Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kila tutakaporudi kijijini, tutamletea babu zawadi ndogo ili aone tunamkumbuka. - Whenever we return to the village, we will bring grandfather a small gift so that he sees we remember him.

Literally, kila tutakaporudi kijijini is like saying “every (time) when we return to the village.”
Swahili often leaves out the word mara (time) when it’s clear from context. You could also say:
- Kila mara tutakaporudi kijijini… = Every time when we return to the village…
So:
- kila + time-related clause → “whenever / every time that…”
- kila + noun (e.g. kila mtu, kila siku) → “every person, every day,” etc.

How is tutakaporudi built, and why is it one long word?

Tutakaporudi is a single verb form that means “when we return (in the future)”. It’s built from several pieces:

tu- = we (subject prefix, 1st person plural)
-ta- = future tense (will)
-kapo- = “when (in the future)” (a kind of relative/temporal marker)
-rudi = return (verb root)

So the structure is:

tu – ta – kapo – rudi → tutakaporudi
we – will – when – return → “when we return (in the future)”

Compare other tenses with -po-:

tunarudi = we are returning / we return
tunaporudi = when we (are) return(ing)
tuliporudi = when we returned (past)
tutakaporudi = when we (will) return (future)

What is the difference between tutakaporudi and tutarudi?

tutarudi kijijini = we will return to the village
- Simple future statement.
tutakaporudi kijijini = when we return to the village
- A time clause: it sets the condition “at the time when we return.”

So:

Tutakaporudi kijijini, tutamletea babu zawadi…
= When(ever) we return to the village, we’ll bring Grandpa a small gift…

If you said:

Tutarudi kijijini, tutamletea babu zawadi…
it sounds more like two sequential statements: “We will return to the village, we will bring Grandpa a gift…” (less clearly “every time” / “whenever”).

What does the -ni in kijijini mean?

-ni is a locative suffix meaning “in / at / to” depending on context.

kijiji = village
kijijini = in the village / to the village / at the village

So kijijini here is best understood as “to the village” (because of the verb kurudi, “to return (there)”).

The exact English preposition (“in”, “at”, “to”) depends on the verb and context, but -ni itself just marks a location.

How is tutamletea formed, and what does each part mean?

Tutamletea means “we will bring (him) [something]” or more literally “we will bring to him / for him.”

It breaks down as:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-ta- = future tense (will)
-m- = him/her (object marker, 3rd person singular)
-letea = bring for / bring to (verb stem from leta)

So:

tu – ta – m – letea → tutamletea
we – will – him – bring.for

Letea is built from leta (bring) + an extension -e-/-ea that adds the meaning “for / to someone” (often called the “applicative”). So:

kuletea mtu kitu = to bring something to/for someone.

What does the object marker -m- refer to in tutamletea and tunamkumbuka, when babu is already there?

In both verbs, -m- refers to babu (him, the grandfather).

tutamletea babu zawadi ndogo
= tu-ta-m-letea babu zawadi ndogo
= we-will-him-bring.for Grandpa a small gift
→ “we will bring Grandpa a small gift”
tunamkumbuka
= tu-na-m-kumbuka
= we-PRES-him-remember
→ “we remember him”

Swahili often uses an object marker together with the full noun:

Ninamwona babu. = I see (him) Grandpa.
Tunampenda mtoto. = We love (him/her) the child.

So having babu AND -m- is normal and even very common, especially with human objects.

Why is the word order tutamletea babu zawadi ndogo and not tutamletea zawadi ndogo babu?

The usual, most neutral order with verbs like letea (bring for) is:

Verb – indirect object (person) – direct object (thing)

So:

tutamletea babu zawadi ndogo
= we-will-bring.for Grandpa a small gift

This matches other common patterns:

Ninamletea mama chakula. = I am bringing Mother food.
Aliwaletea watoto vitabu. = He brought the children books.

You can move things around for emphasis, but the given order is the most natural and straightforward.

Why is there no word for “our” before babu? How do we know it’s “our grandfather”?

Swahili doesn’t have articles (a / the) and often omits possessives when the relationship is clear from context.

babu can mean:
- a grandfather
- the grandfather
- Grandpa / our grandfather (if we’re talking within a family context)

To be explicit, you can say:

babu yetu = our grandfather
babu yangu = my grandfather

But in many real-life situations, if both speakers obviously share the same grandfather, just saying babu is enough, like English speakers saying “Grandpa” without our.

Why is zawadi ndogo in that order, and does the adjective ndogo agree with zawadi?

In Swahili, adjectives normally follow the noun:

zawadi ndogo = small gift
mtu mzuri = good person
vitabu vipya = new books

Adjectives usually agree with the noun class of the noun.

zawadi is in noun class 9/10, which often uses ny-/n- agreement, but ndogo is one of the adjectives whose 9/10 form is also ndogo.
So you don’t see a separate class prefix; the agreement is “built in” to the form ndogo here.

Thus zawadi ndogo is the standard, grammatically correct way to say “a small gift.”

What does ili mean here, and what kind of clause does it introduce?

Ili introduces a purpose clause and means roughly “so that / in order that.”

…tutamletea babu zawadi ndogo ili aone…
= “…we will bring Grandpa a small gift so that he may see…”

So the structure is:

[Main clause] …, ili [subjunctive clause]…
We’ll do X, so that Y may happen.

After ili, Swahili uses the subjunctive verb form (see next question).

Why is it aone after ili, and not anaona or ataona?

Aone is the subjunctive form of kuona (to see). The subjunctive is used:

after ili (so that, in order that)
to express wishes, commands, suggestions, etc.

Compare forms of ona (“see”):

anaona = he/she sees / is seeing (present, indicative)
ataona = he/she will see (future)
aone = that he/she may see / for him/her to see (subjunctive)

So:

ili aone = so that he may see / so that he can see

Formally, for the 3rd person singular subjunctive:

subject prefix a-
no tense marker like -na-, -ta-, -li-
final vowel -e instead of -a
→ aone

How is tunamkumbuka formed, and what tense is it?

Tunamkumbuka means “we remember him” or “we are remembering him” (present/habitual meaning).

It breaks down as:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-na- = present tense / continuous marker
-m- = him/her (object marker, referring to babu)
kumbuka = remember (verb root)

So:

tu – na – m – kumbuka → tunamkumbuka
we – PRES – him – remember → “we remember him”

The present -na- here expresses a general ongoing or habitual state: we remember him (in general, as a continuing fact), not just at a single moment.

Why is there no word like “that” before tunamkumbuka, as in “so that he sees that we remember him”?

In Swahili you often have a zero (unspoken) “that” between clauses.

ili aone tunamkumbuka
can be understood as
ili aone (kwamba) tunamkumbuka

Kwamba means “that” (introducing a content clause), but it’s very often omitted in everyday speech when the meaning is clear.

So:

ili aone tunamkumbuka
≈ “so that he may see (that) we remember him.”

Could we say kila tukirudi kijijini instead of kila tutakaporudi kijijini? Is there a difference?

Yes, kila tukirudi kijijini is also possible, but there’s a nuance difference:

kila tutakaporudi kijijini
- uses future + -kapo-
- sounds a bit more explicitly future-oriented and sometimes slightly more formal.
kila tukirudi kijijini
- uses the -ki- tense (often “when/whenever, if”)
- is very natural for habitual or repeated future/whenever situations.

In many contexts they both convey:

“Every time we return to the village…” / “Whenever we return to the village…”

For a learner, you can treat them as near-equivalents here, with tutakaporudi leaning more clearly toward future time and tukirudi feeling more general/habitual.