Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kila ninapoandika shajara yangu, ninataja ndoto ndogo na malengo makubwa ya baadaye. - Whenever I write in my diary, I mention small dreams and big goals for the future.

kila
- a verb in a “when” form (ninapoandika) naturally gives the meaning “whenever / each time (I do X)”.
So kila is not describing a noun like kila siku (every day) here, but is combined with a verb clause to mean each time that…

You could think of it as:

Kila [ninapoandika shajara yangu] = Each time [I write my journal].

How is ninapoandika built, and what exactly does it mean?

Ninapoandika is one verb form made of several parts stuck together:

ni- = I (subject prefix)
-na- = present tense marker (“am / do / usually”)
-po- = locative/relative marker meaning roughly when / where (here: when)
-andika = verb root write

So ni-na-po-andika → ninapoandika = “when(ever) I write” / “as I am writing” in the present or general time.

Functionally here it means:

“when I write (habitually / generally)”, not just one very specific single event.

What is the difference between ninapoandika and nikiandika? Could I say Kila nikiandika shajara yangu instead?

Both forms are related but not identical in nuance:

ninapoandika → ni-na-po-andika
- Has an explicit present (-na-)
  - -po- (when)
- Feels a bit more formal / standard and very clearly means “when(ever) I write”.
nikiandika → ni-ki-andika
- Uses -ki-, which often means “when / while / if (I am doing X)”.
- It can suggest “when(ever) I write / whenever I happen to be writing”, sometimes with a slightly more ongoing / while-doing-it feel.

In this sentence:

Kila ninapoandika shajara yangu… = very natural and standard.
Kila nikiandika shajara yangu… = also grammatically fine and commonly heard, just a little more colloquial in some varieties.

Both would usually be understood the same way in this context.

Do I need kila here, or could I just say Ninapoandika shajara yangu, ninataja…?

You can say Ninapoandika shajara yangu, ninataja…, and it would mean:

“When I write in my journal, I mention…”

However, without kila, it may sound more like “on the occasions when I write…” — a bit more neutral.

With kila, you emphasize regularity / habit:

Kila ninapoandika shajara yangu… = Every time / Whenever I write in my journal…

So kila adds the idea of “each and every time, as a rule.”

What exactly does shajara mean? Is it “journal”, “diary”, “notebook”, or something else?

Shajara is most often used for a personal written record. Typical translations:

diary (private daily record of thoughts, events)
journal (personal reflective writing)

It is not just any notebook. For example:

daftari = general notebook / exercise book
shajara = diary / journal, something you keep a personal record in

So shajara yangu is naturally “my diary / my journal,” not just “my notebook.”

Why is it shajara yangu and not yangu shajara? How do possessives usually work in Swahili?

In Swahili, possessive adjectives (my, your, his…) normally follow the noun they describe and agree with its noun class.

Pattern:

[noun] + [possessive]

So:

shajara yangu = my journal
You do not say *yangu shajara.

More examples:

kitabu changu = my book
rafiki yangu = my friend
malengo yangu = my goals

The possessive itself (-angu, -ako, -ake, etc.) changes its prefix (y-, ch-, w-, v-, etc.) depending on the noun class, but it still comes after the noun.

What does ninataja mean? Is it the same as “I say” or “I write”?

Ninataja comes from kutaja, which means:

to mention / to state / to name / to list

So ninataja = “I mention / I list / I state”.

It is not exactly the same as:

ninasema = I say / speak
ninaandika = I write

In this sentence, ninataja ndoto ndogo na malengo makubwa ya baadaye means:

“I mention / I write down / I list my small dreams and big future goals.”

The idea is that you bring them up explicitly, not just that you are generally writing.

What is the grammar of ndoto ndogo? Is ndoto singular or plural, and why is the adjective also ndogo?

Ndoto (dream) belongs to noun class 9/10, where singular and plural often look the same:

ndoto = a dream
ndoto = dreams

Adjectives that go with class 9/10 nouns typically use the form -a- with no extra prefix, and many common adjectives look the same in both singular and plural.

