Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mimi ninatazama saa ya ukutani darasani. - I am looking at the wall clock in the classroom.

Ninatazama saa ya ukutani darasani. = I am looking at the wall clock in the classroom.
Mimi ninatazama saa ya ukutani darasani. = I am looking at the wall clock in the classroom. (with extra emphasis on I)

You add mimi:

for emphasis (“I, not someone else”),
for contrast (Mimi ninatazama saa, wao wanasoma. – I am looking at the clock, they are reading).

Grammatically, ninatazama alone is complete.

How is ninatazama built, and what tense/aspect is it?

Ninatazama breaks down like this:

ni- = subject prefix for “I” (1st person singular)
-na- = present tense marker
tazama = verb stem “look at / watch”

So:

ni- + -na- + tazama → ninatazama
ninatazama = I am looking / I look (present time)

The -na- tense is usually:

present progressive: I am looking (right now),
or general present: I (usually) look / I (often) watch, depending on context.

What is the difference between kutazama and kuangalia?

Both can often be translated as “to look at / to watch”, and in many everyday situations they are interchangeable.

kutazama – to look (at), to watch, to gaze (often a bit more deliberate or focused)
- Ninatazama saa. – I am looking at the clock.
- Tunatazama televisheni. – We are watching TV.
kuangalia – to look at, watch, but also to check / inspect
- Ninaangalia saa. – I am looking at / checking the time (on the clock).
- Naangalia kazi yako. – I am checking your work.

In Mimi ninatazama saa ya ukutani darasani, ninatazama is perfectly natural. You could also say Ninaangalia saa ya ukutani darasani, with more of a feel of checking the time.

What exactly does saa mean here – “hour”, “time”, “clock” or “watch”?

Saa can mean several related things; context tells you which:

Hour / o’clock
- Ni saa mbili. – It is two o’clock.
Time (of day)
- Saa ngapi? – What time (is it)?
Clock / watch
- saa ya ukutani – the wall clock
- saa ya mkononi – a wristwatch
- saa ya mezani – a table clock

In saa ya ukutani, it clearly means a clock (specifically, the one on the wall), not “an hour”.

Why is the phrase saa ya ukutani in that order, instead of something closer to English like “the wall’s clock”?

Swahili uses this pattern for “X of Y”:

Head noun (X) + possessive word + noun that follows it (Y)

So:

saa = clock
ya = of (agreeing with saa)
ukutani = on the wall

Together: saa ya ukutani = the clock (that is) on the wall / the wall clock.

Other examples:

kitabu cha Kiswahili – a Swahili book (book of Swahili)
mwanafunzi wa shule – a school student (student of school)

You almost always keep this X ya/ch/a/etc. Y order; you do not flip it like English “Y’s X” or “X of the Y”.

Why is the possessive word ya and not wa or la?

The possessive word (“of” word) must agree with the noun it describes, not with the following noun.

Here, the main noun (the “possessed” thing) is saa.

saa belongs to the N class (class 9/10), which in the singular uses ya.

So:

saa ya ukutani – clock of the wall (wall clock)

Compare with other noun classes:

mtoto wa mama – the child of the mother
- mtoto is class 1 (person), so it takes wa
gari la mwalimu – the teacher’s car
- gari is class 5, so it takes la
vitabu vya wanafunzi – books of the students
- vitabu is class 8, so it takes vya

Because saa is an N-class noun, ya is the correct form.

Why is it ukutani instead of just ukuta? How is ukutani formed?

ukuta = a wall
-ni is a locative suffix meaning in / on / at depending on the noun.

To form the locative, you usually:

Take the noun stem: ukuta
Drop the final -a
Add -ni: ukut(a) + ni → ukutani

So:

ukuta – wall
ukutani – on the wall / at the wall / by the wall

In saa ya ukutani, the idea is “the clock that is (located) on the wall”, so the locative form ukutani is used instead of plain ukuta.

Could I say kwenye ukuta or katika ukuta instead of ukutani?

You will hear both locative suffix -ni and prepositions like kwenye and katika.

saa ya ukutani – very natural; literally clock of-on-the-wall
saa ya kwenye ukuta – also understandable: clock (that is) on the wall
saa ya katika ukuta – would sound odd; katika is more often “in/inside” and doesn’t fit well with ukuta.

Between them:

ukutani feels short, idiomatic, and very common.
kwenye ukuta is also fine and common in speech.
With this sentence, saa ya ukutani is the most typical phrasing for “the wall clock”.

Why is it darasani instead of katika darasa? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, but darasani is more compact and very common.

darasa = classroom, class (as a place or lesson)
darasani = in class / in the classroom (darasa + -ni locative)
katika darasa = in the classroom

Nuance:

darasani often implies “in class (during the lesson)” and sounds very natural:
- Wanafunzi wako darasani. – The students are in class.
katika darasa emphasizes the physical location and can sound a bit more formal or explicit.

In your sentence:

… darasani = in the classroom / in class (very natural).
… katika darasa = also correct, just slightly more “spelled out.”

Is the word order fixed? Could I move darasani earlier, like Mimi ninatazama darasani saa ya ukutani?

Swahili word order is fairly flexible, especially with adverbials (time, place, manner). But some positions are much more natural than others.

The most standard pattern is: > [Subject] [Verb] [Object] [Other details (place, time, manner…)]

So your original: > Mimi ninatazama (subject + verb) saa ya ukutani (object) darasani (place)

That is very natural.

If you say: > Mimi ninatazama darasani saa ya ukutani.

it is grammatical, but it sounds unusual, because you are splitting the direct object saa ya ukutani.

Better alternatives if you want to vary:

Darasani, mimi ninatazama saa ya ukutani. – In class, I am looking at the wall clock.
Mimi darasani ninatazama saa ya ukutani. – I, in class, am looking at the wall clock.

So:

Keep saa ya ukutani together as one noun phrase.
Putting darasani at the very beginning (as a topic) or at the end (as in the original) is most natural.