Tukitoka hapa, tutaelekea sokoni kwanza, halafu tutarudi nyumbani.

Tukitoka breaks down like this:

• tu- = we
• -ki- = a marker often meaning if/when
• -toka = leave / come out / go out from

So tukitoka hapa means if we leave here or when we leave here, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most natural sense is probably when we leave here.

Because the first part of the sentence is a dependent clause: when/if we leave here.

Swahili often uses -ki- for this kind of clause:

• nikifika = when/if I arrive
• ukiona = when/if you see
• tukitoka = when/if we leave

By contrast, tutatoka hapa would mean we will leave here, which is a full future statement, not a when/if clause.

So:

• Tukitoka hapa... = When/if we leave here...
• Tutatoka hapa... = We will leave here...

It can mean either, depending on context.

In many everyday sentences, -ki- covers both ideas:

• if
• when
• sometimes even something close to once

Here, because the rest of the sentence describes a planned sequence of actions, English would often prefer when:

• When we leave here, we’ll head to the market first, then we’ll return home.

But if we leave here is also grammatically possible, just less likely in this context.

Tutaelekea comes from kuelekea, which means to head toward, to go in the direction of, or to make one’s way toward.

Breakdown:

• tu- = we
• -ta- = future
• -elekea = head toward

So tutaelekea sokoni means we will head to/toward the market.

Why not tutaenda?

• tutaenda sokoni = we will go to the market
• tutaelekea sokoni = we will head toward the market

Both work, but kuelekea can sound a little more like movement in a direction, while kwenda is the more general to go.

In Swahili, each verb usually carries its own subject marker. So even if the subject stays the same, you normally repeat it on each verb.

Here:

• tutaelekea = we will head
• tutarudi = we will return

English can sometimes avoid repeating the subject, but Swahili generally does not. Repeating tu- is normal and necessary.

Kwanza means first.

In this sentence:

• tutaelekea sokoni kwanza = we’ll head to the market first

It shows the order of actions:

1. leave here
2. go to the market first
3. then return home

So kwanza is an adverb marking the first step in the sequence.

Halafu means then / afterward / after that.

Here it links the next action:

• halafu tutarudi nyumbani = then we will return home

Yes, you can often replace it with words like:

• kisha = then
• baadaye = later (not always exactly the same)
• afu = a very common colloquial shortening of halafu

Among these, halafu is very common in everyday speech.

The -ni ending is a locative marker, often meaning at, to, or in a place.

So:

• soko = market
• sokoni = at/to the market

In this sentence, sokoni means to the market.

This -ni ending is very common with places:

• shule → shuleni = at/to school
• mji → mjini = in town
• nyumba → nyumbani = at home / home

For the same basic reason as sokoni: nyumbani is a locative form.

• nyumba = house
• nyumbani = at home / home / to home

In many contexts, nyumbani is best translated as home, not literally house.

So:

• tutarudi nyumbani = we will return home

This is the natural way to say it.

Hapa means here.

It refers to the current location of the speaker (or the group including the speaker). So:

• Tukitoka hapa = When we leave here

It is a very common location word in Swahili:

• hapa = here
• huko = there (near you / general there, depending on context)
• pale = over there

Yes. A few natural translations are:

• When we leave here, we’ll head to the market first, then we’ll return home.
• Once we leave here, we’ll go to the market first, then we’ll come back home.
• If we leave here, we’ll head to the market first, then return home.

The exact English version depends mostly on how you interpret -ki- in tukitoka and how literally you want to render kuelekea.

The word order here is very natural and clear:

• Tukitoka hapa = when we leave here
• tutaelekea sokoni kwanza = we will head to the market first
• halafu tutarudi nyumbani = then we will return home

Swahili word order is often fairly flexible, but this order helps show the timeline clearly:

1. leaving here
2. going to the market
3. returning home

So while some variation is possible, this version sounds smooth and normal.