Learn Hardcore Swahili: Leo mchana, mpira wa kikapu utachezwa uwanjani, na mchezo wa tenisi utafuata baadaye. - This afternoon, basketball will be played on the field, and the tennis match will follow later.

Leo mchana is the most natural, everyday way to say “this afternoon”. Literally it’s “today, afternoon,” and together it means “this afternoon.”
Mchana wa leo is also correct, but sounds a bit more formal or contrastive, like “the afternoon of today (as opposed to another day)”. You might see it in writing or when emphasizing today’s afternoon.
Mchana leo is not how people normally say it; it sounds odd to native speakers. If you want “this afternoon,” stick with leo mchana (most common) or occasionally mchana wa leo (more formal/emphatic).

What does the “wa” in “mpira wa kikapu” and “mchezo wa tenisi” do?

Wa is a possessive/genitive linker—it connects two nouns, a bit like “of” in English.

mpira wa kikapu
- mpira = ball / ball game
- wa = of (agreeing with mpira’s noun class)
- kikapu = basket
  → literally: “ball of basket” → basketball
mchezo wa tenisi
- mchezo = game, match
- wa = of
- tenisi = tennis
  → literally: “game of tennis” → tennis match

In Swahili, this linker changes form depending on the noun class (wa, la, ya, cha, vya, etc.), but here wa is the correct one for mpira and mchezo (both class 3 nouns).

How does “mpira wa kikapu” literally translate, and is that really the normal way to say “basketball” in Swahili?

Literally, mpira wa kikapu is:

mpira = ball / ball game
wa = of
kikapu = basket

So it’s “ball of basket”, i.e. basketball.

Yes, mpira wa kikapu is a very standard and widely understood way to say basketball in Swahili. You may also occasionally see or hear loan forms like besketiboli, but mpira wa kikapu is common, clear, and natural.

Why is the verb “utachezwa” in the passive voice instead of “utacheza”?

utacheza = “(he/she/it) will play” or “you (sg) will play” (active)
utachezwa = “will be played” (passive)

In the sentence:

mpira wa kikapu utachezwa uwanjani
“basketball will be played on the field”

Swahili uses the passive because the focus is on the game itself happening, not on who plays it. English would often say “There will be a basketball game,” but Swahili frequently expresses this idea as:

X utachezwa = “X will be played” (where X is the game)

You could say something like watu watacheza mpira wa kikapu uwanjani (“people will play basketball on the field”), but that shifts the focus to the people rather than the event/game.

How is the form “utachezwa” put together grammatically?

utachezwa is built from several parts:

u- = subject prefix for class 3 nouns (like mpira, mchezo)
-ta- = future tense marker
-chez- = verb root from cheza (“to play”)
-w- = passive marker
-a = final vowel

So:

u-ta-chez-w-a → utachezwa
“it (class 3) will be played”

Because mpira is a class 3 noun, it takes the subject prefix u-, not a- or something else.

The prefix “u-” in “utachezwa” and “utafuata” looks like the “you” prefix in Swahili (e.g. utacheza = “you will play”). How do I know it doesn’t mean “you” here?

Good observation—u- can indeed mark “you (singular)” or a class 3 noun as the subject. You tell the difference from:

Context and meaning
- “You will be played on the field” makes no sense.
- “The basketball game will be played on the field” makes perfect sense.
The subject of the sentence
- Here the subject is explicitly mpira wa kikapu (“basketball / the basketball game”).
- The verb agrees with that noun: u- as a class 3 subject prefix.
Passive form
- utachezwa is passive (“will be played”), which is natural for a game as subject.
- For “you will play,” we’d normally use an active form: utacheza (and often with wewe to emphasize: wewe utacheza).

So in this sentence, u- is class 3 subject agreement, not the pronoun “you.”

What exactly does “uwanjani” mean, and why does it end with -ni?

uwanja = field, pitch, ground (e.g. sports field)
-ni = a locative suffix, roughly “in / at / on”

So:

uwanja + -ni = uwanjani
“on the field / at the field”

Swahili often uses -ni attached directly to a noun to express location:

nyumba → nyumbani = at home/house
shule → shuleni = at school
ofisi → ofisini = at the office

Here, uwanjani naturally means “on the field / at the ground” without needing a separate preposition.

Could I say “katika uwanja” instead of “uwanjani”? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

mpira wa kikapu utachezwa katika uwanja
= “basketball will be played in/on the field.”

Differences:

uwanjani
- Shorter, very natural, everyday speech.
- Uses the -ni locative suffix.
katika uwanja
- Slightly more explicit/“preposition-like” (“in/on the field”).
- Feels a bit more formal or a bit heavier in casual speech, but it’s fully correct.

In many contexts they’re interchangeable, but uwanjani is more idiomatic and concise here.

Why is it “mpira wa kikapu” but “mchezo wa tenisi”? What’s the difference between mpira and mchezo?

mpira
- literally “ball,” but also used for ball sports / ball games
- e.g. mpira wa miguu = football/soccer (ball of feet),
  mpira wa kikapu = basketball
mchezo
- “game, match, play” in a more general sense, not restricted to balls
- e.g. mchezo wa tenisi = tennis match,
  mchezo wa karata = card game

Tennis is not usually conceptualized as “a ball game” in the same naming pattern, so Swahili tends to say:

mchezo wa tenisi (“tennis game/match”), not mpira wa tenisi.

In the sentence you have:

mpira wa kikapu (the basketball game)
mchezo wa tenisi (the tennis match)

Both refer to sporting events, but use the most natural noun for each kind of sport.

What does “utafuata baadaye” literally mean? Is “baadaye” really necessary if “utafuata” already means “will follow”?

Breakdown:

uta-fuata = “(it) will follow”
baadaye = “later / afterward”

So mchezo wa tenisi utafuata baadaye is literally:

“the tennis match will follow later / will come afterward”

Is baadaye necessary?

utafuata alone already implies “will follow (after that).”
baadaye adds explicit time emphasis: “later on,” “after some time,” “afterwards.”

You could say:

mchezo wa tenisi utafuata
→ “The tennis match will follow.”

That’s still correct. Adding baadaye just highlights the time gap more clearly.

Why does “baadaye” appear at the end of the sentence? Could it come earlier, like “baadaye mchezo wa tenisi utafuata”?

Yes, baadaye can move around:

Mchezo wa tenisi utafuata baadaye. (your sentence)
Baadaye, mchezo wa tenisi utafuata.
Mchezo wa tenisi, baadaye utafuata. (less common, but possible in speech for emphasis)

Placing baadaye at the end is very natural: it smoothly finishes the clause and matches the English rhythm “will follow later.”

Putting baadaye at the start (Baadaye, mchezo wa tenisi utafuata) puts stronger emphasis on “Later, …” and is also correct. Swahili word order is fairly flexible with adverbs like this, as long as the meaning stays clear.