Nimekaribia sasa.

I am almost there now.

Breakdown of Nimekaribia sasa.

• sasa: now
• nimekaribia: I am almost there

Questions & Answers about Nimekaribia sasa.

How is nimekaribia broken down?

Nimekaribia has three main parts:

• ni- = I
• -me- = a perfect marker, often giving the sense of have
• karibia = come near / approach

So the structure is basically:

ni-me-karibia = I have approached / I have come near

Why isn’t there a separate word for I?

In Swahili, the subject is usually built into the verb.
Here, ni- already means I, so you do not need a separate pronoun.

That is very different from English, where you normally need a separate subject word, as in I am coming or I have arrived.

What tense is -me-?

-me- is often called the perfect marker.

It usually shows that an action has already happened, but is still relevant now. In English, it often matches forms like:

• have approached
• have come near
• sometimes even am now close

So nimekaribia sasa gives the idea that the speaker has now reached a closer point than before.