Learn Hardcore Swahili: Babu analinda ng’ombe zizini usiku. - Grandfather guards the cows in the kraal at night.

Right now / ongoing:
- Babu analinda ng’ombe zizini sasa. → Grandpa is guarding the cows in the cowshed now.
Habitual / repeated action:
- Kila usiku, babu analinda ng’ombe zizini. → Every night, Grandpa guards the cows in the cowshed.

If you want to be clearly habitual, you can also use the hu- habitual marker:

Babu hulinda ng’ombe zizini usiku. → Grandpa usually/always guards the cows in the cowshed at night.

How can the sentence mean “Grandpa guards the cows” when there’s no word for the?

Swahili does not have separate words for the or a/an. Nouns are “bare”:

ng’ombe can be cow, a cow, the cow, cows, or the cows.

Definiteness (the/a) is understood from context or added with extra words if needed, for example:

ng’ombe wale = those cows
ng’ombe fulani = a certain cow

Here, context (a grandfather guarding animals he owns) makes “the cows” a natural translation.

How do we know ng’ombe here means “cows” (plural) and not “a cow”?

The word ng’ombe is used for both singular and plural:

ng’ombe = cow or cows

To make it explicit, you add numbers or quantifiers:

ng’ombe mmoja = one cow
ng’ombe wawili = two cows
ng’ombe wengi = many cows

In a realistic context, a grandfather guards a herd, so English speakers naturally interpret it as “cows”.

Why is there no separate word for “in” before zizini?

The -ni ending on zizi already expresses the idea of “in/at”:

zizi = cowshed / cattle pen
zizini = in the cowshed, at the cowshed

Swahili often uses -ni to make a noun locative (place):

nyumba → nyumbani = at home
shule → shuleni = at school

So we don’t need an extra word for in here; it’s built into zizini.

What is the difference between zizi and zizini?

zizi is the basic noun: cowshed / kraal / pen
zizini adds the locative suffix -ni, so it means in the cowshed / at the cowshed / inside the pen.

You’d use zizi as a plain noun:

Zizi limejengwa hapa. → The cowshed has been built here.

And zizini when you’re talking about location:

Ng’ombe wamelala zizini. → The cows are sleeping in the cowshed.

Why is there no word for “at” before usiku (“night”)?

Time words like usiku (night), asubuhi (morning), mchana (daytime), jioni (evening) often work by themselves as time expressions:

usiku = at night
asubuhi = in the morning
jioni = in the evening

So Babu analinda ng’ombe zizini usiku naturally means “Grandpa guards the cows in the cowshed at night.”
You don’t need a preposition like at or in.

Can usiku move to another place in the sentence?

Yes, adverbs of time like usiku are fairly flexible. All of these are possible:

Babu analinda ng’ombe zizini usiku.
Babu analinda ng’ombe usiku zizini.
Usiku, babu analinda ng’ombe zizini.

The version you have (… zizini usiku) is very natural: place before time at the end of the sentence.

Can I say Babu analinda ng’ombe katika zizi usiku instead of zizini?

Yes, that is acceptable. Some common options are:

katika zizi = in the cowshed
kwenye zizi = in/at the cowshed
ndani ya zizi = inside the cowshed
zizini = in the cowshed (single word with -ni locative)

Zizini is just more compact; meaning is essentially the same.

Why don’t we say yeye babu analinda… or put yeye for “he” in the sentence?

In Swahili, the subject marker on the verb (here a- in analinda) already shows who is doing the action. The noun Babu also identifies the subject. So:

Babu analinda… is complete and normal.

The independent pronoun yeye (“he/she”) is used only for emphasis or contrast, for example:

Yeye babu analinda ng’ombe, si sisi.
→ He, Grandpa, guards the cows, not us.

You normally do not add yeye in a simple neutral sentence.

Why does the verb use the subject prefix a- with Babu?

Babu (grandfather/old man) is a person, so it belongs to the human noun class (class 1 in grammar terms).
Class 1 singular subjects take the prefix a- on the verb:

Babu analinda… → Grandpa guards…
Mwalimu anafundisha… → The teacher teaches…
Mtoto analia. → The child is crying.

For plural humans (class 2), the subject marker is wa-:

Wababu wanalinda… → The grandfathers guard…

Is babu only “grandfather,” or can it mean “old man” too?

Babu most directly means grandfather. However:

It can also be used respectfully for an older man, especially by younger people.
When capitalized (Babu), it can also be a nickname or familiar name, a bit like calling someone Grandpa in English.

In your sentence it’s natural to understand it as Grandpa (someone specific the speaker has in mind).

How would I say “My grandfather guards the cows in the cowshed at night”?

You can add a possessive after babu:

Babu yangu analinda ng’ombe zizini usiku.
→ My grandfather guards the cows in the cowshed at night.

Other possessives:

babu wako = your grandfather
babu wetu = our grandfather

How do you pronounce ng’ombe and zizini?

Ng’ombe:

ng is like the ng in “sing”, but at the start of the word.
The apostrophe ’ marks a slight separation before o; don’t say a hard g.
Roughly: ng-OM-beh (3 syllables: ng’o-mbe), with a clear ng at the beginning.

Zizini:

zi-zi-ni (3 syllables).
Both z sounds are like z in “zoo”.
Roughly: zee-ZEE-nee, with fairly even stress (Swahili doesn’t have strong stress like English).