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Watoto wote wa jirani wanapenda kuja kwetu wikendi.

Watoto wote wa jirani wanapenda kuja kwetu wikendi.
All of the neighbor’s children like to come to our place on weekends.
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Questions & Answers about Watoto wote wa jirani wanapenda kuja kwetu wikendi.

What does watoto wote mean, and why do we need both words?

Watoto means children (plural of mtoto, child).

Wote means all.

So watoto wote = all the children.

You need both because:

  • watoto tells you who (children),
  • wote tells you how many (all of them, not just some).
Why is it wa jirani and not ya jirani?

The little word wa here means of (it links two nouns: children and neighbor).

In Swahili, this linker changes depending on the noun class of the first noun:

  • watoto are in the M-/Wa- (people) class (mtoto/watoto).
  • For this class, the “of” word is wa.
  • So: watoto wa jirani = children of the neighbor / the neighbor’s children.

If the first noun were in another class, you might get ya, la, cha, etc., but with watoto it must be wa.

Is jirani singular or plural here, and how do you say “neighbors” in Swahili?

Jirani is a bit special:

  • It can be singular: a neighbor.
  • It can also be used collectively: the neighbor(s) / the neighborhood / nearby people, depending on context.

In everyday speech:

  • jirani can mean the neighbor / our neighbor or our neighbors.
  • If you want to be very clearly plural, you often hear majirani (neighbors).

In watoto wote wa jirani, English speakers will naturally hear the neighbor’s children or the neighbors’ children from context, even though Swahili just has jirani here.

Why is the verb wanapenda and not anapenda?

Swahili verbs agree with the subject:

  • anapenda = he/she likes
    • a- = he/she (3rd person singular, M-/Wa- class)
  • wanapenda = they like
    • wa- = they (3rd person plural, M-/Wa- class)

Since the subject is watoto (children, plural), the verb must use the plural subject prefix wa-:

Watoto wote wa jirani wanapenda ... = All the neighbor’s children like ...

What does wanapenda look like inside? How is it formed?

wanapenda is made of:

  • wa- = they (subject prefix for children/people in plural)
  • -na- = present / present habitual tense marker (are / do / usually)
  • penda = verb root like / love

So wanapenda roughly corresponds to:

  • they like,
  • they love, or
  • they usually like, depending on context.
Could I say hupenda instead of wanapenda here?

You could say:

  • Watoto wote wa jirani hupenda kuja kwetu wikendi.

Using hu- gives a more strongly habitual meaning, like tend to / usually / always:

  • hupenda = they usually like / they tend to like (neutral/gnomic habit)
  • wanapenda = they like (normal present, often also habitual in practice)

Both are grammatical; wanapenda is more neutral and very common in spoken Swahili.

What does kuja kwetu literally mean?

Breakdown:

  • kuja = to come (infinitive)
  • kwetu = to/at our place / to us

So kuja kwetu is literally:

  • to come to our place or to come to us.

There is no separate word for to here; kwetu itself already carries the idea of to/at our place.

Where does kwetu come from, and why not kwa sisi?

Kwetu is a fixed form built from:

  • kwa- (a locative idea: at/to someone’s place)
  • -etu (our)

So kwetu = at/to our place.

You will see similar forms:

  • kwangu = at/to my place
  • kwako = at/to your place
  • kwenu = at/to your (pl.) place
  • kwao = at/to their place

Kwa sisi can appear in some contexts, but for “our place/our home”, the natural form is kwetu, not kwa sisi. So:

  • ✅ kuja kwetu = to come to our place
  • ❌ kuja sisi (ungrammatical)
  • ⚠️ kuja kwa sisi is technically understandable but not the usual way to say “come to our place”.
Does kwetu always mean “our home”?

Not strictly home, but often yes in practice.

Kwetu means at/to our place / where we are from and in many everyday contexts this is effectively our home / our house.

Examples:

  • Nitarudi kwetu Desemba.
    “I’ll go back home in December.”
  • Karibu kwetu.
    “Welcome to our home / our place.”

So context decides whether it feels more like home, our house, or just where we (the ‘we’ group) are.

Why is there no word for “the” in “the neighbor’s children”?

Swahili normally has no articles like the or a/an.

Definiteness (the vs a) comes from:

  • context,
  • word order,
  • sometimes demonstratives like hawa (these), wale (those).

So:

  • watoto wa jirani can mean neighbor’s children or the neighbor’s children depending on context; Swahili doesn’t need a special word for the.
Could we move wote and say Watoto wa jirani wote wanapenda ...? Is that different?

Yes, you can also say:

  • Watoto wa jirani wote wanapenda kuja kwetu wikendi.

Both:

  • Watoto wote wa jirani ...
  • Watoto wa jirani wote ...

are grammatical and usually mean the same: all the neighbor’s children.

Subtlety:

  • Watoto wote wa jirani slightly highlights all the children.
  • Watoto wa jirani wote slightly highlights all the neighbor’s (children).

In everyday speech, the difference is very small; both are natural.

What does wikendi mean, and is there a more “Swahili” word?

Wikendi is a loanword from English weekend.

It means the weekend (usually Saturday and Sunday, but sometimes including Friday depending on local usage).

You might also see:

  • wikiendi (alternative spelling/pronunciation)
  • mwishoni mwa wiki = at the end of the week, a more “traditional” Swahili phrase for on/at the weekend.

So you could also say:

  • Watoto wote wa jirani wanapenda kuja kwetu mwishoni mwa wiki.