Learn Hardcore Swahili: Siyo tu Asha, bali pia Juma huuliza maswali mengi wakati wa somo. - Not only Asha, but also Juma asks many questions during the lesson.

si is the basic negative copula or negative marker:
- Si mimi. = It’s not me.
- Si kitabu. = It’s not a book.
siyo (often also written sio) is a slightly longer form that:
- sounds more emphatic or clearer in speech
- is very common in spoken and informal written Swahili

In a sentence like this, you could see:

Si Asha tu, bali pia Juma…
Siyo Asha tu, bali pia Juma…

Both are understood as “Not only Asha, but also Juma…”. The choice between si and siyo/sio here is mostly a matter of style and emphasis, not a big difference in meaning.

What exactly does tu mean here, and could I move it and say Si Asha tu instead of Siyo tu Asha?

tu means only / just.

In this structure, it limits the thing that comes with it:

Asha tu = only Asha
maswali tu = only questions

More common and very clear is:

Si Asha tu, bali pia Juma…
→ Not Asha only, but also Juma…

In the given sentence Siyo tu Asha, bali pia Juma…, tu is closer to siyo, but it is still understood to limit Asha. Many speakers would naturally say or write:

Siyo Asha tu, bali pia Juma… or
Si Asha tu, bali pia Juma…

So yes, Si Asha tu, bali pia Juma huuliza… is natural and actually a bit more standard-sounding than Siyo tu Asha…. The meaning is the same: not only Asha.

What does bali mean, and how is bali pia different from lakini pia?

bali is a contrastive conjunction that usually means but rather / but instead and is especially common after a negative:

Si mbaya, bali mzuri. = It’s not bad, but (rather) good.

In Siyo tu Asha, bali pia Juma…:

bali = but (in contrast to the first part)
pia = also

Together bali pia is very close to “but also” in English.

Compare:

Siyo tu Asha, bali pia Juma…
= Not only Asha, but also Juma…

You could hear lakini pia in speech:

Siyo tu Asha, lakini pia Juma…

But bali is the more idiomatic choice in this specific “not only…, but also…” structure. lakini is more general but / however, while bali strongly contrasts or corrects the previous part, which fits this pattern well.

Why is huuliza written with a double u? Is that a mistake?

It’s not a mistake. The double u comes from:

tense/aspect prefix hu- (habitual)
verb root -uliza (to ask)

When you put them together:

hu-
- uliza → huuliza

So the two u sounds meet and are both written. It’s pronounced as a long u sound, like huu-liza (not huliza). The spelling huuliza is correct for the habitual form of kuuliza in this sentence.

What does the prefix hu- in huuliza do, and how is huuliza different from anauliza?

hu- is a marker for the habitual aspect.

huuliza = (he/she) usually asks / tends to ask / regularly asks

Compare with:

anauliza = (he/she) is asking / asks (right now, or generally in the present)
aliuliza = (he/she) asked (past)

So:

Juma huuliza maswali mengi…
→ Juma usually asks many questions… (habit, repeated behavior)
Juma anauliza maswali mengi…
→ Juma is asking many questions… (right now), or depending on context Juma asks many questions (present, but less clearly habitual than with hu-).

Why is there no subject prefix like a- before huuliza? Why don’t we see Juma ahuuliza?

The special thing about the habitual hu- in Swahili is that it does not take a subject prefix. The pattern is:

[Subject] + hu- + verb root

So you say:

Mwalimu huchelewa. = The teacher is usually late.
Watoto hucheza uwanjani. = Children usually play in the yard.
Juma huuliza maswali mengi. = Juma usually asks many questions.

You do not add a-, wa-, etc. in front of hu-:

✔ Juma huuliza
✘ Juma ahuuliza (incorrect)

The subject (Juma) is clear from the noun before the verb, so the habitual form just uses hu- + verb root.

What does maswali mengi literally mean, and how is it formed from swali?

maswali mengi literally means “many questions.”

Breakdown:

swali = question (singular)
maswali = questions (plural)
- swali is in the ji-/ma- noun class (Class 5/6)
- singular: no visible prefix → swali
- plural: ma- → maswali
-ingi is the root for the adjective many/much.
- In Class 6 (ma- nouns), it appears as mengi.

So:

somo moja = one lesson
masomo mengi = many lessons
swali moja = one question
maswali mengi = many questions

What does wakati wa somo mean, and what is the role of wa here?

wakati wa somo literally means “the time of the lesson”, and in natural English it’s translated as “during the lesson.”

Breakdown:

wakati = time / period / moment
wa = of (possessive/connecting particle agreeing with wakati)
somo = lesson / subject

So:

wakati wa somo = the time of the lesson → during the lesson

You can compare:

wakati wa mvua = the time of rain → in the rainy season
wakati wa vita = the time of war → during the war

Here wa connects wakati and somo in a genitive-like structure (“time of X”), which often translates to “during X” in English.

Could I say katika somo instead of wakati wa somo?

You can say katika somo, but there is a slight nuance difference.

wakati wa somo = during the lesson / at the time of the lesson
- emphasises the time period.
katika somo = in the lesson / in the course/subject
- emphasises within that lesson/subject context.

In the meaning of:

“…asks many questions during the lesson,”

wakati wa somo is the most natural choice. katika somo would sound more like “in this subject / in this course” (for example, in math class, he asks many questions), which may or may not be what you want.

What is the difference between somo and darasa, since both are related to “lesson” or “class”?

Both are school-related, but they focus on different aspects:

somo
- main meanings: lesson, subject, topic of study
- examples:
  - somo la Kiswahili = the Swahili lesson / Swahili subject
  - masomo = studies, schoolwork, lessons
darasa
- main meanings: classroom, class (group of students)
- examples:
  - darasa letu ni kubwa = our classroom is big
  - wanafunzi wa darasa la tano = pupils of class/grade five

So in wakati wa somo, the focus is on the lesson itself, not the room or the group. You might also see:

wakati wa darasa = during the class (time in the classroom) — also possible, but a bit less textbook-like than wakati wa somo here.

How is somo different from the verb soma, and how are they pronounced?

soma (verb) = to read / to study
- example: Ninasoma Kiswahili. = I study Swahili / I am reading Swahili.
somo (noun) = lesson / subject
- example: Somo langu nipendalo ni historia. = My favourite subject is history.

Pronunciation:

soma: so-ma (two syllables)
somo: so-mo (two syllables)

Swahili vowels are short and clear. Don’t reduce them like in English; pronounce each vowel distinctly: so-ma, so-mo.

In the sentence wakati wa somo, it is definitely the noun somo = lesson, not the verb soma.