Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.

Before you leave home, please lock the door.

Breakdown of Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.

• nyumba: the home
• kufunga: to lock
• mlango: the door
• tafadhali: please
• kabla hujaondoka: before you leave

Questions & Answers about Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.

What does each word in kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango correspond to in English?

Very roughly matched to English:

• kabla – before
• hujaondoka – (before) you have left / before you leave
  
  • hu- – you (2nd person singular subject prefix)
  • -ja- – not yet / negative perfect marker
  • -ondok- – leave, depart
  • -a – final vowel of the verb
• nyumbani – at home / from home / to home (lit. home+locative)
• tafadhali – please
• funga – close, shut (also “tie, fasten, lock” depending on context)
• mlango – door

So the structure is literally something like:
Before you-have-not-yet-left home, please close door.
which is understood as Before you leave home, please close the door.

Why is hujaondoka used instead of something that looks more like “you leave,” like unaondoka or uondoke?

Swahili often uses the -ja- (negative perfect “not yet”) form in clauses introduced by kabla (before) to express “before doing X.”

• hujaondoka literally = you have not yet left
• kabla hujaondoka = before you have left → idiomatic: before you leave

Alternatives and their feel:

• kabla unaondoka – ungrammatical
• kabla utaondoka – ungrammatical
• kabla uondoke – can appear in some structures, but the kabla + huja- pattern is the most natural/common way to say “before you leave” in everyday Swahili.

So hujaondoka looks negative literally, but in this kabla-clause it functions as “before you leave.”

So is hujaondoka actually negative? Am I saying “before you have not left”?

In isolation, yes, hujaondoka is negative:

• hujaondoka = you have not yet left

But within a kabla-clause, this “not yet” meaning naturally gives a “before” sense:

• kabla hujaondoka
  = before (the point at which) you have left
  ≈ before you leave

So grammatically it’s the negative perfect, but functionally in this structure it expresses “before V-ing.” This is a very typical Swahili pattern:

• kabla sijala – before I eat (lit. before I have eaten)
• kabla hajaondoka – before he/she leaves (lit. before he/she has left)

Can I also say kabla ya kuondoka nyumbani? What’s the difference from kabla hujaondoka nyumbani?

Yes, both are correct, and both can translate as “before leaving home.”

1. kabla hujaondoka nyumbani

   • Uses a finite verb with subject marking (hu-, “you”) + -ja-
   • Feels a bit more like “before you (personally) leave home.”

2. kabla ya kuondoka nyumbani

   • Uses the infinitive kuondoka (“to leave / leaving”) after kabla ya
   • Slightly more neutral or “noun-like”: before the act of leaving home.

In everyday speech, both structures are common.
Subtle tendencies:

• kabla hujaondoka... – often when the subject is clear and specific.
• kabla ya kuondoka... – slightly more formal/neutral, like “before leaving / before departure.”

Why is there no ya after kabla here? I thought it should be kabla ya...

You will see both:

• kabla hujaondoka
• kabla ya kuondoka

Rough guideline:

• When kabla is followed by a finite verb (with subject marking and tense, like hujaondoka), ya is often omitted:

  • kabla hujaondoka, kabla hajaondoka, kabla sijafika, etc.

• When kabla is followed by an infinitive acting like a noun (kuondoka, kula, kusafiri), ya is usually kept:

  • kabla ya kuondoka, kabla ya kula, kabla ya kusafiri.

So kabla hujaondoka is normal because hujaondoka is a conjugated verb, not an infinitive.

What exactly does nyumbani mean, and how is it different from nyumba?

• nyumba – house, home (basic noun form)
• nyumbani – at home / in the house / to home / from home

The -ni ending is a locative marker, often meaning “in/at/to” depending on context.

Examples:

• Niko nyumbani. – I am at home.
• Ninarudi nyumbani. – I am returning home.
• Ninatoka nyumbani. – I am leaving (from) home.

So in kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, nyumbani is “from home / from the house,” but English just says “leave home.”

