Learn Hardcore Swahili: Wakati nitakapokuwa mzee, natumaini bado nitajifunza lugha mpya. - When I become old, I hope I will still learn new languages.

In Swahili, when you talk about a time in the future introduced by wakati (“when/at the time”), it’s very common to use a future relative form like nitakapokuwa (“when I will be”), not a present form.

Wakati nitakapokuwa mzee = When I will be old / At the time when I will be old (referring clearly to the future).
English normally says “when I am old” (present form), but Swahili prefers to match the future time with a future verb form.

So the Swahili is natural and idiomatic: it’s just a different tense pattern from English, even though the meaning is the same as “When I’m old…”.

Could I say wakati nitakuwa mzee instead of wakati nitakapokuwa mzee?

You can hear wakati nitakuwa mzee, and people will understand it, but:

wakati nitakapokuwa mzee is more standard and idiomatic.
The -takapo- part (in nitakapokuwa) is a future “when” relative marker, which fits very well after wakati (“the time when …”).
wakati nitakuwa mzee feels more like a literal “at the time I will be old” without that extra “when/at which” flavor that -kapo- / -takapo- gives.

So for careful, textbook Swahili, wakati nitakapokuwa mzee is the preferred version.

How is the verb nitakapokuwa built, piece by piece?

You can break nitakapokuwa down like this:

ni- = “I” (1st person singular subject prefix)
-takapo- = future + “when/at the time that” relative marker
-kuwa = “to be”

So ni‑takapo‑kuwa literally means “when I will be”.

In pattern form:

subject prefix + -takapo- + verb
nitakapofika – when I arrive
atakapoondoka – when he/she leaves

In your sentence: wakati nitakapokuwa mzee = “when I will be old”.

Do we really need both wakati and the -takapo- marker? Isn’t that saying “when” twice?

It is a bit redundant literally, but it’s very normal in Swahili.

wakati = “the time/when”
-takapo- = “when/at which (future)”

So wakati nitakapokuwa mzee is like saying “the time when I will be old.”
You often see this pattern:

wakati nitakapofika – the time when I arrive
wakati atakapokuja – when he/she comes

You can say just nitakapokuwa mzee, … without wakati, and that’s also correct (see another question below), but using both together is extremely common and sounds very natural.

Why is natumaini in the present tense when the whole sentence is about the future?

Natumaini is present tense and means “I hope” (right now).

The structure is:

Wakati nitakapokuwa mzee – When I will be old (future situation)
natumaini bado nitajifunza lugha mpya – I (now) hope I will still learn new languages.

So you are expressing a current hope about a future event. If you said nitatumaini, that would mean “I will hope …”, which shifts the hoping itself into the future and is not what the English sentence means.

Can or should I add kwamba after natumaini?

You may add kwamba, but you don’t have to:

… natumaini bado nitajifunza lugha mpya.
… natumaini kwamba bado nitajifunza lugha mpya.

Both are correct and mean the same thing:

kwamba = “that” (introducing a clause)

Often in speech, kwamba is dropped after verbs like natumaini, nafikiri, najua, just as English often drops “that” (I hope (that) …). With or without kwamba is fine here.

What exactly does bado mean in this sentence, and where can it go?

Here bado means “still” (continuing up to that time).

natumaini bado nitajifunza lugha mpya
= I hope I will still learn (or “still be learning”) new languages.

Placement:

The most common and natural place is right before the verb it modifies:
- bado nitajifunza – I will still learn
You can also put it earlier:
- natumaini bado nitajifunza… (as in the sentence)
In negative sentences, bado often means “not yet”:
- bado sijajifunza Kiswahili – I haven’t learned Swahili yet.

In your sentence, the position is natural and standard.

Why is it nitajifunza with -ji-? What does that -ji- change?

The -ji- is a reflexive marker.

kujifunza = to learn / to study (literally “to teach oneself”)
kufunza = to teach (someone else)

So:

nitajifunza lugha mpya = I will learn / I will study new languages (for myself).
Without -ji-, nitafunza lugha mpya would mean “I will teach new languages” (to others).

In practice, kujifunza is just the normal way to say “to learn / study” in Swahili, especially for school subjects and languages.

What is the difference between kujifunza lugha and verbs like kujua lugha or kuzungumza lugha?

They focus on different stages/skills:

kujifunza lugha – to learn/study a language (process of learning)
kujua lugha – to know a language (have knowledge of it)
kuzungumza lugha – to speak a language (ability to speak it)

In your sentence, the idea is continuing to learn new languages, so kujifunza is the most appropriate.

Why is it lugha mpya? How do I know if this is “a new language” or “new languages”?

Lugha is a noun in noun class 9/10, and its singular and plural form are the same: lugha.

lugha = language / languages
The adjective mpya (“new”) also looks the same for this class: mpya in both singular and plural.

So lugha mpya can mean:

a new language
new languages

Context tells you which is intended. In your English gloss (“new languages”), we understand it as plural, but the Swahili form itself works for both.

How would I say “many new languages” or make the plurality explicit?

To make “many new languages” explicit, you add a quantity word, typically nyingi (“many, a lot of” for this noun class):

lugha mpya nyingi – many new languages.

To stress just one language, you can add a numeral or word for “one”:

lugha moja mpya – one new language
lugha moja mpya tu – just one new language

But in everyday speech, people often just say lugha mpya and let context indicate whether it’s one or several.

Can I move the wakati… clause to the end of the sentence, like in English?

Yes. Both orders are possible:

Wakati nitakapokuwa mzee, natumaini bado nitajifunza lugha mpya.
Natumaini bado nitajifunza lugha mpya wakati nitakapokuwa mzee.

The meaning is the same. Starting with wakati… slightly emphasizes the time (“When I’m old, …”). Putting it at the end is more like English word order, but both are natural in Swahili.

Could I also say wakati nikiwa mzee or nikikuwa mzee instead of wakati nitakapokuwa mzee?

Yes, there are alternative natural ways:

wakati nikiwa mzee
- from ni-ki-wa (“when/while I am”)
- wakati nikiwa mzee, … = when/while I am old, …
- Very common and a bit simpler.
nikikuwa mzee
- colloquial/contracted form of ni-kipo/ni-ki-kuwa depending on dialect; you’ll hear similar forms like nikifika, nikipata.
- More conversational; may sound less “textbook”.
Nitakapokuwa mzee, natumaini bado nitajifunza lugha mpya.
- You can also drop wakati and just use nitakapokuwa mzee at the start. This is fully correct and common: “When I will be old, I hope…”

So wakati nitakapokuwa mzee, wakati nikiwa mzee, and nitakapokuwa mzee are all good; they differ slightly in style and structure, not in basic meaning.

How would I say “I will still be learning new languages” with more of a continuous/progressive feeling?

To emphasize a continuous action in the future, you can use kuwa + -ki- (continuous) or kuwa + -na- (habitual/progressive):

… natumaini bado nitakuwa nikijifunza lugha mpya.
= I hope I will still be learning new languages (ongoing process).

Or, a bit simpler:

… natumaini bado nitakuwa najifunza lugha mpya.

Your original bado nitajifunza already implies continuing to learn, but these versions make the ongoing / progressive aspect more explicit.