Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.

We are happy to stay at home in the evening.

Breakdown of Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.

• sisi: we
• nyumba: the home
• kwenye: at
• katika: in
• jioni: the evening
• kukaa: to stay
• kufurahi: to rejoice

Questions & Answers about Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.

Why do we need both sisi and the tu- in tunafurahi? Isn’t that saying “we” twice?

In Swahili, the subject is normally shown on the verb by a subject prefix, so tu- in tunafurahi already means “we”.

• tunafurahi by itself already means “we are happy”.
• sisi is an independent pronoun meaning “we/us” and is usually optional.

You add sisi when you want to:

• emphasize the subject:
  
  • Sisi tunafurahi… = We are happy (as opposed to others).
• contrast with another subject:
  
  • Sisi tunafurahi, lakini wao hawafurahii.
    We are happy, but they are not.

So strictly speaking, Sisi tunafurahi… is more like “We (for our part) are happy…”, not just a mechanical repetition. In everyday speech, you’ll often just hear Tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.

What exactly does the tense -na- in tunafurahi express? Is it “we are happy” right now or “we are usually happy”?

The tense marker -na- in tunafurahi is the present tense and can cover both:

1. Present progressive / current state

   • Tunafurahi = We are (right now) happy.

2. Present habitual / general truth (very common usage)

   • Tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
     We (usually / generally) enjoy staying at home in the evening.

Context decides which nuance is stronger. Without extra words like sasa (now) or kila jioni (every evening), tunafurahi is flexible and often understood as a general habit or preference here.

What is the function of ku- in kukaa?

ku- is the infinitive prefix for verbs in Swahili.

• The verb root is -kaa.
• kukaa = “to stay / to sit / to live” (infinitive form).

In this sentence, tunafurahi kukaa… literally is:

• tunafurahi = we are happy
• kukaa = to stay

So the structure is like English “We are happy to stay at home in the evening.”

Does kukaa mean “to stay,” “to sit,” or “to live”? How should I understand it here?

kukaa is a versatile verb whose meaning depends on context:

1. to sit

   • Kaa hapa. = Sit here.

2. to stay / remain

   • Nitakaa hapa. = I will stay here.

3. to live / reside

   • Ninakaa Dar es Salaam. = I live in Dar es Salaam.

In Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni, the most natural understanding is:

• “We are happy to stay at home in the evening.”

So here kukaa = “to stay (at home)”, not literally “to sit” or “to live.”

Why is it nyumbani and not just nyumba? What does the -ni do?

nyumba by itself means “house”.

Adding -ni to many nouns creates a locative form (place form), meaning “in/at/on [that place]”.

• nyumba = house
• nyumbani = at home / in the house

So:

• nyumbani emphasizes location: “at home.”
• Saying kukaa nyumbani = “to stay at home.”

You normally would not say kukaa nyumba; you use the locative nyumbani to express the idea of “at home.”

Is nyumbani always “home”? What’s the difference between nyumba and nyumbani in general?

Rough guideline:

• nyumba = a/the house (the physical building)
• nyumbani = at home / at the house (the place where you stay/live)

Examples:

• Nyumba yangu ni kubwa.
  My house is big.

• Niko nyumbani.
  I am at home.

• Ninarudi nyumbani.
  I am returning home.

In kukaa nyumbani, the meaning is more like “to be at home” rather than pointing to the building as an object.

Where does jioni normally go in the sentence? Could I say Jioni sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani instead?

Time expressions in Swahili are quite flexible. jioni (in the evening) can appear:

• At the end (very common and natural):

  • Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.

• At the beginning, for emphasis on time:

  • Jioni tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani.
  • Jioni sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani. (more emphatic on we)

All of these are grammatically fine.
Placing jioni at the end, as in your sentence, is probably the most typical neutral order.

Could I use tunapenda instead of tunafurahi? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Sisi tunapenda kukaa nyumbani jioni.

Difference in meaning:

• tunafurahi = we are happy / we are pleased

  • Focus on the feeling of happiness that results from staying home.

• tunapenda = we like / we love

  • Focus on liking / preferring the activity.

In natural English:

• Tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  ≈ We are happy to stay at home in the evening.

• Tunapenda kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  ≈ We like staying at home in the evening.

Both are correct; choose based on whether you want to stress happiness or preference.

How would I make this sentence negative?

To negate tunafurahi, you:

1. Change the subject prefix tu- to negative ha-
   • appropriate ending.
2. Often drop -na- and change the final vowel to -i (for many verbs).

For furahi, two common negative patterns are used in practice:

• Sisi hatufurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  We are not happy to stay at home in the evening.

You may also see the stem written as furahi or furahi- with slightly differing vowel behavior, but for a learner:

• hatufurahi = we are not happy

Everything else stays the same:

• Sisi = we
• kukaa nyumbani jioni = to stay at home in the evening.

Grammatically, what is kukaa doing after tunafurahi? Is it like “We are happy that we stay…” or “We are happy to stay…”?

kukaa here is an infinitive verb used as a complement to tunafurahi.

Structure:

• tunafurahi = we are happy
• kukaa nyumbani jioni = to stay at home in the evening

So the pattern is:

• [subject] + [be happy] + [to do something]
• Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  = We are happy to stay at home in the evening.

It’s not “happy that we stay…”; it’s specifically “happy to stay…” (infinitive complement). This is a very common pattern:

• Ninapenda kusoma. = I like to read.
• Anaogopa kuogelea. = He/She is afraid to swim.

If I change the subject (I, you, they), how does tunafurahi change?

You change the subject prefix on the verb. Some present tense forms of -furahi:

• Mimi ninafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  I am happy to stay at home in the evening.

• Wewe unafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  You (sing.) are happy to stay at home in the evening.

• Yeye anafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  He/She is happy to stay at home in the evening.

• Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  We are happy to stay at home in the evening.

• Ninyi mnafura(h)i kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  You (pl.) are happy to stay at home in the evening.

• Wao wanafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  They are happy to stay at home in the evening.

The part -furahi stays; only the subject prefix (ni-, u-, a-, tu-, m-, wa-) changes.

I’ve seen hufurahi somewhere. How is hufurahi different from tunafurahi? Could I say Sisi hufurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni?

Yes, you can say:

• Sisi hufurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.

But hu- here is a different marker from -na-:

• -na- (as in tunafurahi) = present; can be current or habitual.
• hu- (no subject prefix) = general habitual / “usually/always does.”

So:

• Sisi tunafurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  = We are (generally) happy to stay at home in the evening.

• Sisi hufurahi kukaa nyumbani jioni.
  = We usually/typically are happy to stay at home in the evening.

hu- makes the idea of habit or custom stronger and a bit more generic, like saying “We tend to be happy…” or “We’re the sort of people who are happy to stay at home in the evening.”