So:

ndoto ndogo can mean:
- a small dream (singular)
- small dreams (plural), depending on context

Here, context suggests we’re talking about plural in meaning (“small/short-term dreams”), but grammatically the form doesn’t change.

That’s why both the noun and the adjective are simply:

ndoto ndogo.

How is malengo makubwa ya baadaye constructed, and why is it makubwa and ya baadaye?

Breakdown:

lengo = aim, target, goal (class 5)
malengo = goals (plural, class 6)

Adjective agreement:

The adjective “big” is -kubwa.
For class 6 (ma- nouns), it takes the prefix ma- → makubwa.

So:

lengo kubwa = a big goal (singular)
malengo makubwa = big goals (plural)

Now ya baadaye:

baadaye = later, future
ya is the possessive/associative linker for this noun class phrase (referring back to malengo).
ya baadaye literally = “of the future / of later”, so malengo makubwa ya baadaye = “big goals of the future” → big future goals.

So the structure is:

malengo (noun, class 6)
makubwa (adjective “big” agreeing with class 6)
ya baadaye (of the future)

Does ya baadaye describe only malengo makubwa, or also ndoto ndogo?

Grammatically, ya baadaye most naturally attaches to the nearest appropriate noun phrase, which is:

malengo makubwa

So the most straightforward reading is:

ndoto ndogo = small dreams
malengo makubwa ya baadaye = big goals of the future / big future goals

In everyday understanding, a listener might still feel that both dreams and goals are about the future (because dreams and goals are usually future-oriented), but strictly by structure, ya baadaye modifies malengo makubwa, not ndoto ndogo.

If you clearly wanted both to be “of the future,” you could say something like:

ndoto ndogo za baadaye na malengo makubwa ya baadaye.

Can I change the word order, for example: Kila ninapoandika shajara yangu, ndoto ndogo na malengo makubwa ya baadaye ninataja?

That kind of inversion (object before verb) is possible in Swahili but needs care and usually requires an object prefix on the verb.

Basic, neutral word order is:

Subject – Verb – Object
Ninataja ndoto ndogo na malengo makubwa ya baadaye.

If you front the object, standard Swahili normally expects the object to be also represented on the verb with an object marker, which doesn’t happen here. Your suggested sentence sounds either poetic/marked or ungrammatical to many speakers.

A more natural variation (just moving the whole clause) would be:

Ninataja ndoto ndogo na malengo makubwa ya baadaye kila ninapoandika shajara yangu.

This keeps S–V–O order and is perfectly fine.

Could I use the habitual hu- instead of ninataja, like Kila ninapoandika shajara yangu, hutaja ndoto…?

Yes, using the habitual prefix hu- is possible and quite natural in this kind of “every time / usually” context.

hutaja = (he/she/you) usually mentions / tends to mention

So you could say:

Kila ninapoandika shajara yangu, hutaja ndoto ndogo na malengo makubwa ya baadaye.

However, note:

With hu-, the subject is understood from context; you do not add a subject prefix (so you don’t say *ninhutaja).
In a clearly first-person context (talking about yourself), many learners and speakers prefer to just keep ninataja, which is straightforward:
- Kila ninapoandika shajara yangu, ninataja… = Every time I write, I (do) mention…

Both forms can express a habitual action; hu- is just a more specifically habitual marker.

Is ninapoandika written as one word or can it be split, and why does it look so long?

Ninapoandika is written as one word in standard Swahili orthography.

Even though it consists of several morphemes:

ni- (I) + -na- (present) + -po- (when) + andika (write)

in normal writing, subject prefixes, tense markers, relative markers, and the verb root are joined together.

So you should write:

ninapoandika, not ni na po andika or nina po andika.

Swahili verbs often look “long” because a lot of grammatical information (subject, tense, aspect, sometimes object, sometimes relative/locative markers) is packed into a single verb word.