Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kila jioni tunakaa kwenye kochi tukizungumza kuhusu siku yetu. - Every evening we sit on the sofa talking about our day.

kila jioni = every evening (literally “each evening”)
You might see majioni in other contexts meaning “evenings”, but after kila you must keep the noun singular, so kila jioni is correct, not kila majioni.

How is the verb tunakaa built, and what exactly does kukaa mean?

Tunakaa breaks down like this:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-na- = present / present continuous tense marker
-kaa = sit, stay, live (verb root)

So tunakaa literally means “we sit / we stay / we live”, depending on context.
In this sentence it means “we sit” (on the couch).

Examples of kukaa in other uses:

Ninakaa Dar es Salaam. – I live in Dar es Salaam.
Kaa hapa. – Sit / stay here.

Why use kwenye for “on the couch”? Doesn’t kwenye mean “in/at”?

Kwenye is a very flexible locative preposition meaning roughly at / in / on / to (a place). The exact English preposition depends on context.

kwenye kochi – on the couch / at the couch
kwenye meza – on the table / at the table
kwenye shule – at school

Swahili doesn’t distinguish “in / on / at” as strictly as English; kwenye just marks a general location. Here, since it’s kochi (couch), English naturally translates it as “on the couch.”

What kind of word is kochi? Is it a real Swahili word or just “couch” in English spelling?

Kochi is a fully accepted Swahili noun, borrowed from English “couch” (or “coach/sofa”-type words), but it behaves like any other Swahili noun.

It is usually in noun class 5/6:
- singular: kochi
- plural: makochi
It takes agreement like other class 5/6 nouns (e.g. kochi kubwa / makochi makubwa – big couch / big couches).

So although it’s borrowed, Swahili speakers treat kochi as a normal Swahili noun.

What does tukizungumza mean, and why is there a -ki- in the middle?

Tukizungumza comes from the verb kuzungumza (to talk, to converse) and is built like this:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-ki- = “while/when/as” marker (consecutive / participial)
zungumz- = talk (verb root)
-a = final vowel

So tukizungumza literally means “while we talk / as we are talking.”

In the sentence:

tunakaa kwenye kochi tukizungumza kuhusu siku yetu
= “we sit on the couch, talking about our day / while we talk about our day.”

-ki- here links the two actions and shows they happen at the same time.

Could we say “na tunazungumza” instead of “tukizungumza”? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Kila jioni tunakaa kwenye kochi na tunazungumza kuhusu siku yetu.

The difference is mainly in style and nuance:

tukizungumza
- Emphasises simultaneity: “we sit (there) while talking.”
- Feels a bit more natural and compact in Swahili.
na tunazungumza
- More like “we sit … and we talk.”
- Sounds slightly more “step-by-step” and less tightly linked.

Both are correct; tukizungumza is just a very common way to express “sitting there talking.”

What does kuhusu mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

Kuhusu is a preposition/verb-like word meaning about / regarding / concerning.

In this sentence:

tukizungumza kuhusu siku yetu
= “talking about our day”

Kuhusu normally comes before the thing being talked about:

kuhusu kazi – about work
kuhusu maisha – about life

You would not normally move kuhusu to the very end on its own; you keep it together with its object:

✅ kuhusu siku yetu
❌ siku yetu kuhusu (not natural)

How does possession work in siku yetu? Why does yetu come after siku?

In Swahili, possessive adjectives like “my, your, our” come after the noun:

rafiki yangu – my friend
nyumba yako – your house
siku yetu – our day

Here:

siku = day
-etu = our
Combined as yetu because possessive forms are separate words (yangu, yako, yake, yetu, yenu, yao).

The form yetu is used for all noun classes where the noun cannot take a different agreement prefix (for class 9/10 like siku, the form is just yetu).

So siku yetu literally is “day our”, but in English we say “our day.”

Why is the tense -na- (present) used with kila jioni (“every evening”)? Isn’t that more like a habitual action?

The -na- tense in Swahili covers both:

present continuous (right now):
- Tunakaa kwenye kochi. – We are sitting on the couch.
regular / habitual present (repeated):
- Kila jioni tunakaa kwenye kochi. – Every evening we (normally) sit on the couch.

So kila jioni + tunakaa naturally expresses a repeated or habitual action, and this is very normal with -na-.

There is also a special habitual prefix hu-, e.g.:

Kila jioni huenda nyumbani mapema. – (He/She) usually goes home early every evening.

But note:

With hu-, you do not use a subject prefix on the verb:
- huenda, not tuhuenda.
To specify the subject, you use an independent pronoun:
- Sisi huenda nyumbani mapema. – We usually go home early.

In everyday speech, using -na- (as in tunakaa) with kila jioni is perfectly natural and common.

Can we change the word order, for example put kila jioni later in the sentence?

Yes, you have some flexibility in word order. These are all acceptable:

Kila jioni tunakaa kwenye kochi tukizungumza kuhusu siku yetu.
Tunakaa kwenye kochi kila jioni tukizungumza kuhusu siku yetu.
Tunakaa kwenye kochi tukizungumza kuhusu siku yetu kila jioni.

Differences are small:

Putting kila jioni at the beginning (version 1) highlights time: “Every evening, we…”
Putting it in the middle or end makes it sound a bit more like extra information: “We sit on the couch talking about our day, (and we do this) every evening.”

All are grammatically fine; version 1 is very natural and common.

Do we always need the subject prefix tu- on the verb if it’s obvious we mean “we”?

Yes. In standard Swahili, the subject prefix on the verb is obligatory, even if you also say the separate pronoun.

So:

Tunakaa kwenye kochi. – We sit on the couch. ✅
Sisi tunakaa kwenye kochi. – We (emphatically) sit on the couch. ✅
Sisi nakaa kwenye kochi. – ❌ (incorrect: missing tu-)

You can add sisi for emphasis or contrast, but the tu- on tunakaa is still required.