Learn Hardcore Swahili: Watoto hulia sana wakichoka, lakini leo wanacheka mezani. - Children cry a lot when they are tired, but today they are laughing at the table.

With the hu- habitual tense, Swahili normally does not take a subject prefix on the verb. The subject is shown only by the noun or pronoun outside the verb:

Watoto hulia – Children cry (habitually)
Mimi hulala mapema – I (usually) sleep early
Wao huchelewa – They (usually) are late

In contrast, wanacheka is in the normal present tense, which does require a subject prefix:

wa- = they
-na- = present (“are/does”)
-cheka = laugh

So:

wanacheka = they are laughing / they laugh (now)

Formally:

hulia = hu- (habitual) + -lia (cry)
wanacheka = wa- (they) + -na- (present) + -cheka (laugh)

How is wakichoka built, and what does it literally mean?

Wakichoka comes from the verb kuchoka (to get tired).

Breakdown:

wa- = they (3rd person plural subject marker)
-ki- = “when / while / if” (subordinate marker for a simultaneous or conditional action)
-choka = get tired

So wakichoka literally means:

when they get tired / if they get tired / while they are getting tired.

In the sentence:

Watoto hulia sana wakichoka…
= Children cry a lot when they get tired…

The wa- refers back to watoto (children).

What’s the difference between wakichoka and wanapochoka? Can they both mean “when they get tired”?

Both can be translated as “when they get tired”, but there is a nuance:

wakichoka
- wa- (they) + -ki- (when/while/if) + -choka (get tired)
- Often used for a condition or a simultaneous action:
  when(ever) they get tired / if they get tired / as they get tired.
wanapochoka
- wa- (they) + -na- (present) + -po- (when/where) + -choka (get tired)
- Tends to feel a bit more explicitly temporal (“at the time when”) and sometimes more formal.

In everyday speech, both forms are widely used with very similar meaning. In your sentence, replacing wakichoka with wanapochoka would still be correct:

Watoto hulia sana wanapochoka…

The sentence would keep essentially the same meaning: Children cry a lot when they get tired…

Why is wakichoka written as one word and not separated like “wa ki choka”?

In Swahili, verb structure elements (subject markers, tense/aspect markers, subordinate markers) are normally written together as one word with the verb root:

wa- + -ki- + -choka → wakichoka
wa- + -na- + -cheka → wanacheka
ni- + -na- + -penda → ninapenda

Only prefixes like ku- for the infinitive (kuchoka, kucheka) stand alone when they begin the verb, but once you conjugate the verb in a sentence, all the parts fuse into a single word.

What does sana add here, and where does it usually go in the sentence?

Sana means “a lot, very much, very”.

In this sentence:

Watoto hulia sana wakichoka…
= Children cry *a lot when they get tired.*

Typical positions:

Usually after the verb or adjective it modifies:
- Anakupenda sana – He/She loves you very much.
- Nimechoka sana – I’m very tired.
- Watoto hulia sana – Children cry a lot.

You don’t normally put sana before the verb in standard Swahili.

What is mezani, and how is it different from just meza?

Meza = table (the noun).
Mezani = on/at the table.

Mezani is formed by adding the locative suffix -ni:

meza (table) + -ni (at/in/on) → mezani

So:

wanacheka mezani
= they are laughing *at the table / around the table.*

You could also express this idea with a preposition:

wanacheka kwenye meza – they are laughing at the table.

But mezani is shorter and very natural.

Can I say kwenye meza or juu ya meza instead of mezani? Are they the same?

They are close, but not always identical:

mezani
- Very general: at the table / by the table / around the table.
- Often implies the normal place for sitting, eating, talking, etc.
kwenye meza
- Literally on/at the table, using the preposition kwenye.
- Often interchangeable with mezani, but can feel a bit more explicit.
juu ya meza
- Literally on top of the table.
- More physical: you’re emphasizing position on the surface.

In your sentence, wanacheka mezani fits best, because we’re talking about people seated/placed at the table, not on top of it.

Why is leo placed before wanacheka instead of after it?

Both word orders are possible, but they change emphasis slightly:

…lakini leo wanacheka mezani.
- Emphasizes today as a contrast:
- …but *today they are laughing at the table (unlike other times).*
…lakini wanacheka leo mezani.
- Possible, but the focus shifts a bit more onto the action, with leo sounding slightly less contrastive.

Placing leo earlier in the clause (right after lakini) highlights the time contrast with the habitual behavior in the first clause:

Generally: Watoto hulia sana… (They usually cry…)
Contrast: lakini leo wanacheka… (but today they are laughing…)

How do we know that wa- in wakichoka refers to watoto and not to some new subject?

Swahili often uses subject markers on verbs to refer back to a previously mentioned noun, without repeating the noun itself.

In your sentence, the first clause sets the subject clearly:

Watoto hulia sana… – The children cry a lot…

The next verb form wakichoka begins with wa-, the subject marker for they (class 2 plural, “children”). Since there is no new noun introduced between the two, the natural interpretation is that wa- still refers to watoto.

This is normal Swahili style:

Juma alifika nyumbani akapika chakula.
Juma arrived home and (he) cooked food.
(a- still refers to Juma)

So in:

Watoto hulia sana wakichoka…
wa- in wakichoka naturally refers back to watoto.

Is the comma before lakini required in Swahili, and does it affect meaning?

The comma in:

Watoto hulia sana wakichoka, lakini leo wanacheka mezani.

is mainly a punctuation choice for readability. It separates:

the first clause: Watoto hulia sana wakichoka
from the contrasting clause: lakini leo wanacheka mezani

Swahili punctuation rules are similar to English in this respect:

A comma before lakini is common when it starts a contrasting clause.
Omitting it (…wakichoka lakini leo wanacheka…) is still understandable, but less clear in writing.

The comma doesn’t change the grammatical structure; it just helps the reader see the contrast more easily.