Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kama ningejua chanzo cha tatizo hili, ningeweza kulitatua haraka. - If I knew the source of this problem, I would be able to solve it quickly.

You sometimes see kama used in places where English might use “when”, but in conditional sentences like this one, you should think of it as “if”, introducing a hypothetical or unreal situation.

How is ningejua formed, and what exactly does it mean?

Ningejua is made of three parts:

ni- = “I” (1st person singular subject prefix)
-nge- = conditional/hypothetical marker
-jua = verb root “know”

So ningejua literally is “I-would-know / if I knew”.

In context, Kama ningejua… can be translated as:

If I knew the source… (present hypothetical)
or
If I had known the source… (past hypothetical, depending on context)

Swahili uses -nge- for this general unreal condition (similar to “would / if ... (had) ...” in English).

Why do we also have ningeweza with -nge-? Could the sentence be “Kama ningejua chanzo…, ningeweza kulitatua haraka”?

The sentence already has ningeweza – that’s exactly what it is:

ningeweza = ni- (I) + -nge- (conditional) + -weza (be able)

So the whole structure is:

Kama ningejua …, ningeweza …
= If I knew …, I would be able to …

Both verbs take -nge- because:

The if-clause is unreal/hypothetical: ningejua (if I knew)
The result clause is also unreal/hypothetical: ningeweza (I would be able)

You generally keep -nge- in both clauses for this type of conditional in Swahili.

Does ningejua … ningeweza … refer to the present or the past? Is it “If I knew” or “If I had known”?

Swahili -nge- covers both present unreal and past unreal depending on context.

This sentence can be understood as:

If I knew the source of this problem, I would be able to solve it quickly.
(present hypothetical: I don’t know it now.)

or, in the right context:

If I had known the source of this problem, I would have been able to solve it quickly.
(past hypothetical: I didn’t know it then.)

If you want to make a clearly past, counterfactual meaning, some speakers use -ngali-:

Kama ningalijua chanzo cha tatizo hili, ningaliweza kulitatua haraka.
= If I had known…, I would have been able…

But in modern usage, -nge- alone often covers both.

What is the role of -weza and ku- in ningeweza kulitatua?

-weza means “to be able (to)”.
ningeweza = ni- (I) + -nge- (conditional) + -weza (be able)
→ I would be able (to)

After -weza, the next verb normally appears in its infinitive form, starting with ku-:

kulitatua = ku- (infinitive marker “to”) + li- (object marker) + -tatua (solve)

So:

ningeweza kulitatua haraka
= I would be able to solve it quickly.

What is the li in kulitatua? Why isn’t it just kutatua?

The -li- is an object marker that stands for “it”, referring back to tatizo hili (“this problem”).

Breakdown:

ku- = infinitive “to …”
-li- = object marker for noun class 5 (singular), which is the class of tatizo
-tatua = solve

So kulitatua literally means “to solve it”.

You could say kutatua tatizo hili (“to solve this problem”) without the object marker, but using kulitatua is more compact and natural, since the object has just been mentioned.

Can I say “Kama ningejua chanzo cha tatizo hili, ningeweza kutatua tatizo hili haraka” instead? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

kutatua tatizo hili = to solve this problem

The difference:

kulitatua: uses the object marker (li-) to refer back to tatizo hili mentioned earlier
kutatua tatizo hili: repeats the full noun phrase

Both are fine. Native speakers strongly prefer using the object marker when the object is already known from context, so kulitatua usually sounds more natural and less repetitive here.

Why is it chanzo cha tatizo hili and not chanzo ya tatizo hili?

The word in charge of the possessive form here is chanzo (“source”), not tatizo.

chanzo is in noun class 7
The class 7 possessive marker for “of” is cha

So:

chanzo cha tatizo hili = the source of this problem

If it were a class 9/10 noun controlling the possessive, you’d use ya, but here the structure is:

chanzo (head noun, class 7)
cha (class 7 “of”)
tatizo hili (“this problem” – thing being possessed/qualified)

So cha agrees with chanzo, not with tatizo.

What exactly does chanzo cha tatizo hili mean in terms of structure? Is it like saying “problem’s source”?

Structurally, yes, it’s similar to “the source of this problem” or “this problem’s source”.

chanzo = source
cha = “of” (agreeing with chanzo – class 7)
tatizo hili = this problem

So the phrase literally is:

chanzo (source) cha (of) tatizo hili (this problem)
→ the source of this problem / this problem’s source

Why is it tatizo hili and not something like tatizo huu or tatizo hiki?

Demonstratives in Swahili agree with the noun class of the noun they modify.

tatizo (“problem”) is in noun class 5 (singular).
The class 5 demonstrative for “this” is hili.

So:

tatizo hili = this problem

Other demonstratives:

hili (class 5 “this”)
hilo (class 5 “that”)
yale, huyu, hiki, etc., belong to other noun classes and wouldn’t agree with tatizo.

What does haraka do in this sentence, and can I say kwa haraka instead?

Haraka here is an adverbial, meaning “quickly / fast”:

kulitatua haraka = to solve it quickly

Swahili often uses a bare noun as an adverb (especially with time and manner words), and haraka is very common this way.

You can also say:

kulitatua kwa haraka

That is also correct and understandable.

Differences in nuance:

haraka alone is very common and natural in everyday speech.
kwa haraka can feel slightly more explicit or “careful”, but both are fine; in many contexts they’re interchangeable.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Would it sound natural in everyday conversation?

The sentence is neutral and sounds natural in both spoken and written Swahili:

Not slangy or overly casual
Not extremely formal or bureaucratic either

You could use it in:

Everyday conversation:
Kama ningejua chanzo cha tatizo hili, ningeweza kulitatua haraka.
A meeting, email, or report: also fine and appropriate.

It’s a good, standard Swahili sentence.

Are there other natural ways to say the same thing in Swahili?

Yes, you could rephrase while keeping the same idea. For example:

Kama ningejua sababu ya tatizo hili, ningeweza kulitatua haraka.
- sababu ya = the cause/reason for
Kama ningejua kilichosababisha tatizo hili, ningeweza kulitatua haraka.
- kilichosababisha tatizo hili = what caused this problem
Kama ningefahamu chanzo cha tatizo hili, ningeweza kulitatua haraka.
- -fahamu is a bit more formal than -jua, like “to be aware / to understand”

All of these keep the same conditional structure and meaning, just with slightly different wording.