Mimi na dada yangu tunapatana vizuri nyumbani.

Because the full subject is mimi na dada yangu = my sister and I. That is a plural subject, so the verb uses the we subject marker tu-.

• ni- = I
• tu- = we

So tunapatana means we get along.

Not always. Swahili often allows subject pronouns to be left out because the verb already shows the subject.

So these are all possible, depending on context:

• Mimi na dada yangu tunapatana vizuri nyumbani.
• Dada yangu na mimi tunapatana vizuri nyumbani.
• Tunapatana vizuri nyumbani.
  (only if it is already clear who we are)

Using mimi can add clarity or emphasis.

In Swahili, possessives usually come after the noun, not before it as in English.

• dada yangu = my sister
• nyumba yangu = my house
• rafiki yangu = my friend

So English my sister becomes sister my in Swahili word order.

It can be divided like this:

• tu- = we
• -na- = present tense
• patana = get along / agree / fit together

So tunapatana means we get along or we are getting along, depending on context.

No. They look the same, but they do different jobs.

• In mimi na dada yangu, na means and
• In tu-na-patana, -na- is the present tense marker

Also, the ending -na inside patana is just part of the verb stem, not the word and.

Vizuri means well. It works like an adverb here and describes how they get along.

• tunapatana = we get along
• tunapatana vizuri = we get along well

Nyumbani usually means at home, in the home, or sometimes simply home, depending on context.

It comes from nyumba = house/home, plus the locative ending -ni, which often gives a meaning related to place.

So nyumbani is a location word.

Yes. Like many Swahili locative forms, nyumbani can cover meanings that English separates into different prepositions, such as:

• at home
• in the house/home
• sometimes home

The exact meaning depends on the verb and the context. In this sentence, at home is the most natural interpretation.

Yes, absolutely. That is also correct and very natural.

Both of these work:

• Mimi na dada yangu tunapatana vizuri nyumbani.
• Dada yangu na mimi tunapatana vizuri nyumbani.

The verb still stays tunapatana because the subject is still we.

Not always. Dada can mean:

• a biological sister
• a female sibling in a general sense
• sometimes a woman or sister in a social or respectful sense

In dada yangu, the most likely meaning is my sister, but context can sometimes widen the meaning.

You can say:

Mimi na dada yangu hatupatani vizuri nyumbani.

This means My sister and I do not get along well at home.

Notice the changes:

• tuna- becomes hatu- for negative we
• the verb ends in -i instead of -a in this present negative form

So:

• tunapatana = we get along
• hatupatani = we do not get along