Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kijijini kwa babu, kuna ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi karibu na mto. - In grandfather’s village, there are many cows eating grass near the river.

wa mainly shows possession or “of” in a more grammatical/structural way.
- Example: kijiji cha babu = the village of grandfather / grandfather’s village.
kwa often shows:
- at someone’s place / to someone / with someone, or
- a looser association, especially with people.

In kijijini kwa babu:

kwa babu suggests at grandfather’s place / where grandfather is, not just abstract ownership.
It feels more like “at grandpa’s place (village)” than a formal “village of grandfather.”

You could say katika kijiji cha babu (in grandfather’s village), but kijijini kwa babu is very natural and colloquial.

Why does the sentence start with Kijijini kwa babu instead of starting with Kuna ng’ombe wengi?

Swahili often puts the place or time at the beginning of the sentence to set the scene.

Kijijini kwa babu, kuna ng’ombe wengi…
- Literally: In grandfather’s village, there are many cows…

This is a very natural topic → comment structure:

Topic: Kijijini kwa babu (Where are we talking about?)
Comment: kuna ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi karibu na mto (What is happening there?)

You could grammatically say:

Kuna ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi karibu na mto kijijini kwa babu.

This is also correct, but it feels slightly less focused on the location; the original puts more emphasis on “as for the place, in grandpa’s village…”

What does kuna mean, and why is there no separate word for “there” like in English?

Kuna is a special verb form that means there is / there are.

In this sentence:

kuna ng’ombe wengi = there are many cows

Swahili does not need a separate word like “there” in “there are”:

You just use kuna for existence.
Compare:
- kuna ng’ombe = there is/are a cow/cows
- hakuna ng’ombe = there is/are no cow(s)

The “there” idea is baked into kuna itself.

Is ng’ombe singular or plural? How do you know?

Ng’ombe can be either singular or plural. The form does not change.

You know from context and from agreement:

In the sentence:

ng’ombe wengi wanaokula…

Clues:

wengi = many (form used with people/animals in the m‑wa noun class)
wanaokula starts with wana-, which is the they prefix.

So together this clearly means:

many cows that are eating…

If it were clearly singular, you might see:

ng’ombe mmoja anayekula… = one cow that is eating…

Why is it wengi and not nyingi for “many”?

Swahili adjectives have forms that agree with noun classes.

ng’ombe is treated (for agreement) like it belongs to the m‑wa class (same as mtu / watu, mwanafunzi / wanafunzi, etc.) when referring to animals.
In the m‑wa class, “many” is wengi.

Compare:

mtu mmoja, watu wengi = one person, many people
mwanafunzi mmoja, wanafunzi wengi = one student, many students
ng’ombe mmoja, ng’ombe wengi = one cow, many cows

Nyingi is used for certain non-m‑wa classes (like nyumba nyingi, many houses; siku nyingi, many days). It would be wrong with ng’ombe in this structure.

What is the structure of wanaokula? How is it formed?

Wanaokula is a relative verb form built from wana- and -kula with a relative marker -o- in the middle.

Breakdown:

wa- = subject prefix for they (m‑wa class)
na- = present tense marker (are doing)
-o- = relative marker (roughly like who / that / which)
-kula = verb root eat

So:

wanakula = they are eating
wanaokula = who are eating / that are eating

In English we use a separate word (who/that). In Swahili the -o- marker attaches inside the verb.

Could I also say ng’ombe wengi ambao wanakula nyasi instead of ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi?

Yes. Both are grammatical:

ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi
ng’ombe wengi ambao wanakula nyasi

Differences:

wanaokula (relative inside the verb) is more compact and very natural.
ambao wanakula uses ambao as a separate relative pronoun (kind of like who/that), followed by a normal verb.

In many spoken and written contexts, the shorter relative form (wanaokula) is preferred and feels more fluent.

What does nyasi mean here, and is it singular or plural?

Nyasi means grass.

Grammatically:

It belongs to a noun class (usually N class) where singular and plural look the same.
But semantically, it behaves like a mass noun, similar to English grass (not typically a grass / grasses in normal statements).

In this context:

wanaokula nyasi = (they) are eating grass

You might also see majani used for leaves or sometimes greens/grass, but nyasi specifically suggests lawn/field/pasture grass.

What does karibu na mto mean exactly, and why is na there?

Karibu na mto breaks down as:

karibu = near / close
na = with / and / by
mto = river

Together:

karibu na mto = near the river / close to the river

The na is part of the expression karibu na [place], which is the usual way to say near [place] / close to [place].

You will often hear:

karibu na shule = near the school
karibu na sokoni = near the market

Sometimes speakers may say just karibu mto in fast or casual speech, but karibu na mto is the clear, standard form.

How is karibu different when used as “near” versus “welcome”?

Karibu has several common uses, and context tells you which one is meant:

As “near / close”:
- nyumba yangu iko karibu na barabara = my house is near the road
As “welcome / you’re welcome / please come in / here you go”:
- When someone enters your home: Karibu! = Welcome!
- Someone thanks you: Asante. — Karibu. = Thank you. — You’re welcome.

In karibu na mto, it clearly means near, because it’s followed by a place phrase and na.

Is the comma after kijijini kwa babu required in Swahili?

The comma is not a strict grammatical requirement, but it is good punctuation practice.

Kijijini kwa babu, kuna ng’ombe wengi…

The comma:

Marks a natural pause after the introductory location phrase.
Helps separate the setting (kijijini kwa babu) from the main clause (kuna ng’ombe wengi…).

You will see many correct sentences like:

Asubuhi kuna baridi sana. (no comma)
Asubuhi, kuna baridi sana. (comma)

Both are acceptable; punctuation in Swahili is similar to English in this way.

Could I say Katika kijiji cha babu kuna ng’ombe wengi… instead? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say:

Katika kijiji cha babu, kuna ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi karibu na mto.

This means essentially the same: In grandfather’s village, there are many cows…

Subtle differences:

katika kijiji cha babu sounds a bit more formal or neutral, like “in the village of grandfather.”
kijijini kwa babu feels very natural and conversational, almost like “back in grandpa’s village / at grandpa’s village.”

Both are correct; choice depends on style and personal preference.

Can the word order be changed to Kuna ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi kijijini kwa babu karibu na mto?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct:

Kuna ng’ombe wengi wanaokula nyasi kijijini kwa babu karibu na mto.

Main differences in feel:

Original: Kijijini kwa babu, kuna…
- Emphasizes the place first: “As for Grandpa’s village…”
Changed: Kuna ng’ombe wengi… kijijini kwa babu karibu na mto.
- Starts with the existence of many cows, then adds location details.

Native speakers use both types of ordering; the original just foregrounds the location more strongly.