Utarudi lini kutoka shuleni leo?

Because Swahili often builds the subject into the verb itself.

In utarudi:

• u- = you (singular)
• -ta- = future tense, will
• -rudi = return / come back

So utarudi already means you will return.

If you wanted, you could add wewe for emphasis, but it is usually not necessary:

• Wewe utarudi lini kutoka shuleni leo? = When will you return from school today?

Utarudi is made of three parts:

• u- = subject prefix for you (singular)
• -ta- = future marker
• -rudi = verb stem meaning return / go back / come back

So:

• utarudi = you will return

Related forms:

• nitarudi = I will return
• atarudi = he/she will return
• tutarudi = we will return
• mtarudi = you all will return
• watarudi = they will return

Lini means when.

In Swahili, question words do not always have to come at the beginning of the sentence the way they usually do in English. It is very common for lini to come after the verb:

• Utarudi lini...? = When will you return...?

That word order is perfectly natural in Swahili.

You may also hear question words in slightly different positions depending on style or emphasis, but Utarudi lini kutoka shuleni leo? is a normal and natural sentence.

Kutoka shuleni means from school.

Breakdown:

• kutoka = from, coming from, to come from
• shuleni = at school / to school / from school, depending on context

So together:

• kutoka shuleni = from school

Literally, kutoka is also a verb form meaning to come from / to leave from, but in sentences like this it functions very naturally as from.

The ending -ni often marks a location in Swahili.

So:

• shule = school
• shuleni = at school / to school / in school / from school depending on context

This -ni is called a locative ending. It is very common with place words.

Examples:

• nyumbani = at home / to home / from home
• sokoni = at the market / to the market / from the market
• kanisani = at church / to church / from church

In your sentence, the meaning from school comes from the combination of:

• kutoka = from
• shuleni = location word, school

Each part adds different information:

• kutoka shuleni = tells you from where
• leo = tells you when, specifically today

Even though utarudi is already future tense (will return), that does not automatically mean today. It could mean later today, tomorrow, next week, or some other future time. Adding leo makes the time frame specific.

So:

• Utarudi lini kutoka shuleni? = When will you return from school?
• Utarudi lini kutoka shuleni leo? = When will you return from school today?

Basically, lini means when.

Depending on context, English may translate it as:

• when
• what time

For example:

• Utarudi lini? can mean When will you return?
• In a practical situation, someone may understand it as What time will you return?

If you want to ask more specifically about clock time, Swahili can use more explicit wording, but lini is the common general question word for time.

This order is very natural, but Swahili does allow some flexibility.

The sentence:

• Utarudi lini kutoka shuleni leo?

is a normal way to ask the question.

Swahili often keeps the verb early in the sentence, and question words like lini often come after it. Other elements such as leo may move around for emphasis, but not every rearrangement sounds equally natural.

For a learner, the safest pattern is:

• Verb + lini + other details

So this sentence is a good model to follow.

Both are possible.

The verb -rudi means:

• return
• go back
• come back

So utarudi could be translated as:

• you will return
• you will come back

In natural English, When will you come back from school today? may sound slightly more conversational than When will you return from school today?, but both match the Swahili well.

You can answer with a time expression.

Examples:

• Nitarudi saa tisa. = I will return at three o’clock.
• Nitarudi alasiri. = I will return in the afternoon.
• Nitarudi baadaye. = I will return later.
• Nitarudi saa kumi na moja jioni. = I will return at five in the evening.

Notice that the answer often uses the same verb pattern:

• ni- = I
• -ta- = future
• -rudi = return

So nitarudi = I will return.

It is addressed to one person.

That is because the verb begins with u-, the subject marker for you singular.

• Utarudi... = You (one person) will return...

If you were speaking to more than one person, you would use mta-:

• Mtarudi lini kutoka shuleni leo? = When will you all return from school today?

So the verb prefix tells you whether the you is singular or plural.