Mbwa mwaminifu hukaa karibu na nyumba usiku.

A helpful breakdown is:

• mbwa = dog / dogs
• mwaminifu = faithful, loyal
• hukaa = usually stays, tends to stay
• karibu na = near, close to
• nyumba = house, home
• usiku = at night, during the night

So the structure is basically:

subject + description + habitual verb + location + time

In Swahili, descriptive words usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• mbwa mwaminifu = faithful dog
• not mwaminifu mbwa

This is one of the most important word-order differences from English.

Mbwa belongs to the N/N class in Swahili, often called class 9/10. One tricky thing is that its singular and plural forms are usually the same:

• mbwa = dog
• mbwa = dogs

The modifier mwaminifu can look surprising because it has m-. With nouns referring to living beings, especially animals and people, Swahili often allows or prefers animate-style agreement in some descriptions. So mbwa mwaminifu is natural for a faithful dog.

If you wanted a clearly plural idea, you may hear or use:

• mbwa waaminifu = faithful dogs

So this is one of those places where meaning and animacy matter, not just the dictionary noun class label.

Hu- marks a habitual or general action.

So hukaa means something like:

• usually stays
• tends to stay
• stays habitually

It is not just happening right now. It describes a regular pattern or a general truth.

That is why the sentence sounds like a general statement, not a one-time event.

The difference is mainly about habitual versus specific present meaning.

• hukaa = usually stays, habitually stays
• anakaa = is staying / stays, often more specific or less strongly habitual

So:

• Mbwa mwaminifu hukaa karibu na nyumba usiku
  = A faithful dog usually stays near the house at night.

• Mbwa mwaminifu anakaa karibu na nyumba usiku
  = A faithful dog stays / is staying near the house at night.

The second one can work, but hu- is better if you want a general behavior.

All of those are possible, depending on context.

The verb kaa is very flexible:

• sit
• stay
• remain
• live

In this sentence, the best sense is stay or remain.

So hukaa karibu na nyumba means the dog stays near the house, not necessarily that it is literally sitting there all night.

Here karibu na is a set expression meaning near or close to.

So:

• karibu na nyumba = near the house / near a house

The word na here is not the English-style and. It is part of the expression karibu na.

Compare:

• karibu = near / close / welcome, depending on context
• karibu na = near to, close to

So you should learn karibu na as a chunk.

Swahili does not normally use articles like English a and the.

So:

• mbwa can mean a dog, the dog, or even dogs
• nyumba can mean a house, the house, or houses, depending on context

The listener usually understands from the situation, previous conversation, or extra words in the sentence.

If you need to be more specific, Swahili can use other words, such as:

• mbwa mmoja = one dog
• mbwa wawili = two dogs
• ile nyumba = that house
• nyumba hiyo = that house

Yes. Mbwa is one of those nouns whose singular and plural often look the same.

That means:

• mbwa = dog
• mbwa = dogs

In this sentence, the exact number is decided by context. Also, hukaa does not show singular or plural agreement the way some other verb forms do.

So depending on context, the sentence could be understood as:

• A faithful dog stays near the house at night
• Faithful dogs stay near the house at night

If you want to make it clearly singular or plural, you can add more information:

• mbwa mmoja mwaminifu = one faithful dog
• mbwa waaminifu = faithful dogs

Here usiku means at night or during the night.

It comes at the end because time expressions often appear after the main part of the clause in Swahili.

So this order is very natural:

• Mbwa mwaminifu hukaa karibu na nyumba usiku.

You can also move usiku earlier for emphasis:

• Usiku, mbwa mwaminifu hukaa karibu na nyumba.

Both are possible, but the original order is simple and normal.

Yes, but each version has a slightly different feel.

For example:

• Mbwa mwaminifu hukaa karibu na nyumba usiku.
  General habit: the dog usually stays near the house at night.

• Usiku, mbwa mwaminifu hukaa karibu na nyumba.
  Same meaning, but usiku is emphasized.

• Mbwa mwaminifu anakaa karibu na nyumba usiku.
  Less clearly habitual; more like a present or regular situation.

So the original sentence is a good choice if you want a general statement about typical behavior.