Learn Hardcore Swahili: Tutakapomaliza chakula, tutaandika insha fupi sebuleni. - When we finish the food, we will write a short composition in the living room.

tu- = subject prefix for “we”
-ta- = future tense marker (will)
-kapo- = relative time marker meaning “when / at the time that” (for a specific future moment)
-maliza = verb stem “finish”

So literally, tutakapomaliza is something like “when we will finish” or “when we have finished (in the future)”.

In Swahili, it’s normal to pack all this into one verb instead of using a separate word like when.

In English we don’t say “When we will finish, we will write”. Why is Swahili allowed to use the future twice: tutakapomaliza … tutaandika?

English usually avoids future tense in time clauses and says:

When we finish, we will write.

Swahili is different. It is very natural to use future tense in both the time clause and the main clause:

Tutakapomaliza chakula, tutaandika insha fupi sebuleni.
= When we finish the meal, we will write a short essay in the living room.

So:

Swahili: future + future is normal.
English: present + future in this kind of sentence.

Don’t try to copy English tense rules into Swahili; follow what feels natural in Swahili instead.

What is the difference between tutakapomaliza and tukimaliza? Could I say Tukimaliza chakula, tutaandika… instead?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

Tutakapomaliza chakula, tutaandika…
- Uses -kapo- (future relative).
- Refers to a specific future time that you have in mind.
- Feels more like “when we have finished (that particular meal), we will write…”.
Tukimaliza chakula, tutaandika…
- Uses -ki- (general/conditional relative).
- More like “when(ever) we finish the meal, we will write…” or “if/when we finish…”.
- Can sound slightly more conditional or general.

In many everyday contexts, both are acceptable and the difference isn’t huge, but tutakapomaliza sounds more clearly like a planned, specific future event.

Why is there no word for “our” in chakula? Shouldn’t it be chakula chetu for “our food/our meal”?

Swahili often leaves out possessives when the owner is obvious from context. Here:

Tutakapomaliza chakula…
Literally: When we will finish food/the meal…

Because we are the ones eating, it’s naturally understood to be our food/meal. Saying chakula chetu is possible:

Tutakapomaliza chakula chetu…
= When we finish our food…

…but in many everyday situations it isn’t necessary. The simple chakula is enough.

Does chakula mean “food” or “meal”? Why is it just one word in Swahili?

Chakula can mean:

food in general
a meal (e.g. breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Context decides which one is meant. In this sentence, chakula is best understood as “the meal” (the food you are currently eating).

Also, note the relationship:

kula = to eat
chakula = food / meal (literally, “thing for eating”)

The prefix cha- is related to forming nouns from verb roots.

Why is the adjective after the noun in insha fupi, and how does agreement work here?

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

insha fupi = a short essay
- insha = essay (N-class noun)
- fupi = short (adjective)

Agreement:

Insha is in the N-class, whose adjectives also appear in a form that often looks like the bare stem (no extra prefix) in the singular.
So you get insha fupi, not insha kifupi or something else.

Other examples with N-class nouns:

habari nzuri = good news
chai baridi = cold tea

The pattern: [noun] + [adjective that matches its class].

What exactly does sebuleni mean, and what is the role of -ni at the end?

sebule = living room / sitting room
sebuleni = in the living room

The ending -ni is a locative suffix, often meaning “in, at, on” depending on the noun and context.

Some other examples:

nyumba → nyumbani = at home / in the house
kanisa → kanisani = in/at church
shule → shuleni = at school

So sebuleni literally encodes the location: “in the living room.” You don’t need a separate preposition like in.

Could I say Tutakapomaliza chakula, tutaandika insha fupi katika sebule instead of sebuleni?

You could be understood, but it’s not the most natural way:

katika sebule is grammatically possible (katika = in, inside),
but in everyday Swahili, people strongly prefer using the -ni locative form:
- sebuleni instead of katika sebule
- nyumbani instead of katika nyumba

So tutaandika … sebuleni is the most idiomatic. Katika sebule isn’t wrong, but it sounds more like formal textbook Swahili or like you’re avoiding the normal locative form.

Can I swap the order of the clauses and say: Tutaandika insha fupi sebuleni tutakapomaliza chakula?

Yes, you can change the order:

Tutakapomaliza chakula, tutaandika insha fupi sebuleni.
Tutaandika insha fupi sebuleni tutakapomaliza chakula.

Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing.

Differences:

Starting with tutakapomaliza… puts a little emphasis on the time condition (“when we finish the meal…”).
Starting with tutaandika… focuses first on the future action (“we will write a short essay…”).

In writing, you normally use a comma after the first clause when it comes first, but Swahili punctuation rules are fairly flexible and that comma is often omitted in informal writing.

Why is it tutaandika and not something like tuandike? When would I use the subjunctive instead?

tutaandika = “we will write” (plain future).
tuandike = “let’s write” / “we should write” (subjunctive, suggestion or soft command).

In this sentence we’re stating a plan for the future, not making a suggestion or request, so the future tense is correct:

Tutakapomaliza chakula, tutaandika insha fupi sebuleni.
= When we finish the meal, we will write a short essay…

If you wanted to suggest the action instead, you could say something like:

Baada ya kumaliza chakula, tuandike insha fupi sebuleni.
= After we finish the meal, let’s write a short essay in the living room.

So: future for plans/statements of fact, subjunctive for suggestions, wishes, soft commands.

Is there a reason it’s chakula and not kula? How would tutakapomaliza kula differ from tutakapomaliza chakula?

Yes, there is a small difference:

kula = to eat
chakula = food / the meal

Compare:

Tutakapomaliza chakula, tutaandika…
= When we finish the meal / our food, we will write…
Tutakapomaliza kula, tutaandika…
= When we finish eating, we will write…

Both are correct.

chakula focuses on the food/meal itself.
kula focuses on the action of eating.

In many contexts, they’re interchangeable in meaning, but the emphasis is slightly different.

Is there any object marker needed in tutaandika insha fupi? Why don’t we see something inside the verb for “it”?

No object marker is needed here because the object is already explicitly stated right after the verb:

tutaandika insha fupi
- tutaandika = we will write
- insha fupi = a short essay

You generally add an object marker inside the verb when:

The object is a pronoun (him, her, it, them), or
You want to emphasize or front the object, or
You’ve already mentioned the object and now only refer back to it.

Example with an object marker:

Tutaandika insha fupi na tutaiacha mezani.
- -i- in tutaiacha = “it” (referring to insha)

In the original sentence, since insha fupi is right there, no extra marker is needed.

Is insha common in everyday Swahili? Does it only mean “school essay”?

Insha is very common in school contexts and usually does mean “essay / composition”, especially the kind students write in language classes.

kuandika insha = to write an essay/composition

Outside school, it can sometimes be used more broadly for short written pieces, but for many kinds of texts Swahili might use more specific words like:

makala = article (e.g. in a magazine or newspaper)
barua = letter
ripoti = report

In the sentence you gave, insha fupi clearly sounds like a short school essay or composition.