Learn Hardcore Swahili: Tutakutana kituoni kesho asubuhi. - We will meet at the station tomorrow morning.

So tutakutana literally means “we–will–meet (each other)”.
In Swahili, subject and tense are usually built into the verb instead of being separate words.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “we” in the sentence?

Swahili normally shows the subject on the verb itself:

tu- on tutakutana already means we.
Because of that, you don’t need a separate pronoun like sisi (we).

You can say Sisi tutakutana kituoni…, but that usually adds emphasis, like saying “We will meet at the station…” (maybe contrasting with some other group).

What tense is tutakutana? Can it mean both “we will meet” and “we are meeting”?

Tutakutana is future tense, thanks to the -ta- marker. Its most natural translation is:

We will meet / We’re going to meet.

English often uses present forms for scheduled future events (“We’re meeting tomorrow morning”). Swahili more often uses the explicit future -ta- in this kind of sentence, so tutakutana is better than tunakutana here.

If -ta- is “will”, why isn’t there a separate word for will like in English?

Swahili doesn’t use separate auxiliary verbs like will, do, or have in the same way English does.
Instead, tense and aspect are built inside the verb:

tu-na-kutana = we are meeting / we meet (present / habitual)
tu-li-kutana = we met (past)
tu-ta-kutana = we will meet (future)

So the English “will” idea is fully contained in -ta-.

What is the difference between kutana and kuonana, since both can mean “to meet”?

Both are used for “meeting,” but with slightly different flavors:

kutana = to meet / to encounter (often more general: meet, bump into, arrange to meet).
- tutakutana = we will meet (each other).
kuonana = literally “to see each other”; often used for meeting someone in person, especially socially or after some time.
- tutaonana = we will see each other / we’ll meet (as in: we’ll see each other again).

In your sentence, tutakutana is perfectly natural for planning a meeting; tutaonana kituoni kesho asubuhi would also be fine and slightly more “we’ll see each other” in feel.

What exactly does kituoni mean, and how is it formed?

The base noun is kituo, which can mean station, stop, stand, etc.
The form kituo-ni adds the locative suffix -ni:

kituo = station
kituo + -ni → kituoni = at the station / in the station / on the station premises (depending on context)

So kituoni by itself already carries the idea of “at the station”, which is why there is no separate “at”.

If kituoni already means “at the station”, can I still use a separate word like kwenye or katika?

Yes, you can, though it’s often not necessary. For example:

Tutakutana kwenye kituo kesho asubuhi.
Tutakutana katika kituo kesho asubuhi.

These are acceptable and understandable.
However, with common places like nyumbani (at home), shuleni (at school), kituoni (at the station/stop), just using -ni is the most natural and concise.

English uses “at the station”. Where is “the” in kituoni?

Swahili does not have articles like a, an, or the. There is no direct word for “the”.

kituoni can mean at a station or at the station, depending on context.
Definiteness (whether it’s a or the) is understood from the situation, or you can add more detail if needed (for example, kituo cha reli, the train station).

So kituoni is enough to translate “at the station” in most contexts.

Can I change the word order of kituoni kesho asubuhi?

Yes, Swahili word order is fairly flexible with time and place phrases. All of these are possible:

Tutakutana kituoni kesho asubuhi.
Tutakutana kesho asubuhi kituoni.
Kesho asubuhi tutakutana kituoni.

The basic information doesn’t change. Native speakers often put time and place after the verb, but moving them to the front (especially time phrases) is fine and can slightly emphasize when or where.

Is kesho asubuhi the usual way to say “tomorrow morning”? Can I say asubuhi ya kesho?

Both are correct:

kesho asubuhi = tomorrow morning (very common and natural)
asubuhi ya kesho = literally “the morning of tomorrow” (also correct)

In everyday speech, kesho asubuhi is probably more common and a bit shorter. Use asubuhi ya kesho if you like the more explicit, slightly more formal “morning of tomorrow” style.

Could kesho asubuhi ever be ambiguous, like “morning tomorrow” vs something else?

In practice, kesho asubuhi is understood the same way English speakers understand “tomorrow morning”—it’s a fixed, clear expression.

If there’s any chance of confusion (e.g., planning across time zones or days), speakers usually add a date or a day:

kesho asubuhi saa mbili – tomorrow morning at eight o’clock (E.African time usage)
kesho Jumatatu asubuhi – tomorrow, Monday morning.

How would I turn this statement into a question like “Shall we meet at the station tomorrow morning?”

You can make it a question mainly with intonation, or by adding a question marker:

Tutakutana kituoni kesho asubuhi?
(same words, rising intonation = “Shall we / Are we going to meet at the station tomorrow morning?”)

Or add je at the beginning (a common yes/no question marker):

Je, tutakutana kituoni kesho asubuhi?

Both are natural; Je, …? is a bit more explicit as a question.

Is there a different verb form if I want to suggest “Let’s meet at the station tomorrow morning”?

Yes. For suggestions or invitations, Swahili often uses the subjunctive (or hortative) form:

Tukutane kituoni kesho asubuhi. = Let’s meet at the station tomorrow morning.

Compare:

Tutakutana… = We will meet… (a statement of fact/plan).
Tukutane… = Let’s meet… (a suggestion or proposal).

The change from tutakutana to tukutane changes the mood from future statement to invitation/suggestion.

How is tutakutana kituoni kesho asubuhi pronounced and where does the stress fall?

Swahili stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable of a word:

tutakutána (tu-ta-ku-TÁ-na) – stress on ta in -tana
kituóni (ki-tu-Ó-ni) – stress on ó
késho (KÉ-sho) – stress on ké
asubúhi (a-su-BÚ-hi) – stress on bú

Spoken smoothly, it flows as:
tutakutána kituóni késho asubúhi.