Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ingawa wote tumechoka leo, bado tutarudia msamiati kidogo kabla ya kulala. - Although we are all tired today, we will still review a little vocabulary before sleeping.

Ingawa wote tumechoka leo, bado tutarudia msamiati kidogo kabla ya kulala.
Although we are all tired today, we will still review a little vocabulary before sleeping.

You can also drop the comma in everyday writing or speech; the meaning doesn’t change:

Ingawa wote tumechoka leo bado tutarudia msamiati kidogo kabla ya kulala.

Other common words with a similar meaning are ijapokuwa, ingawaje, and hata kama, but Ingawa is very common and neutral.

Why is there no sisi (“we”) in the sentence? How do we know it means “we”?

In Swahili, the subject is usually built into the verb, so a separate pronoun like sisi (we) is not required unless you want to emphasize it.

tumechoka
- tu- = we (subject prefix for we)
- -me- = perfect aspect
- -choka = get tired / be tired

So tumechoka already means we are tired / we have become tired.
Likewise:

tutarudia
- tu- = we
- -ta- = future tense
- -rudia = repeat / go over again

So tutarudia means we will review / we will repeat.

You could say Sisi wote tumechoka leo…, but that adds emphasis (We all are tired today…).

What is the difference between wote and sote, and why is wote used here?

Both wote and sote can translate as all (of us), but they behave slightly differently:

wote = all (agreement word that matches a noun or pronoun that is understood)
sote = all of us (literally we-all, formed from sisi
- -ote)

In Ingawa wote tumechoka leo…, the subject sisi (we) is understood from the verb tumechoka, so wote is agreeing with that understood sisi:

(Sisi) wote tumechoka leo = We are all tired today.

You could also say:

Ingawa sote tumechoka leo… – also correct, with a very similar meaning.

In practice, both are acceptable here. wote is slightly more general (all of us / all of them depending on context), while sote explicitly means all of us.

How does tumechoka work grammatically, and why does it mean “we are tired” instead of “we have tired”?

tumechoka breaks down like this:

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-me- = perfect aspect (often translated as have done)
-choka = get tired / become tired

Literally, it’s something like we have gotten tired. In English we normally just say we are tired for the resulting state, so that’s the natural translation.

With stative or state-like verbs in Swahili (verbs that describe states such as being tired, full, finished, etc.), the -me- form often expresses the present state:

Nimechoka. = I’m tired. (literally I have become tired.)
Tumechoka. = We’re tired.

So although the form is “perfect”, in usage it very often maps to a present state in English.

Could we move leo to the front, like Leo tumechoka wote? Does leo have to go after tumechoka?

You can move leo quite freely; Swahili word order is flexible for adverbs of time. All of these are possible:

Ingawa wote tumechoka leo…
Ingawa leo wote tumechoka…
Ingawa leo tumechoka wote…

Putting leo after the verb, as in the original sentence, is very common and sounds natural:

tumechoka leo = we are tired today.

Moving leo towards the beginning can slightly emphasize today:

Ingawa leo wote tumechoka… = Although today we are all tired…

So leo does not have to go after tumechoka; the original order is just one natural option.

What does bado mean here, and why is it used with a future verb (tutarudia)?

bado usually means still or not yet, depending on context:

Before a negative verb: Bado hatujaanza. = We haven’t started yet.
Before a positive/future verb, like here: it often means still / nevertheless / even so.

In this sentence:

bado tutarudia msamiati kidogo…
= we will still review a little vocabulary…
(in spite of being tired)

So bado is adding the idea of despite that / even so to the future action. It links back to Ingawa wote tumechoka leo.

How is tutarudia formed, and does it literally mean “review” or “repeat”?

tutarudia comes from the verb kurudia (to repeat / to go over again):

tu- = we (subject prefix)
-ta- = future tense
-rudia = repeat, go back over

So tutarudia = we will repeat / we will go over (it) again.
In a learning context, English speakers often translate that as we will review because that’s the natural verb used for studying.

Examples:

Tutarudia msamiati. = We’ll review the vocabulary.
Rudia tena. = Repeat again / say it again.

So the literal idea is go back over, and review is the best natural English equivalent here.

What exactly does msamiati mean, and is it different from maneno?

msamiati means vocabulary in the sense of a set/list of words you are learning or using.

msamiati wa somo hili = the vocabulary of this lesson.
kujifunza msamiati = to learn vocabulary.

maneno simply means words (plural of neno):

maneno magumu = difficult words.

You could say tutarudia maneno kidogo, but that would sound more like we will repeat a few words. msamiati makes it clear you’re talking about vocabulary study, like in a language class.

Why is it msamiati kidogo and not kidogo msamiati?

In this sentence, kidogo is limiting the amount of vocabulary, so it behaves like a quantifier or adjective and normally follows the noun:

msamiati kidogo = a little vocabulary / a small amount of vocabulary.

Putting kidogo before the noun is possible in some contexts, but it changes the feel or can sound odd, especially with an abstract noun like msamiati.

Compare:

maji kidogo = a little water.
chakula kidogo = a little food.

So Noun + kidogo is the typical pattern when you mean a small amount of that noun.

How does kabla ya kulala work grammatically? Why do we need ya and the ku- on lala?

kabla ya kulala literally means before sleeping.

Structure:

kabla ya = before (as a prepositional phrase)
kulala = to sleep / sleeping (infinitive form of lala)

kabla ya
In modern standard Swahili, kabla is usually followed by ya when it introduces a noun or infinitive verb:
- kabla ya chakula = before the food / before the meal.
- kabla ya kuondoka = before leaving.
kulala
The ku- prefix turns lala (sleep) into the infinitive/verbal noun:
- kulala = to sleep / sleeping.

So kabla ya kulala is literally before (the act of) sleeping and functions exactly like before sleeping or before we sleep in English.

Could we say kabla ya sisi kulala to make the subject explicit, like “before we sleep”?

You can say kabla ya sisi kulala, and it will be understood as before we sleep. The structure is:

kabla ya
- sisi (we) + kulala (to sleep).

However, in many contexts it sounds more natural and idiomatic simply to say:

kabla ya kulala = before sleeping / before we sleep.

The subject (we) is understood from the wider context and from the tutarudia earlier in the sentence. Explicit sisi there is usually used only if you really want to emphasize we (and not someone else).

Is the overall word order fixed, or could we rearrange parts of the sentence?

The overall structure is:

Ingawa (although) + clause 1 (reason/contrast),
bado (still / nevertheless) + clause 2 (main action).

Some parts can move around without changing the basic meaning. For example:

Ingawa tumechoka wote leo, bado tutarudia msamiati kidogo kabla ya kulala.
Ingawa leo tumechoka wote, bado tutarudia msamiati kidogo kabla ya kulala.
Ingawa leo wote tumechoka, bado tutarudia msamiati kidogo kabla ya kulala.

All of these are acceptable. The main constraints are:

Ingawa should introduce the first clause.
bado should appear near the beginning of the second clause to give the still / nevertheless meaning.
Verb morphology (like tume-, tuta-) carries the subjects, so moving adverbs and words like wote, leo is mostly about emphasis, not about grammar.