Juma ni mstaarabu; husalimia watu wote.

Ni is the basic Swahili copula. It links the subject to what is being said about that subject.

So in Juma ni mstaarabu, ni works like is in English.

A useful point for learners: ni does not change the way English am / is / are do. The same ni is used with many different subjects.

In this sentence, mstaarabu is best understood as a noun meaning a civilized/courteous/polite person.

That is why Juma ni mstaarabu is structurally like:

• Juma is a courteous person

rather than a simple adjective pattern.

It also belongs to the m-/wa- noun class for people:

• singular: mstaarabu
• plural: wastaarabu

So if you were talking about several people, you could say Wao ni wastaarabu.

Hu- marks a habitual action: something someone characteristically does, not just something happening right now.

So Juma husalimia watu wote means that greeting people is part of Juma's usual behavior.

By contrast, anasalimia is the ordinary present form and often suggests an action that is going on now or in a current situation.

So the difference is roughly:

• husalimia = he habitually greets
• anasalimia = he is greeting / he greets in the present situation

In this sentence, hu- fits well because the second clause explains Juma's character.

In the habitual hu- form, Swahili normally does not use the usual subject marker.

That means you get forms like:

• hufanya
• husema
• husalimia

not forms like ahusalimia.

The subject is understood from context or from an explicit noun, and here the explicit subject is Juma.

So:

• Juma husalimia watu wote = correct

This is a very common pattern and often surprises English speakers at first.

The dictionary form is kusalimia.

In Swahili, verbs are usually listed with the infinitive prefix ku-:

• kusalimia = to greet

In the sentence, that infinitive prefix is replaced by the tense/aspect marking:

• ku-salimia = to greet
• hu-salimia = habitually greets

So husalimia is the same verb, just conjugated.

In Swahili, modifiers usually come after the noun.

So the normal order is:

• watu wote = all people / everyone

not:

• wote watu

This is different from English, where all often comes before the noun.

So a good rule is: noun first, then the agreeing modifier.

Because -ote must agree with the noun class of the noun it describes.

Here the noun is watu, which is in the wa- / class 2 plural for people. So -ote becomes:

• wote

Compare:

• mtu wote = every person
• watu wote = all people

The form changes to match the noun class. That agreement is a major feature of Swahili grammar.

Because the object watu wote is already stated openly after the verb, an object marker is not required.

So this neutral sentence is perfectly natural:

• Juma husalimia watu wote

You may also hear forms with an object marker in other contexts, especially for emphasis, topicality, or when the object is already known from context. But in a straightforward sentence like this one, leaving the object marker out is very normal.

The semicolon links two closely related ideas:

• Juma ni mstaarabu
• husalimia watu wote

The second clause supports or explains the first one. It shows why Juma is being described that way.

You could also write this with a full stop:

• Juma ni mstaarabu. Husalimia watu wote.

That would still be correct. The semicolon just makes the connection between the two clauses a little tighter.

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

So nouns often appear without any separate article word:

• Juma
• mstaarabu
• watu wote

Whether something is definite or indefinite is usually understood from context.

This is why Swahili sentences can look surprisingly compact to English speakers.