Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mama anapenda kufua nguo asubuhi. - Mother likes to wash clothes in the morning.

In Swahili there is no built‑in my in the word mama.
To say my mom, you normally say mama yangu.
To say the mother (that we both know about), you might still just say mama, or use something like yule mama (that mother / that woman) depending on context.

So Mama anapenda kufua nguo asubuhi is most naturally understood as Mom / Mother likes to wash clothes in the morning, with the specific reference supplied by context (e.g. we’re talking about our mom).

What does the ana- part in anapenda mean?

Anapenda is made of:

a- = subject prefix for he / she
-na- = present tense marker (often “is/does” in English)
-penda = verb root like / love

So anapenda literally encodes he/she + present + like, which in English can be:

she likes
she loves
sometimes she is liking / loving depending on context, though English rarely uses that progressive form with like/love.

Can anapenda mean both likes and loves?

Yes. Kupenda covers both to like and to love; the strength of the feeling is taken from context.

Anapenda chai → she likes / loves tea.
Ninakupenda → I love you (strong, emotional context).

In this sentence, about a routine activity, likes is usually the most natural English choice, but loves is not grammatically wrong.

Why do we use kufua after anapenda? What does the ku- mean?

Kufua is the infinitive form to wash (clothes).

ku- is the infinitive marker to.
-fua is the verb stem wash (clothes).

After verbs like kupenda (to like), kutaka (to want), kujaribu (to try), Swahili normally uses the infinitive:

anapenda kufua = she likes to wash.
anataka kusoma = she wants to read.

So kufua here directly corresponds to English to wash.

Is there a difference between kufua and kuosha? Both seem to mean to wash.

Both relate to washing, but they are used a bit differently:

kufua: specifically to wash clothes / laundry.
kuosha: to wash more generally (dishes, hands, a car, a child, etc.).

So:

kufua nguo = to do the laundry.
kuosha vyombo = to wash dishes.
kuosha mikono = to wash (one’s) hands.

Using kufua nguo fits well because the object is nguo (clothes).

Is nguo singular or plural? The verb doesn’t change like in English.

Nguo is one of those words that can be singular or plural depending on context:

nguo (singular) = a piece of clothing / garment.
nguo (plural) = clothes.

Swahili noun class for nguo (class N) has the same form for singular and plural, and many verbs do not change form based on singular vs plural the way English does with washes / wash. Agreement happens in other places (e.g. adjectives, demonstratives), not usually in the verb in this simple present context.

So kufua nguo is just to wash clothes / clothing, and number is understood from context.

Why is asubuhi (in the morning) at the end? Can it go somewhere else?

Swahili basic word order is Subject – Verb – Object – (Other information), and time expressions like asubuhi often come at the end:

Mama anapenda kufua nguo asubuhi.

You can sometimes move time expressions to the beginning for emphasis:

Asubuhi, mama anapenda kufua nguo.

Both are correct. The default, neutral position is usually at the end, like in the original sentence.

Does Swahili have words for a and the? Why are they missing here?

Swahili does not have dedicated articles like English a / an / the. The noun nguo can mean:

clothes
the clothes
some clothes

The exact English article depends on context. If you really need specificity, you use other tools:

nguo zile = those clothes.
nguo fulani = certain / some specific clothes.

In this sentence, English needs to choose an article for natural style, but Swahili simply says nguo.

If this is a habit (she usually does it), could we use hu instead of ana-?

Yes, Swahili has a special habitual marker hu- before the verb stem:

Mama hupenda kufua nguo asubuhi.

This strongly emphasizes habit / custom, like:

Mom tends to like / usually likes to wash clothes in the morning.

Difference in nuance:

anapenda kufua nguo asubuhi = present, also commonly used for regular habits (very normal).
hupenda kufua nguo asubuhi = more clearly “this is her habit, her usual way of doing things.”

Both are correct; ana- is more general, hu- is specifically habitual.

Can we attach the object nguo to the verb, like kuzifua, instead of saying kufua nguo?

Yes, you can use an object marker for nguo (which takes zi- for plural in this class):

kuzifua = to wash them (the clothes).
anapenda kuzifua asubuhi = she likes to wash them in the morning.

Both structures are natural:

kufua nguo = to wash clothes (object expressed after the verb).
kuzifua = to wash them (object built into the verb).

If the noun nguo has already been mentioned, Swahili often prefers the object marker (kuzifua) in later references.

How would I change the tense of anapenda to say she loved, she will like, etc.?

Keep the subject a- and change the tense marker in the middle:

alipenda = she liked / she loved (simple past).
- Mama alipenda kufua nguo asubuhi.
atapenda = she will like / will love (future).
- Mama atapenda kufua nguo asubuhi.
amependa = she has liked / has loved (present perfect / completed in present time).
- Mama amependa kufua nguo asubuhi.

Structure: subject prefix + tense marker + root.

How do you pronounce nguo? Is it like the ng in sing or in finger?

In nguo, the ng at the start is pronounced with a g sound, more like finger than sing:

ng = [ŋg] sound at the beginning (nasal + g).
uo = roughly u‑o (close to oo‑oh).

So nguo sounds roughly like nggoo‑oh, in one smooth word, not separated fully into ngu‑o in normal speech.