Nitachelewa kidogo; niko njiani.

I will be a little late

Breakdown of Nitachelewa kidogo; niko njiani.

• niko njiani: I am on the way

Questions & Answers about Nitachelewa kidogo; niko njiani.

How is Nitachelewa built grammatically?

Nitachelewa breaks down like this:

• ni- = I
• -ta- = future marker, will
• chelewa = be late

So Nitachelewa literally means I will be late.

In Swahili, subject markers are usually attached to the verb, so you do not need a separate word for I.

---

Why is it Nitachelewa and not a separate word for I will?

In Swahili, verbs often carry a lot of information inside one word. English uses separate words like I will be late, but Swahili commonly combines these pieces:

• ni- = I
• -ta- = will
• verb stem = the action or state

So a full English phrase can become a single Swahili word. This is very normal in Swahili.

---

What exactly does kidogo mean here?