Learn Hardcore Swahili: Tunapokimbia uwanjani, jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni. - When we run on the field, sweat comes out on the face and back.

Tunapokimbia uwanjani, … = “When we run in the field, …”
It makes the first part a subordinate time clause, and the second part (jasho hutoka…) is the main clause describing what happens at that time.

What’s the difference between tunapokimbia and tunakimbia?

Both involve the stem kimbia (to run), but they do different jobs.

Tunakimbia uwanjani.
- tu- = we
- -na- = present
- kimbia = run
- Meaning: “We are running in the field” / “We run in the field.”
- This is a main clause, a straightforward statement.
Tunapokimbia uwanjani, …
- tu- = we
- -na- = present
- -po- = when / at the time that
- kimbia = run
- Meaning: “When we run in the field, …”
- This is a dependent time clause, setting up the conditions for what happens next.

So:

tunakimbia = “we (are) run(ning)”
tunapokimbia = “when we (are) run(ning)”

Why does the verb use hu- in jasho hutoka instead of something like jasho linatoka?

The prefix hu- marks a general / habitual action in Swahili.

jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni:
- hu-toka = comes out / tends to come out / usually comes out
- This describes what generally happens whenever the condition is met.

Compare:

Jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni.
→ “Sweat comes out (generally / typically) from the face and the back.”
Jasho linatoka usoni na mgongoni.
- li- = subject marker for “sweat” (class 5)
- -na- = present
  → “Sweat is coming out of the face and back (right now).”

In your sentence, because of tunapokimbia … jasho hutoka …, the idea is more like “Whenever we run in the field, sweat (typically) comes out…”, not just in one specific moment. That’s why hu- is used.

What exactly does uwanjani mean, and why does it end in -ni?

Uwanjani comes from the noun uwanja (field / pitch / playground) plus the locative suffix -ni:

uwanja = field
uwanja + -ni → uwanjani = “in the field / at the field / on the field”

The suffix -ni is very common and often means “in / at / on” when added to place nouns:

shule → shuleni = at school
nyumba → nyumbani = at home
meza → mezani = on/at the table

So tunapokimbia uwanjani = “when we run in the field.”

What are usoni and mgongoni? Are they also using -ni in the same way as uwanjani?

Yes, usoni and mgongoni are also formed with -ni, used to express a location on the body.

uso = face
- uso + -ni → usoni = on/from the face
mgongo = back
- mgongo + -ni → mgongoni = on/from the back

Here they mark where the sweat comes from:

jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni
→ “sweat comes out from the face and from the back”

So -ni is doing a similar locative job as in uwanjani, but now the “place” is part of the body.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “from” before usoni and mgongoni?

The verb kutoka already includes the idea “to come out / to come from”, and combining it with a locative noun (with -ni) is enough to express “from X”.

hutoka usoni =
- hu-toka = come out
- usoni = on/from the face (locative) → “comes out from the face”

You could think of it as:

toka + locative noun ≈ “come from [that place]”

So:

jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni
literally: “sweat habitually-comes-out face-LOC and back-LOC”
natural English: “sweat comes out from the face and the back.”

No extra preposition like from / kutoka kwa / kutoka katika is needed here.

Why doesn’t the sentence use a separate word for “we” like sisi?

In Swahili, the subject is usually shown on the verb by a prefix, so a separate pronoun is not necessary.

In tunapokimbia:
- tu- already means “we”.

Therefore:

Tunapokimbia uwanjani… = “When we run in the field…”
Adding sisi would be only for emphasis:
- Sisi tunapokimbia uwanjani…
  → “We, when we run in the field…” (emphasizing we rather than someone else).

So the default, neutral form relies on tu- as the subject marker and does not use sisi.

How would this sentence change with different subjects (I / you / he or she / they)?

You mainly change the subject prefix in the first verb, and sometimes the noun for “we” if needed. The rest stays similar.

Base pattern: [subject]-na-po-kimbia uwanjani, jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni.

Examples:

Ninapokimbia uwanjani, jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni.
→ “When I run in the field, sweat comes out from my face and back.”
(ni- = I)
Unapokimbia uwanjani, jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni.
→ “When you run in the field, sweat comes out from your face and back.”
(u- = you, singular informal)
Anapokimbia uwanjani, jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni.
→ “When he/she runs in the field, sweat comes out from the face and back.”
(a- = he/she)
Wanapokimbia uwanjani, jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni.
→ “When they run in the field, sweat comes out from their faces and backs.”
(wa- = they)

Note that jasho hutoka… stays the same, because it’s a general statement about what happens when that person/people run.

Could you rephrase this sentence in a simpler way in Swahili without -po- and hu-?

Yes, you can make it more “basic” and more like a one-time situation, though you lose the “whenever / generally” nuance.

Without -po- and hu-, using more basic present:

Tunakimbia uwanjani na jasho linatoka usoni na mgongoni.
→ “We run in the field and sweat is coming out from the face and back.”

Keeping the time idea (wakati) but dropping -po-:

Wakati tunakimbia uwanjani, jasho linatoka usoni na mgongoni.
→ “When we are running in the field, sweat is coming out from the face and back.”

Your original sentence with tunapokimbia and hutoka is more natural for a general truth / habit.

What does the comma do here? Could we change the word order?

The comma separates:

a dependent time clause: Tunapokimbia uwanjani (When we run in the field)
from the main clause: jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni (sweat comes out from the face and back).

This order (time clause first) is very natural in Swahili and in English.

You can also put the main clause first:

Jasho hutoka usoni na mgongoni tunapokimbia uwanjani.
→ “Sweat comes out from the face and back when we run in the field.”

That is still correct, though the original order is often clearer and more common in writing for this kind of sentence.

Are there any nuances to saying uwanjani versus kwenye uwanja?

Both are possible, but they differ slightly in style and emphasis:

uwanjani
- simple locative form of the noun
- common, concise, and very natural
- tunapokimbia uwanjani → “when we run in the field”
kwenye uwanja
- kwenye is a preposition-like word meaning “in / on / at”
- kwenye uwanja = “in the field”
- tunapokimbia kwenye uwanja is also correct, but a bit longer.

In many cases uwanjani sounds more idiomatic and is stylistically preferred. Kweye uwanja can feel a bit more explicit, helpful for beginners, or used where -ni is not available or would be ambiguous.

Why are there no words like “the” in the Swahili sentence?

Swahili does not have separate words for “a / an / the” like English does. Instead, nouns can be interpreted as definite or indefinite depending on context.

So:

uwanjani can mean “in a field” or “in the field”
usoni na mgongoni can mean “on the face and back” (usually understood as our/their face & back from context)

If you need to be very specific, you might add other words (like huo / ule / wangu / wako etc.), but there is no direct equivalent of the English article “the”. Context does the job.