Kwa nini unaikosoa filamu?

It means why?

Literally, kwa can mean by/with/for, and nini means what. So the phrase is roughly for what reason? But as a learner, it is best to treat kwa nini as the normal fixed expression for why.

You can split it like this:

• u- = you (singular)
• -na- = present tense / ongoing action
• -i- = object marker meaning it
• -kosoa = criticize

So unaikosoa means you are criticizing it or you criticize it, depending on context.

That -i- is an object marker. It stands for it, and it refers to filamu.

In Swahili, objects are often marked inside the verb. English does not usually do this, so this can feel unusual at first. Here, Swahili is basically saying:

you-are-it-criticizing

which English expresses as you are criticizing it.

Because Swahili can use both:

• the object marker inside the verb
• the full noun after the verb

This is normal. It often makes the object sound more specific, more definite in context, or already known in the conversation.

So unaikosoa filamu is not bad repetition. It is more like saying Why are you criticizing that/the movie? depending on context.

Yes. That is also grammatical.

The difference is roughly:

• unakosoa filamu = you are criticizing a/the movie
• unaikosoa filamu = you are criticizing it, the movie / you are criticizing that specific movie

In real use, the difference can be subtle. Adding the object marker often makes the object feel more specific or more already established in the conversation.

Filamu is a loanword, and in the singular it usually behaves like a class 9 noun.

For a singular class 9 object, the object marker is -i-. That is why you get:

• una-i-kosoa filamu

If you meant movies in the plural, the noun may still look the same, filamu, but the agreement usually changes:

• unazikosoa filamu = you are criticizing the movies

Here -zi- is the plural object marker for that noun class.

Because that is normal Swahili word order.

A basic pattern here is:

• Kwa nini = why
• unaikosoa = you are criticizing it
• filamu = the movie

So the object usually comes after the verb, just as in English:

• you criticize the movie

-na- is the present tense marker.

Depending on context, it can correspond to English:

• you are criticizing it
• you criticize it

So unaikosoa can describe something happening now or something generally true in the present.

u- means you when speaking to one person.

If you were speaking to more than one person, you would use m- instead:

• Kwa nini mnaikosoa filamu? = Why are you all criticizing the movie?

So the original sentence is addressed to one person.

The dictionary form is -kosoa, meaning to criticize.

You will often see Swahili verbs listed with a hyphen, like -kosoa, because different prefixes get added before the verb stem. In this sentence, those prefixes are what give you:

• the subject: u-
• the tense: -na-
• the object: -i-

So the full verb form becomes unaikosoa.