Could I move nyumbani earlier and say kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango vs kabla hujaondoka, tafadhali funga mlango nyumbani?

The natural place for nyumbani here is right after hujaondoka:

• ✅ Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.

If you say:

• Kabla hujaondoka, tafadhali funga mlango nyumbani.

it is still understandable, but it sounds like you are emphasizing which door (the one at home), not the place you’re leaving from. The first version is more idiomatic for “before you leave home, close the door.”

Does tafadhali have to come in the middle, or can I move it?

Tafadhali is flexible in position. All of these are fine:

• Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.
• Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, funga mlango tafadhali.
• Tafadhali, kabla hujaondoka nyumbani funga mlango.

The tone changes slightly:

• At the beginning: Tafadhali, ... – more explicit polite request.
• Before the verb: tafadhali funga mlango – very common, sounds polite but direct.
• At the end: funga mlango tafadhali – like English “close the door, please,” often softer.

All are polite; word order here is more about emphasis and style than grammar.

Why is the verb funga here, and not something like ufunge?

Swahili imperatives for “you (singular), do X” typically use the bare verb stem:

• funga mlango – close the door
• fungua mlango – open the door
• andika barua – write a letter

So:

• funga – imperative to one person (“close!”)
• ufunge – subjunctive; often used in subordinate clauses or softer requests, e.g.
  
  • Ningependa ufunge mlango. – I would like you to close the door.

In this sentence, a direct imperative funga mlango + tafadhali already sounds polite and natural.

Does funga mean “close” or “lock” the door?

Funga has a broad meaning: close / fasten / shut / lock, depending on the object.

For mlango (door):

• funga mlango – can mean close the door or lock the door, depending on context and local usage.
• If you specifically want lock, people may say:
  • funga mlango kwa kufuli – lock the door with a padlock
  • ufunge mlango vizuri – properly secure/lock the door

In many everyday contexts, funga mlango will simply be understood as “close the door.”

Could I add an object prefix and say uu­funge mlango instead of funga mlango?

You can, but it changes the style and emphasis.

• funga mlango – neutral, everyday “close the door.”
• uufunge mlango – literally “that you close it, the door,” using u- as the object marker for the class of mlango.

This form sounds more like:

• part of a longer sentence or more formal instruction:
  
  • Nataka uufunge mlango. – I want you to close the door.
• emphasis on it (the door):
  
  • Uufunge mlango, siuache wazi! – Close the door, don’t leave it open!

In a simple polite command, funga mlango is more natural.

How would the sentence change if I were talking to more than one person (“you” plural)?

You would adjust both the verb in the kabla-clause and the imperative:

• Kabla hamjaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali fungeni mlango.

Breakdown:

• hamjaondoka

  • ham- – you (plural)
  • -ja- – not yet
  • -ondoka – leave
    → you (pl.) have not yet left → in context: before you (pl.) leave

• fungeni – plural imperative “you all close”

So:

• Singular: Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.
• Plural: Kabla hamjaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali fungeni mlango.

Can I switch the order and say Tafadhali funga mlango kabla hujaondoka nyumbani? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

• Tafadhali funga mlango kabla hujaondoka nyumbani.

Meaning is essentially the same: “Please close the door before you leave home.”
Differences:

• Original: Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.

  • Emphasis starts with the time condition: before you leave...

• Reordered: Tafadhali funga mlango kabla hujaondoka nyumbani.

  • Starts with the request, then gives the condition: please close the door (when?) before you leave home.

Both are natural. Word order is quite flexible in Swahili for such adverbial clauses.

Is the comma after nyumbani important? How is this usually punctuated in Swahili?

The comma is mostly for readability, just like in English:

• Kabla hujaondoka nyumbani, tafadhali funga mlango.

In Swahili writing, it is common and recommended to separate an initial adverbial clause (starting with kabla, wakati, baada ya, etc.) from the main clause with a comma. But in actual usage:

• With or without the comma, the sentence is grammatically the same.
• In informal settings (texts, chats), punctuation is often looser.

So the comma is stylistically good, but not a grammatical marker that changes meaning.