Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mimi ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni. - I like to watch television in the evening.

Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni. → “I like to watch TV in the evening.”
Mimi ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni. → “I like to watch TV in the evening.” (implying “…maybe others don’t.”)

In normal conversation, you usually don’t need Mimi, unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Can I drop Mimi and just say Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni?

Yes, that’s completely correct and very natural:

Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni.

This is how people typically speak.
Use Mimi mainly when you want to stress “I (as opposed to someone else)”.

What exactly is inside the verb ninapenda?

Swahili verbs are built from several small parts.

Ninapenda can be broken down as:

ni- = subject marker for “I”
-na- = present tense marker (roughly “am / do / is”)
-penda = verb root “like / love”

So ni-na-penda → “I (present) like” → “I like / I love.”

If you changed the tense marker, you’d get:

ni-li-penda → nilipenda = “I liked” (past)
ni-ta-penda → nitapenda = “I will like” (future)

I’ve heard people say napenda instead of ninapenda. Which one is correct, and what’s the difference?

Both are correct in everyday speech, but they’re used a bit differently:

Ninapenda – full form, very clear, always correct (and preferred in writing, in class, or when speaking carefully).
Napenda – shortened speech form; people often drop the initial “ni-” in fast, informal conversation.

Meaning-wise, they’re the same: “I like / I love.”

As a learner, it’s safest to use the full form (ninapenda) so your subject is always clear. Over time you’ll get used to hearing napenda and other shortened forms.

Why is kuangalia one word? Where is the English word “to” in “to watch”?

Swahili doesn’t use a separate word like English “to” before verbs.
Instead, it uses the prefix ku- on the verb root to form the infinitive:

ku- + angalia → kuangalia = “to watch / to look at”
ku- + soma → kusoma = “to read”
ku- + andika → kuandika = “to write”

So in ninapenda kuangalia, the ku- is doing the job of English “to”.
That’s why it’s written together as one word.

What’s the difference between kuangalia and kutazama? Don’t they both mean “to watch”?

They overlap a lot, and in many contexts they can both be translated as “to watch.”

Rough tendencies (not strict rules):

kuangalia
- “to look at, to watch, to check”
- Common with TV, things in front of you, or checking something:
  - kuangalia televisheni – to watch TV
  - kuangalia dirishani – to look out the window
  - kuangalia ujumbe – to check a message
kutazama
- “to gaze at, to observe, to watch” (often a bit more deliberate)
- Also used with TV/films, but can sound slightly more like “to observe / to view.”

For TV, you’ll hear both, but kuangalia televisheni is extremely common and perfectly natural.

Could I say Mimi ninatazama televisheni jioni to mean “I watch TV in the evening”?

You can say that, but it changes the meaning:

Mimi ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni.
- “I like to watch TV in the evening.” (a preference / habit)
Mimi ninatazama televisheni jioni.
- Literally: “I am watching TV in the evening.”
- By default, ninatazama is more like “I am watching” (present, ongoing).

If you want a habitual meaning (“I watch TV in the evenings” as a routine), Swahili often still uses present tense, but you’d usually rely on context or adverbs like kila jioni (“every evening”):

Kila jioni ninatazama televisheni. – “Every evening I watch TV.”

So:

To talk about what you like: ninapenda kuangalia…
To talk about what you’re doing (now): ninatazama… (often with sasa = now)

Does ninapenda mean “I like” or “I am liking”? How do English and Swahili tenses line up here?

Ninapenda normally covers both:

English simple present: “I like TV”
English present continuous: “I am liking / I am loving” (though in English we rarely say “I am liking” with stative verbs)

Swahili -na- present is quite broad:

Ninasoma. → could be “I am reading (right now)” or “I read / I study (generally).”

With stative verbs like penda (“to like / love”), the default reading is general / habitual:

Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni.
→ “I like (I enjoy) watching TV in the evening.”

So you don’t need a special tense for “habit”; the simple present -na- plus context does the job.

What time of day does jioni actually refer to? Is it “evening” or “afternoon”?

Jioni usually covers the late afternoon into early night, roughly:

From around 4–5 p.m. up to about 7–8 p.m. (varies by region and speaker)

Common time-of-day words:

asubuhi – morning
mchana – midday / afternoon
jioni – late afternoon / early evening
usiku – night

In English, we often just say “evening” for jioni, but be aware it can start earlier than the English mental picture of “evening.”

If I want to say “every evening” or “this evening”, how do I change jioni?

You add extra words before jioni:

kila jioni – “every evening”
- Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni kila jioni.
  → “I like to watch TV every evening.”
jioni hii – “this evening”
- Jioni hii ninapenda kuangalia televisheni.
  → “This evening I want/plan to watch TV.” (often with a nuance of “this particular evening”)

You can also use:

kila siku jioni – “every day in the evening”
jioni sana – “late in the evening” (informal / regional)

Does the position of jioni matter? Could I say Jioni mimi ninapenda kuangalia televisheni instead?

Swahili is flexible with time expressions. All of these are grammatical:

Mimi ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni.
Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni.
Jioni ninapenda kuangalia televisheni.
Jioni mimi ninapenda kuangalia televisheni.

Differences:

Putting jioni at the end (as in the original sentence) is very common and neutral.
Putting jioni at the beginning emphasizes the time:
- Jioni ninapenda… = “In the evening, I like to…”

So yes, you can move jioni to the front for emphasis, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Why doesn’t televisheni change form for plural? How do I say “televisions”?

Televisheni is a loanword (from “television”) and usually belongs to noun class 9/10, where singular and plural often look the same:

televisheni – a television
televisheni – televisions

Context normally tells you if it’s singular or plural. If you need to be extra clear, you can add numbers or quantifiers:

televisheni moja – one television
televisheni mbili – two televisions
televisheni nyingi – many televisions

Can I use an object marker with televisheni, like ninaipenda or ninaiangalia?

Yes, but that usually happens when “television” has already been mentioned and you’re now referring to it as “it”:

Ninayo televisheni mpya. Ninaipenda sana.
- “I have a new TV. I like it a lot.”
- -i- is the object marker for a class 9/10 noun like televisheni.

For “I like to watch television in the evening” as a general activity, you normally don’t use the object marker:

Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni. ✅
Ninaiangalia televisheni jioni. – “I (regularly) watch it, the TV, in the evening,” more like referring to a specific TV already known in context.

So: object markers are fine, but they generally refer to a specific, previously mentioned object, not the general activity of “watching TV.”

How do I say “I don’t like to watch television in the evening”?

You negate the verb ninapenda by changing ni-na- to si-:

Sipendi kuangalia televisheni jioni.
- si- = “I” (as subject) not
- -pendi is the negative present form of penda

So:

Ninapenda kuangalia televisheni jioni. – I like to watch television in the evening.
Sipendi kuangalia televisheni jioni. – I don’t like to watch television in the evening.