Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ukitazama ukutani, utaona tangazo jipya linaloonyesha ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho. - If you look on the wall, you will see a new notice that shows on which day we will do the final exam.

Ukitazama ukutani, utaona tangazo jipya linaloonyesha ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho.

If you look on the wall, you will see a new notice that shows on which day we will do the final exam.

Breakdown of Ukitazama ukutani, utaona tangazo jipya linaloonyesha ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho.

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Questions & Answers about Ukitazama ukutani, utaona tangazo jipya linaloonyesha ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho.

In ukitazama, what does the -ki- part mean? Is it the same as “if” or “when”?

Ukitazama is built like this:

u- = you (2nd person singular subject marker)
-ki- = a marker that often means “when / if / whenever”
tazam- = verb root look at / watch
-a = final vowel

So ukitazama literally means “when/if you look (at)”.

The -ki- form usually introduces a time or condition that is followed by another clause:

Ukisoma, utafaulu. = If/when you study, you will pass.
Ukichelewa, hutamkuta. = If you are late, you won’t find him/her.

In your sentence, Ukitazama ukutani, utaona… means When/If you look at the wall, you will see…

What exactly does ukutani mean, and why is it not just ukuta for “wall”?

Ukuta = wall (noun, class 11).
Ukutani = on/at the wall.

The -ni ending is a locative suffix in Swahili. It often adds the idea of “in / on / at (that place)” to a noun.

ukuta → ukutani = wall → on the wall
meza → mezani = table → on the table
shule → shuleni = at school

So ukitazama ukutani is best understood as “when you look at the wall” (literally: when you look on the wall).

Why is the main verb utaona (future) instead of unaona (present)? Could I say Ukitazama ukutani, unaona…?

Utaona is:

u- = you
-ta- = future tense
-ona = see

So utaona = “you will see”.

The pattern here is:

(When/if) you look… , you will see…

The future tense sounds natural because the seeing happens as a result of the action of looking, slightly after it.

You could say:

Ukitazama ukutani, unaona tangazo jipya…

This would sound more like a general rule / habitual statement:

Whenever you look at the wall, you see a new notice…

But in the original sentence the speaker is talking about what will happen when you do it (e.g. right now if you go and look), so utaona (future) fits better.

Why is it tangazo jipya and not tangazo mpya for “new notice”?

Swahili adjectives usually agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

Tangazo (announcement/notice) is in noun class 5.
The adjective -pya = new, but it changes its prefix depending on the noun class.

Some common forms of -pya:

kitabu kipya = new book (class 7)
vitabu vipya = new books (class 8)
tangazo jipya = new notice (class 5)
matangazo mapya = new notices (class 6)
mtoto mpya = new child (class 1)
watoto wapya = new children (class 2)

So with tangazo (class 5), the correct agreement is jipya, not mpya.
Tangazo mpya would be ungrammatical.

How is linaloonyesha formed, and what does it tell us in tangazo jipya linaloonyesha…?

Linaloonyesha comes from the verb kuonyesha (to show), plus several markers:

li- = subject marker for class 5 (agreeing with tangazo)
-na- = present tense marker (is/are doing)
-lo- = relative marker “which/that” (for class 5)
-onyesha = show
final vowel -a

Combined: linaloonyesha = “which is showing / that shows”.

So:

tangazo jipya linaloonyesha…
= the new notice that shows… / the new notice which shows…

This is a relative clause, and it must agree in noun class with tangazo (class 5). That’s why it starts with li-.

Could we also say tangazo jipya ambalo linaonyesha… instead of linaloonyesha? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can also say:

tangazo jipya ambalo linaonyesha ni siku gani…

Here:

ambalo = which/that (relative pronoun, agreeing with class 5)
linaonyesha = li- (class 5) + -na- (present) + -onyesha (show)

Both versions are correct and natural:

linaloonyesha = “short” relative form, everything glued into one word.
ambalo linaonyesha = uses ambalo as a separate relative pronoun, plus a “normal” verb linaonyesha.

Meaning-wise there is no difference here; it’s mainly a stylistic / structural choice. Learners often find ambalo…-type forms easier at the beginning.

What is going on in ni siku gani? Why do we have ni there?

Ni in Swahili is a kind of copula (“to be”), especially in equational sentences:

Hii ni nyumba. = This is a house.
Yule ni mwalimu. = That is a teacher.

In …linaloonyesha ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho, the part ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho works like an embedded question:

…that shows which day we will do the final exam.

Literally, it is close to:

…that shows it is which day we will do the final exam.

Here, ni introduces the idea “it is …”, and siku gani is the “which day” part. So ni siku gani is like saying “(it) is which day…” inside a longer sentence.

Could we say tutafanya siku gani mtihani wa mwisho instead of ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are possible, but they are used a bit differently.

Direct question:

Tutafanya siku gani mtihani wa mwisho?
= On which day will we do the final exam?

Here, siku gani sits right next to the verb, as in many normal WH-questions.

Embedded question inside another sentence:

Tangazo jipya linaloonyesha ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho.
= The new notice that shows which day we will do the final exam.

In this embedded structure, using ni siku gani… is very natural:

It shows *which day we will do the exam.*
Linaonyesha *ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani…*

So:

Tutafanya siku gani…? → good as a stand‑alone question.
ni siku gani tutafanya… → very natural inside “shows/tells/explains which day…” type clauses.

What does gani mean exactly, and where does it go in the noun phrase? Can it come before the noun?

Gani means “which? / what kind of?” (often just translated as “which”).

Key points:

It almost always comes after the noun it describes:
- siku gani = which day
- kitabu gani = which book
- gari gani = which car
You don’t normally say gani siku, gani kitabu, etc.; that sounds wrong.

In your sentence:

siku gani = which day
ni siku gani tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho
= which day we will do the final exam

In tutafanya mtihani, does kufanya mtihani literally mean “to do an exam”? Is that the usual way to say “take an exam” in Swahili?

Yes. Kufanya mtihani literally is “to do an exam”, but idiomatically it means “to take/sit an exam”.

Common collocations:

kufanya mtihani = to take an exam
kufanya jaribio = to take a test / experiment
kufanya kazi = to do work / to work

So tutafanya mtihani wa mwisho is naturally understood as:

We will take/do the final exam.

English often says “take an exam”; Swahili uses fanya mtihani.

Why is it mtihani wa mwisho and not just mtihani mwisho? What does wa do here?

Wa is a genitive/possessive connector meaning roughly “of”, and it also agrees with the noun class.

mtihani is class 3 (m-/mi-).
The class‑3 possessive connector is wa.

So:

mtihani wa mwisho = exam of end → final exam
mtihani wa hesabu = math exam
msimu wa mvua = rainy season (season of rain)

Here, mwisho is a noun meaning “end”, but used almost like “final / last”. To connect it to mtihani, you need wa:

mtihani wa mwisho = final exam
Not mtihani mwisho, which sounds incomplete or ungrammatical.

In many cases where English has an adjective like “final”, Swahili uses a “noun‑of‑noun” structure with wa (or other possessive connectors depending on the class).