Breakdown of Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, hakikisha friji limefungwa vizuri na taa zimezimwa.
Questions & Answers about Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, hakikisha friji limefungwa vizuri na taa zimezimwa.
With kabla, Swahili very often uses the negative perfect form of the verb to mean “before (something) happens”.
- hujaondoka is the negative perfect: you have not left.
- kabla hujaondoka literally feels like “before you have (not) left”, but idiomatically it means “before you leave”.
Other correct options exist, and you will also hear:
- kabla ya kuondoka – before leaving / before (you) leave (uses the infinitive kuondoka)
- kabla hujaondoka nyumbani – the pattern in your sentence
- In some varieties: kabla ujaondoka (same idea; form varies by region/speaker)
You generally do not say kabla utaondoka; future tense with kabla is unidiomatic. The most natural patterns after kabla are:
- kabla huja- + verb (negative perfect)
- kabla ya ku- + verb (infinitive construction)
Grammatically, hujaondoka is the negative perfect:
- umeondoka – you have left
- hujaondoka – you have not left
However, in the construction kabla hujaondoka, Swahili uses this negative perfect to talk about an event that has not yet happened at that reference time. So the logic is:
- Do X while it is still true that you have not left yet.
In smoother English: Do X before you leave.
So, yes, the form is negative, but in this “kabla + negative perfect” pattern, it’s a standard way to express “before (something) happens”, not a literal “before you haven’t left”.
hujaondoka consists of:
- hu- – negative + 2nd person singular marker in the perfect (special form)
- -ja- – negative perfect marker (used instead of -me-)
- -ondoka – verb root leave, depart
Compare:
- Positive perfect: umeondoka – you have left
- Negative perfect: hujaondoka – you have not left
In this sentence: kabla hujaondoka uses that negative perfect form in the idiomatic “before you leave” structure.
The -ni on nyumbani is a locative suffix, turning “house” into “(at) home / in the house”:
- nyumba – a house
- nyumbani – at home / in the house / home
So:
- naishi nyumbani – I live at home
- ninarudi nyumbani – I am going back home
- kabla hujaondoka nyumbani – before you leave home
Using plain nyumba here would sound incomplete or wrong; nyumbani is the natural form when you mean “home / at home” rather than just “a house” as an object.
Hakikisha is the imperative form of the verb kuhakikisha (to make sure, to ensure, to verify).
For most verbs, the singular imperative is formed by dropping the prefix ku- and using just the stem:
- kufanya → fanya! – do!
- kusoma → soma! – read!
- kuhakikisha → hakikisha! – make sure!
So in the sentence, hakikisha means “make sure (that)…” directed at “you” (singular or generic).
This is about noun class agreement.
- friji (fridge) is often treated as class 5 in Swahili.
- Class 5 uses the subject prefix li- in the perfect tense.
So:
- friji limefungwa – the fridge has been closed / is closed
(li- agrees with a class‑5 noun)
If friji is treated as class 9, you’ll sometimes hear:
- friji imefungwa – using i- (class 9 prefix)
Both forms are heard in real life, but your sentence follows the grammar where friji is class 5 → limefungwa. The key idea is: the verb prefix must agree with the noun’s class.
Limefungwa is a passive perfect form:
- Verb root: -funga – to close, to fasten, to lock
- Passive suffix: -wa
- Perfect marker: -me-
- Class‑5 subject prefix: li-
So:
- kufunga friji – to close the fridge
- umelifunga friji – you have closed the fridge
- friji limefungwa – the fridge has been closed / is closed
Here, the passive (limefungwa) emphasizes the state/result (the fridge is closed) rather than who did the action.
taa zimezimwa also uses the passive perfect:
- taa – lights (class 9/10; plural here)
- Class 10 subject prefix: zi-
- Perfect marker: -me-
- Verb root: -zima – to turn off, extinguish
- Passive suffix: -wa
So:
- kuzima taa – to turn off the lights
- umezima taa – you have turned off the lights
- taa zimezimwa – the lights have been turned off / the lights are switched off
Again, the passive focuses on the resulting state (lights are off), not on the person doing the action.
Subtlety of meaning:
taa zimezimwa
– Passive of kuzima (transitive: to switch off)
– Implies someone turned them off.
– The lights have been turned off.taa zimezimika
– Intransitive/stative: kuzimika (to go out, be extinguished)
– Focus on the state/change without an agent.
– The lights have gone out / are out.taa zimezima
– Often used colloquially as “the lights are off/out” (some speakers prefer zimezimika).
In instructions like yours, taa zimezimwa is natural because you are telling someone to make sure they have actively switched the lights off.
Vizuri is an adverb meaning well / properly / correctly.
- friji limefungwa – the fridge has been closed
- friji limefungwa vizuri – the fridge has been closed properly / tightly / well
It doesn’t change form for gender or number:
- amefanya vizuri – he/she has done well
- mmesoma vizuri – you (pl.) have studied well
- limefungwa vizuri – it (class 5) has been closed well
You could say:
- Hakikisha kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, friji limefungwa vizuri na taa zimezimwa.
and people would understand you. However:
- Starting with the time clause (Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, …) is more natural and stylistically smooth in Swahili for giving instructions.
- The original order puts the condition/time frame first, then the instruction.
Both orders are grammatically acceptable, but the original feels more typical in written instructions.
The negative perfect changes with the subject. Here’s how “before X leaves” would look with kabla + negative perfect, using kuondoka as the verb:
- Kabla sijaondoka – before I leave (lit. before I have not left)
- Kabla hujaondoka – before you (sg.) leave
- Kabla hajaondoka – before he/she leaves
- Kabla hatujaondoka – before we leave
- Kabla hamjaondoka – before you (pl.) leave
- Kabla hawajaondoka – before they leave
So the pattern is:
kabla + (negative perfect form of the verb)
Your sentence uses the 2nd person singular form: kabla hujaondoka nyumbani.