Learn Hardcore Swahili: Juma anapenda kuangalia mpira wa miguu kwa runinga jioni. - Juma likes to watch football on television in the evening.

In Swahili, when one verb follows another in this kind of structure (like “likes to watch”), the second verb normally appears in the infinitive form, with ku- at the beginning:

anapenda kuangalia = he likes to watch
anapenda kula = he likes to eat
anapenda kusoma = he likes to read

You cannot drop the ku- here.
Angalia without ku- would normally need its own subject marking and tense (e.g. anaangalia = he is watching), so anapenda angalia is ungrammatical in Swahili.

What exactly does anapenda mean here – “likes,” “loves,” or “is liking”?

The verb anapenda is made of:

a- = he/she (subject marker)
-na- = present tense (often habitual or current)
-penda = to like / to love

So anapenda can mean:

he likes (habitual preference)
he loves (stronger emotional sense, depending on context)

It does not usually mean “is liking” in the English progressive sense; Swahili doesn’t make that distinction the same way. Context decides if it feels like “likes” or “loves.” In this sentence, about watching football on TV, English speakers would normally translate it as “likes”.

What is the role of ku- in kuangalia?

Ku- marks the infinitive form of the verb, similar to English “to” in “to watch”:

angalia = watch (bare stem)
kuangalia = to watch / watching (as a verbal noun or infinitive)

After verbs like kupenda (to like), kutaka (to want), kuweza (to be able), you normally put the following verb in the ku- form:

anapenda kuangalia = he likes to watch
anataka kula = he wants to eat
anaweza kusoma = he can read

Why is it mpira wa miguu, not something shorter like just mpira?

Mpira by itself means ball, or can even mean rubber (the material).
To specify the sport football (soccer), Swahili often uses:

mpira wa miguu = literally “ball of feet,” i.e. football

So:

mpira = ball
mpira wa miguu = football (the sport)

There are also other words used in some regions, like soka or kandanda, but mpira wa miguu is a very common, clear expression.

Why is the connector wa used in mpira wa miguu, and not ya miguu?

This is about noun class agreement.

mpira is in noun class 3 (m-/mi- class).
The possessive/genitive connector for class 3 is wa.
So we say mpira wa miguu (ball of feet).

If the head noun were in a different class, the connector would change, for example:

kitabu cha Kiswahili (book of Swahili) – class 7 uses cha
vitabu vya Kiswahili (books of Swahili) – class 8 uses vya

Because mpira is class 3, the correct form is mpira wa miguu, not mpira ya miguu.

Why is it miguu (feet) and not singular mguu (foot)?

In the expression mpira wa miguu, miguu is plural:

mguu = one leg/foot
miguu = legs/feet (plural)

Football is played using both feet, so the phrase literally means “ball of feet” (plural). It’s a fixed expression for the sport, so using the singular mguu would sound wrong here.

What does kwa runinga mean exactly, and why use kwa here?

Kwa runinga in this sentence means “on TV” or “by means of the TV”.

The preposition kwa can express several ideas, including:

by means of / using:
- anaandika kwa kalamu = he writes with a pen
- anasafiri kwa basi = he travels by bus
at/to (someone’s place):
- niko kwa Juma = I am at Juma’s (place)

Here, kwa runinga shows the means or medium: Juma watches football via the TV.
You could also say kwenye runinga (“on TV”), which many speakers use and understand, but kwa runinga is very natural.

Can I say runinga or televisheni? What’s the difference?

Both are understood:

runinga – a more “native” Swahili word for television
televisheni – a loanword from English television

Their meaning in everyday use is the same: TV.
Some speakers and style guides prefer runinga as a more “pure” Swahili term, but televisheni is also widely used and recognized.

Why is there no word like “the” or “a” before mpira wa miguu or runinga?

Swahili does not use articles like English a/an/the.

mpira wa miguu can mean “football”, “a football”, or “the football”, depending on context.
runinga can mean “a TV” or “the TV”.

Specificity is usually clear from context, or can be made more precise with other words if needed (e.g. ile runinga = that TV; huo mpira = that ball/that match).

Where can the time word jioni (“in the evening”) go in the sentence? Must it be at the end?

In this sentence, jioni is placed at the end:

Juma anapenda kuangalia mpira wa miguu kwa runinga jioni.

That is very natural: time expressions often come at the end in Swahili.
However, they can also appear earlier, especially for emphasis or style:

Jioni, Juma anapenda kuangalia mpira wa miguu kwa runinga.

Both are grammatical. The end position (as in the original sentence) is probably the most common, neutral choice.

How does the verb anapenda show that the subject is Juma? There’s no word like “he” in Swahili.

Swahili marks the subject on the verb itself:

a- = he/she (3rd person singular subject marker)
-na- = present tense
-penda = like/love

So anapenda already means “he/she likes”.

When we add Juma in front:

Juma anapenda... = Juma, he likes...

The name Juma is the explicit subject, and a- on the verb agrees with it. Swahili normally does not use a separate pronoun like “he” unless needed for emphasis or contrast (e.g. yeye anapenda, “he (as opposed to others) likes”).

What is the difference between kuangalia and kutazama for “to watch”?

Both kuangalia and kutazama often translate as “to look”/“to watch”, and in many contexts they can be used interchangeably.

Rough tendencies (not strict rules):

kuangalia – to look at, to watch, to check
- kuangalia runinga = to watch TV
- kuangalia saa = to look at/check the time
kutazama – to look at, to observe, often with a bit of focus
- kutazama filamu = to watch a film
- kutazama mandhari = to look at the scenery

In your sentence, kuangalia mpira wa miguu kwa runinga is completely natural.
kutazama mpira wa miguu kwa runinga would also be understandable and acceptable.

How is the sentence pronounced and where does the stress fall?

Swahili stress is almost always on the second-to-last (penultimate) syllable of a word.

Breaking it down:

Ju-ma → JU-ma (stress on Ju)
a-na-pen-da → a-na-PEN-da
ku-a-nga-li-a → ku-a-nga-LI-a
m-pi-ra → m-PI-ra
wa (one syllable, stress there)
mi-guu → mi-GUU (final long syllable; effectively stressed)
kwa (one syllable, stress there)
ru-ni-nga → ru-NI-nga
ji-o-ni → ji-O-ni

Spoken smoothly:
JÚ-ma a-na-PÉN-da ku-a-nga-LÍ-a m-PÍ-ra wa mi-GÚU kwa ru-NÍ-nga ji-Ó-ni.

The rhythm is quite regular, and each vowel is pronounced clearly; there are no silent letters.