Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kila mara ninapokosa neno, nauliza swali darasani. - Whenever I miss a word, I ask a question in class.

kila wakati ninapokosa neno – also “every time I miss a word”
wakati wowote ninapokosa neno – “whenever I miss a word”
Just ninapokosa neno – “when(ever) I miss a word”, without explicitly saying “every time”

Kila mara makes the habitual, repeated nature very clear, which matches the English “whenever / every time”.

How is ninapokosa formed, and what is the role of -po- in it?

Ninapokosa can be broken down like this:

ni- = I (1st person singular subject marker)
-na- = present tense marker (simple/continuous present)
-po- = “when / where” relative marker for specific time/place
kosa = verb root “to lack, to miss, to be wrong / make a mistake”

So ni-na-po-kosa → ninapokosa = when(ever) I miss / when I am missing.

Compare:

ninakosa neno – “I am missing a word / I lack a word” (simple statement)
ninapokosa neno – “when(ever) I miss a word”
nikikosa neno – “if / when I miss a word” (more conditional, using -ki-)

The -po- here turns the verb into a kind of “when-clause” — it already contains the idea of “when(ever)”.

Why is the present tense (ninapokosa, nauliza) used even though the English translation is habitual (“whenever I forget…, I ask…”)?

In Swahili, the present tense with -na- is used both for:

Real present time
- Ninauliza swali sasa. – “I am asking a question now.”
Regular / habitual actions, especially with time expressions like kila mara, kila siku, mara nyingi
- Kila mara ninapokosa neno, nauliza swali. – “Whenever I miss a word, I ask a question.”

So the combination:

kila mara (every time)
- present -na- tense

naturally gives a habitual meaning.
If you wanted to emphasize habit even more, you could add hu- or huwa:

Kila mara ninapokosa neno, huwa nauliza swali. – “Every time I miss a word, I (usually) ask a question.”

What exactly does kosa neno mean here? Is it “forget a word”, “not know a word”, or something else?

The verb kosa has several related meanings: to lack, to miss, to be without, to make a mistake, to be wrong.

In kosa neno, it means something like:

“to be missing a word”
“to not have the (right) word”
“to be at a loss for a word”

Depending on context, English could translate it as:

“forget a word”
“not know a word”
“be short of the right word”

In a language‑learning context, Kila mara ninapokosa neno very naturally means:

“Whenever I don’t know (or can’t remember) a word…”

So it covers both not knowing and forgetting the word you need.

Why is it nauliza and not ninauliza? Are both correct?

The fully “textbook” form is:

ninauliza = ni- (I) + -na- (present) + uliza (ask)
→ “I am asking / I ask”

You will often hear and see a shortened form:

nauliza

This can be understood as:

A colloquial or dialectal shortening of ninauliza in speech/writing, or
Using na- as a combined subject+tense marker in some varieties of Swahili

For learners:

ninauliza swali darasani is the safest, most clearly standard form.
nauliza swali darasani is very common and natural in everyday usage, and everyone will understand it as “I ask / I am asking a question in class.”

Do not confuse nauliza (“I ask”, in this context) with anauliza (“he/she asks”).

There is no word for a in nauliza swali. How do I know it means I ask a question, not I ask the question?

Swahili does not use articles like a / an / the. Nouns appear without them:

swali – question
kitabu – book
mtoto – child

Whether you translate swali as a question or the question in English depends entirely on context:

If it’s a general or first mention: usually a question
- Nauliza swali darasani. – “I ask a question in class.”
If it’s clear which specific one (from previous context): often the question
- Baada ya hotuba, nauliza swali lile lile. – “After the speech, I ask the same question.”

In Kila mara ninapokosa neno, nauliza swali darasani, this is a general habit, not about one particular set question, so English naturally uses “a question”.

What does the ending -ni in darasani do, and how is it different from darasa?

Darasa = class / classroom.
Darasani = in (the) class / in the classroom / during class.

The suffix -ni is a locative marker. It often corresponds to in / at / on in English:

nyumba – house → nyumbani – at home
shule – school → shuleni – at school
mji – town → mjini – in town
darasa – class → darasani – in class

You could also say:

nauliza swali katika darasa – “I ask a question in the classroom”

but darasani is shorter and more idiomatic, especially for the idea “during class”.

Why is it nauliza swali darasani and not nauliza darasani swali? How strict is word order here?

Swahili has a fairly regular basic word order:

Subject – Tense/Agreement – Verb – Object – (Place / Time / Other information)

So the natural order is:

(Mimi) nauliza swali darasani.
Subject (I) – Verb (ask) – Object (question) – Place (in class)

Other orders are possible but can sound marked or awkward:

Nauliza darasani swali. – This is understandable but unusual; it can sound like you’re oddly emphasizing darasani (“it’s in class that I ask a question”).

By default, put:

Verb
Direct object (what is being asked)
Locative (where, when, etc.)

So nauliza swali darasani is the most natural and neutral word order.

Is it redundant to say kila mara ninapokosa? Doesn’t ninapokosa already mean “when I miss”?

Ninapokosa (ni-na-po-kosa) already contains “when(ever) I miss”, thanks to -po-.

So:

Ninapokosa neno, nauliza swali. – “When I miss a word, I ask a question.”

Adding kila mara in front gives a stronger sense of every time, on each occasion:

Kila mara ninapokosa neno, nauliza swali.
Literally: “Every time when I miss a word, I ask a question.”

It is not wrong or unnatural; it just emphasizes the regular, repeated nature of the situation. English often does the same:

“Every time when I forget a word, I ask a question.”

You could also say:

Kila ninapokosa neno, nauliza swali. – also “Every time I miss a word, I ask a question.”
Nikikosa neno, nauliza swali. – “If/when I miss a word, I ask a question.” (more conditional)

Could I use the habitual prefix hu- instead, for example Kila mara ninapokosa neno, huuliza swali darasani? Would that be better?

Yes, you can use hu- to express habitual actions, but you need to handle it carefully.

hu-:

Marks general/habitual actions.
Appears without a subject prefix (no ni-, u-, a-, etc.).
The subject is understood from context.

Examples:

Hulala mapema. – “He/She usually sleeps early.”
Hucheza mpira kila siku. – “They usually play football every day.”

In your sentence:

Kila mara ninapokosa neno, huuliza swali darasani.

This can be understood as:

“Every time I miss a word, I (am the one who usually) ask a question in class.”

It is grammatically acceptable, but stylistically quite strong: you have kila mara (every time) plus hu- (habitual), which can sound a bit heavy or emphatic.

More common, very natural options include:

Kila mara ninapokosa neno, nauliza swali darasani.
Kila mara ninapokosa neno, huwa nauliza swali darasani.
(Here huwa = “usually / tend to”, which is very natural in speech.)

Important:

You cannot combine hu- with another subject prefix:
✗ *ninahuuliza, ✗ *unahuliza, etc.
Correct: huuliza by itself.