Learn Hardcore Swahili: Leo mimi navaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani. - Today I am wearing a red T-shirt at home.

emphasis:
- Leo mimi navaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
  = Today *I (and not someone else) am wearing a red T‑shirt at home.*
contrast with others:
- Mimi navaa fulana nyekundu, yeye anavaa fulana ya bluu.
  = I am wearing a red T‑shirt, he/she is wearing a blue one.

Without emphasis, a very natural version is simply:

Leo ninavaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.

What tense or aspect does navaa express in this sentence?

Navaa (full form ninavaa) uses the present tense marker -na-. It usually covers both:

Present progressive (happening right now)
- I am wearing (right now).
General present (a current, but not necessarily timeless, situation)
- I’m (currently) wearing…

In many daily contexts, -na- is understood as something happening around now, so in this sentence you can understand navaa as:

I am wearing… (today / at the moment).

To make it explicitly “right now”, you might hear:

Sasa hivi ninavaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
= Right now I am wearing a red T‑shirt at home.

Why is there no separate word for am in navaa (I am wearing)?

Swahili usually does not use a separate verb like “am/is/are” as an auxiliary with main verbs. Instead, everything is packed into one verb form:

ni- = I
-na- = present tense
-vaa = wear

So ninavaa already means I am wearing. There is no need for an extra word like am.

Swahili does have a verb kuwa (to be), but it is used differently, e.g.:

Mimi ni mwalimu. = I am a teacher.
Nilikuwa nyumbani. = I was at home.

With normal action verbs like kuvaa (to wear), you just conjugate the verb; you do not add a separate am.

How is the verb navaa formed from the basic verb kuvaa?

The infinitive kuvaa means to wear / to put on.

To conjugate it for I am wearing in the present tense, Swahili builds it like this:

ni- = I (subject prefix)
-na- = present tense marker
-vaa = wear (verb root)

Put together:

ni-na-vaa → ninavaa = I am wearing

Other persons follow the same pattern:

unavaa = you are wearing (u + na + vaa)
anavaa = he/she is wearing (a + na + vaa)
tunavaa = we are wearing (tu + na + vaa)
mnavaa = you (pl.) are wearing (m + na + vaa)
wanavaa = they are wearing (wa + na + vaa)

Is navaa correct, or should it be ninavaa?

The full, textbook form is ninavaa (ni‑na‑vaa).

In everyday speech and informal writing, speakers very often drop the first vowel and say/write navaa. This shortening is extremely common and natural in conversation.

For a learner:

In exams, formal writing, or when in doubt, use ninavaa.
In real conversation, you will hear and can safely use navaa.

Both forms are understood as the same thing: I am wearing.

Why does the adjective nyekundu come after fulana instead of before it?

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

fulana nyekundu = red T‑shirt
nyumba kubwa = big house
mtoto mdogo = small child

So fulana nyekundu is literally T‑shirt red, which is the normal Swahili order.

Also, notice the form nyekundu:

The basic color root is -ekundu (red).
It takes different class prefixes depending on the noun class.
Fulana belongs to the N-class (9/10), whose adjective prefix is often nye-, so we get nyekundu.

Compare with other classes:

mtu mwekundu = a red person (class 1)
nyumba nyekundu = a red house (class 9)
gari jekundu = a red car (class 5)

In this sentence, fulana nyekundu is the regular noun + adjective structure: shirt red.

What exactly does nyumbani mean, and how is it related to nyumba?

Nyumba = house / home (as a thing).
Nyumbani = at home / in the house / home (as a place).

Nyumbani is formed by adding the locative suffix -ni to nyumba:

nyumba
- -ni → nyumbani

This -ni suffix often indicates location (at/in/on):

shuleni = at school (from shule, school)
kanisani = at church (from kanisa, church)

So nyumbani in this sentence means at home or in the house, describing where the action is happening.

Depending on context, nyumbani can also mean to home/homewards, for example:

Ninarudi nyumbani. = I am going back home.

