Breakdown of Sipendi kuona wivu kati ya dada na kaka nyumbani.
Questions & Answers about Sipendi kuona wivu kati ya dada na kaka nyumbani.
In Swahili, the subject marker and the verb are normally written together as one word.
- penda = the verb stem to like / to love
- ni- = I (subject marker for I)
- si- = I (negative), i.e. I don’t
So:
- ninapenda = I like / I love
- sipendi = I don’t like / I don’t love
You never write si pendi as two words; sipendi is a single verb form meaning I don’t like (or here, I don’t like to see…).
In Swahili, negative present for many verbs is formed with si- + verb, with no tense marker:
- ninapenda = I like / I love
- sipendi = I don’t like / I don’t love (present, general)
If it were past or future, you would see extra markers:
- sikupenda = I did not like (past)
- sitapenda = I will not like (future)
Because sipendi has only si- + verb stem and no other tense marker, it’s understood as present/habitual: I don’t like (generally).
kuona is the infinitive form of the verb ona (to see).
In Swahili, the infinitive is formed with ku- + verb stem:
- kuona = to see
- kupenda = to like / to love
- kula = to eat
In this sentence, kuona is acting like an English -ing or to verb:
- Sipendi kuona…
Literally: I don’t like to see… (or I don’t like seeing…)
So ku- is the infinitive marker, and kuona is the object of sipendi (I don’t like seeing / to see jealousy…).
wivu is a noun, meaning jealousy / envy. It is not an adjective.
So kuona wivu literally means to see jealousy.
If you wanted to say jealous as an adjective, Swahili normally uses a structure like:
- ana wivu = he/she has jealousy → he/she is jealous
- mtu mwenye wivu = a person with jealousy → a jealous person
In this sentence, wivu is the thing being seen: I don’t like seeing jealousy…
kati ya … na … = between … and …
- kati = middle/center
- ya = of (linking word)
- na = and
So:
- kati ya dada na kaka = between (the) sister and (the) brother
You can use the same pattern with other nouns:
- kati ya marafiki = between friends
- kati ya wanafunzi na mwalimu = between the students and the teacher
- kati ya mimi na wewe = between me and you
It works just like English between X and Y.
In Swahili, when context is clear, it’s common to omit possessive pronouns for close family members, especially when talking about things at home.
So all of these can be understood as:
- dada na kaka
- dada yangu na kaka yangu
- dada zangu na kaka zangu (my sisters and my brothers, plural)
In everyday speech, dada na kaka is often enough and naturally understood as my sister and brother when you’re talking about your home situation. If you really need to make it explicit, you can say:
- dada yangu na kaka yangu = my sister and my brother
No. dada and kaka only tell you gender, not relative age.
- dada = sister (older or younger)
- kaka = brother (older or younger)
If you want to specify age:
- dada mkubwa = older/big sister
- dada mdogo = younger/little sister
- kaka mkubwa = older/big brother
- kaka mdogo = younger/little brother
In the given sentence, dada na kaka just means sister and brother without saying who’s older.
nyumbani is a special, very common form that means at home / to home / at the house depending on context.
- nyumba = house
- nyumbani = at home / home (locative form)
It’s idiomatic and compact, like English home versus at the house. You could say:
- kwenye nyumba or katika nyumba = in/inside the house
…but nyumbani is more natural here because the idea is at home as a general place of living, not the physical inside of a building. So:
- nyumbani → home (general)
- kwenye / katika nyumba → in the house (more physical / specific)
Yes. nyumbani can mean at home or to home, depending on the verb:
- Niko nyumbani. = I am at home.
- Ninarudi nyumbani. = I am returning home / I am going back home.
- Nitaenda nyumbani. = I will go home.
Swahili often uses the same locative form (-ni) to express both at/in and to; the direction is understood from the verb itself.
Yes, you can say Mimi sipendi kuona wivu… and it is grammatically correct.
- Sipendi kuona wivu… = I don’t like to see jealousy…
- Mimi sipendi kuona wivu… = Me, I don’t like to see jealousy…
Adding mimi adds emphasis to I (contrasting with others):
- Maybe others don’t mind, but I don’t.
Without mimi, it’s just a neutral statement about yourself. Both are correct; the version without mimi is more neutral and very common.
Swahili word order is fairly flexible for adverbials (like place and time). You could say:
- Sipendi kuona wivu kati ya dada na kaka nyumbani.
- Sipendi nyumbani kuona wivu kati ya dada na kaka. (less common, a bit marked)
- Nyumbani sipendi kuona wivu kati ya dada na kaka.
All are understandable. Sentence 1 is the most natural and neutral: the place (nyumbani) comes at the end. Sentence 3 puts nyumbani first to emphasize at home:
- At home, I don’t like to see jealousy between my sister and brother.
For a learner, using version 1 (place at the end) is a safe and natural pattern.