Kijijini, tuna kisima kirefu karibu na shamba.

Kijijini means in the village or at the village.

The ending -ni is a very common Swahili locative ending. It often turns a noun into a place expression:

• kijiji = village
• kijijini = in/at the village

So -ni often corresponds to English ideas like in, at, or to, depending on context.

The comma shows that Kijijini is being used as a setting phrase at the beginning of the sentence, like:

• In the village, we have...

It is not always required in casual writing, but it helps separate the location phrase from the main statement. In speech, there may be a slight pause there.

Here, tuna means we have.

It breaks down like this:

• tu- = we
• -na = have / with

So tuna = we have.

In Swahili, possession is often expressed this way rather than with a separate verb exactly like English to have.

In standard Swahili, -na is often taught as the way to express having or being with something.

So:

• nina = I have
• una = you have
• ana = he/she has
• tuna = we have
• mna = you all have
• wana = they have

It is best to learn these as the normal Swahili way to say have.

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• kisima kirefu = a deep well

This is the normal order:

• noun + adjective

Compare:

• mtoto mdogo = small child
• nyumba kubwa = big house
• kisima kirefu = deep well

The adjective agrees with the noun class of kisima.

The noun kisima belongs to the ki-/vi- noun class. Because of that, the adjective stem -refu takes the class prefix ki- in the singular:

• kisima kirefu = deep well

If it were plural, the agreement would change:

• visima virefu = deep wells

So ki- on kirefu is not random; it shows agreement with kisima.

Kisima is in the ki-/vi- noun class.

That means:

• singular: kisima = well
• plural: visima = wells

Adjectives and some other words must match this class:

• kisima kirefu = deep well
• visima virefu = deep wells

This agreement system is one of the most important features of Swahili grammar.

Kirefu means deep here.

It comes from the adjective stem -refu, which can mean long, tall, or deep, depending on the noun it describes.

For example:

• mti mrefu = a tall tree
• barabara ndefu = a long road
• kisima kirefu = a deep well

So the English translation depends on what kind of thing is being described.

Karibu na means near or close to.

In this sentence:

• karibu na shamba = near the farm / near the field

The word na here means with/to as part of the expression karibu na.

Be careful: karibu can also mean welcome or come near, depending on context. But in karibu na, it is a location expression meaning near.

Shamba usually means farm, field, plot of land, or sometimes garden, depending on context.

It often refers to cultivated land, especially in an agricultural setting. So karibu na shamba could be translated as:

• near the farm
• near the field
• near the cultivated plot

The best English choice depends on the situation.

Swahili usually does not use articles like English a or the.

So kisima kirefu could mean:

• a deep well
• the deep well

You decide from context.

Also, tuna kisima means we have a well or we have a certain well, but it does not automatically mean our well in the possessive sense. If you specifically wanted our well, you could say:

• kisima chetu = our well

Yes, Swahili word order is somewhat flexible, but the original order is natural and clear.

Kijijini, tuna kisima kirefu karibu na shamba is a normal way to say:

• In the village, we have a deep well near the farm.

You could also say:

• Tuna kisima kirefu karibu na shamba kijijini.

That also makes sense, but the focus changes slightly. Starting with Kijijini highlights the setting first.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

kee-jee-JEE-nee, TOO-nah kee-SEE-mah kee-REH-foo kah-REE-boo nah SHAHM-bah

A few helpful points:

• ki is usually pronounced like kee
• j sounds like the j in jam
• u is like oo in food
• e is usually like e in bed, but cleaner and shorter
• stress in Swahili often falls on the second-to-last syllable:
  • ki-ji-JI-ni
  • TU-na
  • ki-SI-ma
  • ki-RE-fu
  • ka-RI-bu
  • SHAM-ba

Yes. Because Swahili words often cover a range of meanings, several English translations may be correct.

For example:

• Kijijini = in the village / at the village
• shamba = farm / field / plot / garden

So depending on context, these are all possible natural translations:

• In the village, we have a deep well near the farm.
• At the village, we have a deep well near the field.
• In the village, there is a deep well near the plot of land.

The exact English wording depends on what the speaker is trying to emphasize.