Learn Hardcore Swahili: Matunda yakiganda kwenye friza, tunapata barafu tamu. - When the fruits freeze in the freezer, we get sweet ice.

Often it means “when(ever)” in a general, habitual way:
Matunda yakiganda kwenye friza, tunapata barafu tamu.
→ When(ever) the fruits freeze in the freezer, we get sweet ice.
It can also sound a bit conditional, like “if”, especially in other contexts:
Ukienda sokoni, nunua matunda.
→ If / when you go to the market, buy fruits.

So -ki- is a flexible marker meaning something like “at the time/occasion that X happens,” which can be translated as when, whenever, or sometimes if.

Why is it yakiganda and not yanapoganda? Can I use yanapoganda instead?

Yes, you can say:

Matunda yanapoganda kwenye friza, tunapata barafu tamu.

This also means “When the fruits freeze in the freezer, we get sweet ice.”

Differences in feel:

yakiganda (with -ki-) is a bit shorter and very common in speech.
yanapoganda (with -na- … -po-) is also correct and perhaps a little more explicit/neutral, often seen in more careful or written Swahili.

Meaning-wise in this sentence, they are practically the same. Both describe a repeated, general situation: whenever the fruits freeze, we get sweet ice.

Why does the verb start with ya- (yakiganda) and not wa- or something else?

Because ya- is the subject agreement prefix for noun class 6, and matunda is in noun class 6.

tunda (a fruit) → class 5
matunda (fruits) → class 6

Class 6 subject prefixes in the present are:

ya- for verbs (for “they,” but specifically for class 6 nouns)

So:

Matunda yakiganda… = When the fruits freeze…
(ya- agrees with matunda)

If the subject were people (class 2), you’d see wa-:

Watu wakiganda… (When people freeze/get very cold…)
(wa- agrees with watu, class 2)

What is the role of kwenye in kwenye friza, and can I replace it with other words?

Kwenye is a common preposition meaning roughly “in / on / at” (location).

In kwenye friza, it means “in the freezer.”

You can often replace it with:

katika friza – “in the freezer” (a bit more formal/neutral)
ndani ya friza – “inside the freezer” (emphasizes inside)

All of these are understandable:

Matunda yakiganda kwenye friza…
Matunda yakiganda katika friza…
Matunda yakiganda ndani ya friza…

The meaning is basically the same here; kwenye is just very common in everyday speech.

Is friza the standard word, or should I say friji or jokofu?

All three are used, but their feel and region can differ:

friza – from English “freezer”. Commonly used in everyday speech for the freezer section.
friji – from “fridge”. Very common; may refer to the fridge in general (and often includes the freezer compartment in casual talk).
jokofu – more formal or older Standard Swahili word for refrigerator.

In casual modern East African Swahili, many speakers will say:

friji for a fridge
friza for a separate freezer or the freezer compartment

Your sentence with friza sounds natural in many informal contexts.

Why do we say matunda (plural “fruits”) when English often just says “fruit” in a general sense?

In Swahili, matunda is simply the regular plural of tunda (“a fruit”).

Even when English uses an uncountable “fruit” in a general way, Swahili often prefers the plural:

Ninakula matunda.
→ I eat fruit. (literally “I eat fruits.”)

So:

Matunda yakiganda kwenye friza…
→ When the fruit freezes in the freezer… (natural English)
but literally: “When the fruits freeze in the freezer…”

Using tunda (singular) here would sound like only one piece of fruit; matunda sounds more natural for this general statement.

Why is the adjective tamu after barafu? Should it agree or change form?

In Swahili, adjectives normally come after the noun:

barafu tamu = sweet/tasty ice
mtu mzuri = a good person
kitabu kizuri = a good book

About agreement:

Many adjectives have agreement prefixes that change with the noun class (e.g. -zuri, -kubwa, -refu).
But tamu is one of the adjectives that does not change form. It stays tamu for all noun classes:
- chakula tamu – tasty food
- vinywaji tamu – sweet drinks
- barafu tamu – sweet/tasty ice

So barafu tamu is correct word order, and tamu does not need to change its form.

Does barafu mean “ice” or “ice cream” here?

Primarily, barafu means “ice” (frozen water).

In different contexts:

barafu – ice (e.g. in drinks, or naturally occurring)
In everyday speech, especially with children, barafu can sometimes be used loosely for frozen sweet things, like flavored ice on a stick or crushed ice with syrup.
ice cream is usually aiskrimu (from English “ice cream”) or just ice cream used as a loan.

In this sentence:

tunapata barafu tamu
most naturally means “we get sweet/tasty ice (frozen treats).”

A translator might phrase it in natural English as “we get tasty ice lollies/popsicles,” depending on context.

Why is it tunapata (present tense) and not tutapata (future tense) after a “when” clause?

In Swahili, when you describe a general truth or repeated situation, you normally use the present tense in the main clause:

Matunda yakiganda kwenye friza, tunapata barafu tamu.
→ When(ever) the fruits freeze in the freezer, we get sweet ice.
(This is something that happens regularly.)

If you say:

Matunda yakiganda kwenye friza, tutapata barafu tamu.

it shifts the meaning more toward a specific future event:

When the fruits freeze in the freezer (this time), we will get sweet ice.

So tunapata here expresses a habitual / general result, which matches the “whenever this happens, this is the outcome” idea.