Can I just say nyumba instead of nyumbani?

Not if you mean at home.

Nyumbani focuses on the location: at home / in the house.
Nyumba is just the house/home as an object.

If you say:

Navaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
= I am wearing a red T‑shirt at home.

If you say only:

Navaa fulana nyekundu nyumba.

this sounds wrong or incomplete, because nyumba is not marked as a location.

If you really want to keep nyumba without -ni, you normally add a preposition:

Navaa fulana nyekundu katika nyumba. = I am wearing a red T‑shirt in the house.
Navaa fulana nyekundu ndani ya nyumba. = I am wearing a red T‑shirt inside the house.

For the simple everyday at home, nyumbani is the natural choice.

Why is there no word like a or the before fulana?

Swahili does not have articles like a/an or the. The bare noun fulana can mean:

a T‑shirt
the T‑shirt
simply T‑shirt(s) in a general sense

The exact meaning is taken from context.

If you need to be specific, you use other words:

fulana hii = this T‑shirt
fulana ile = that T‑shirt
fulana yangu = my T‑shirt
fulana zile nyekundu = those red T‑shirts

So in the sentence, fulana nyekundu can be understood as either a red T‑shirt or the red T‑shirt, depending on what the context suggests.

What is the difference between fulana and shati? Are they both “shirts”?

Both relate to what English calls shirts, but they are not the same type:

fulana
- Typically a T‑shirt, vest, or undershirt (no collar, often short-sleeved).
- Often worn casually or under other clothes.
shati
- More like a collared shirt, usually with buttons (dress shirt, office shirt).

Examples:

Leo navaa fulana nyekundu. = Today I’m wearing a red T‑shirt/vest.
Leo navaa shati jeupe. = Today I’m wearing a white (collared) shirt.

In some regions people might also say T-shati or tisheti for T‑shirt, but fulana is very widely understood.

How do I make fulana nyekundu plural, like “red T‑shirts”?

Fulana belongs to the N-class (9/10), whose singular and plural have the same form. So:

fulana nyekundu = red T‑shirt
fulana nyekundu = red T‑shirts

The adjective nyekundu also stays the same for that noun class in both singular and plural.

To show clearly that it is plural, you can add:

a number:
- fulana nyekundu mbili = two red T‑shirts
or a word like nyingi (many):
- fulana nyekundu nyingi = many red T‑shirts

But grammatically, the noun and adjective themselves do not change form from singular to plural here.

Can I move leo or nyumbani to other positions in the sentence?

Yes. Swahili word order is fairly flexible for time and place expressions. All of these are possible and natural, with slightly different emphasis:

Leo ninavaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
(neutral; starts by setting the time: Today…)
Ninavaa fulana nyekundu leo nyumbani.
(still clear; I am wearing a red T‑shirt today at home.)
Ninavaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani leo.
(emphasis may feel more on today as the specific day at home.)
Nyumbani leo ninavaa fulana nyekundu.
(emphasises At home today… as the setting.)

What you cannot change is the internal structure of the verb (ni‑na‑vaa must stay together and in that order), but adverbs of time (leo) and place (nyumbani) can move around for style or emphasis.

How would I say the same kind of sentence in the past or future?

You mainly change the tense marker in the verb:

Present: ni‑na‑vaa → ninavaa
- Leo ninavaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
  = Today I am wearing a red T‑shirt at home.
Past (simple past, -li-): ni‑li‑vaa → nilivaa
- Jana nilivaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
  = Yesterday I wore a red T‑shirt at home.
Recent perfect (-me-): ni‑me‑vaa → nimevaa
- Leo nimevaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
  = Today I have put on / I am (now) wearing a red T‑shirt at home.
Future (-ta-): ni‑ta‑vaa → nitavaa
- Kesho nitavaa fulana nyekundu nyumbani.
  = Tomorrow I will wear a red T‑shirt at home.

So you keep the rest of the sentence and just swap -na- for -li-, -me-, -ta-, etc., depending on the time you want to express.