu ya ofisini = the office phone
So ujumbe sauti is ungrammatical; wa is obligatory here.
All three are possible in different nuances:
- kwenye simu yangu
- very common, fairly neutral “in/on my phone”
- often used for physical or virtual locations: kwenye kompyuta, kwenye akaunti
- katika simu yangu
- more formal/literary “in my phone”
- still correct, just a bit stiffer in everyday speech
- kwa simu yangu
- usually means “by/using my phone” or related to my phone as a means or source (“by phone”)
- not the best choice if you specifically mean the message entered into the phone’s inbox
For “came into my phone” (as in appeared in my inbox), kwenye simu yangu is the most idiomatic.
Yes, runinga yangu (my TV) is correct. The difference is mostly like English:
- Nilikuwa nikitazama runinga…
= I was watching TV… (generic: TV as an activity) - Nilikuwa nikitazama runinga yangu…
= I was watching my TV… (emphasizes ownership, maybe you have more than one TV or you’re contrasting with someone else’s)
In the sentence given, the speaker only needs to say they were watching TV, so runinga without a possessive is natural.
Simu yangu is specified as “my phone” because that detail matters (the message came to my phone, not just any phone).
They both refer to television.
- runinga
- a more “pure Swahili” word, widely used especially in Tanzania and in more formal or official contexts (e.g. news, government broadcasts).
- televisheni
- a borrowing from English “television”, also common in everyday speech.
- In very informal talk, people may even just say TV (tii-vii).
So you might hear:
- Ninatazama runinga.
- Ninaangalia televisheni.
Both are fine; choice depends on region, formality, and personal preference.
Yes:
- Nilikuwa naangalia runinga wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia kwenye simu yangu.
is perfectly acceptable and will mean essentially the same thing.
Two small differences:
- Verb choice:
- tazama and angalia both mean “look at / watch”, with angalia slightly more general (“look at, check, pay attention to”). In the context of TV, either is fine.
- Aspect marker:
- na- in naangalia gives a straightforward progressive (“I was watching”).
- ki- in nikitazama adds a “while/as” flavor and is often used where one action is happening as background to another.
In practice, for this sentence, both variants are natural.
The possessive -angu (“my”) changes its initial consonant/vowel according to the noun class of the noun it follows.
- simu is a class 9 noun.
- Class 9 uses y- for -angu, so you get:
- simu yangu = my phone
Some other examples for contrast:
- mtoto wangu (my child) – class 1 → wangu
- kitabu changu (my book) – class 7 → changu
- gari langu (my car) – class 5 → langu
So simu langu or simu wangu are incorrect because they use the wrong possessive form for the class of simu.
You normally put mimi before the verb to add emphasis:
- Mimi nilikuwa nikitazama runinga wakati ujumbe wa sauti uliingia kwenye simu yangu.
= I (as opposed to someone else) was watching TV when the voice message came in.
You could also put a pause or comma after mimi in speech or writing:
- Mimi, nilikuwa nikitazama runinga…
The ni- in nilikuwa already encodes “I”, so mimi is only used for emphasis or contrast, not as a required subject pronoun.
Each verb has a different nuance:
- kuingia = to enter, go in
- ujumbe uliingia kwenye simu yangu → the message came in / entered my phone (as a new arrival in the inbox). Very idiomatic for messages, money into an account, etc.
- kuja = to come
- ujumbe ulichokuja kwenye simu yangu is less natural; kuja doesn’t strongly suggest entering a container/inbox.
- kupatikana = to be found / be available / be obtained
- ujumbe ulipatikana kwenye simu yangu = the message could be found / was available on my phone; this focuses on availability, not on the moment of arrival.
Because the sentence describes the moment the message arrived, kuingia is the best choice.