"How is home grandmother?"

Translation: Habari za nyumbani bibi?

[JerrickGon]

what is the difference between za and ya

[MeghanMage]

Za is for when "habari" is plural, ya is for singular. Either is acceptable and means the same thing in this case.

[deactivated user]

This sentence, as well as some of the other sentences in this lesson, could definitely do with commas in the English versions - "How is home, grandmother?" looks a lot better and is easier to understand.

[SumedhHambarde]

why nyumbani and not nyumba?

[StanleyStagg]

I'm very confused. Sometimes, you're supposed to say "Bibi, habari za nyumbni" and other times you're supposed to say "Habari za nyumbani bibi"? What is the difference? I keep getting marked wrong for this.

[MeghanMage]

There isn't a difference; you should just report it as Swahili is still in Beta.

[ASF140794]

Why is it 'Habari za nyumbani bibi?' and not 'Habari ni nyumbani bibi?' ?

[MeghanMage]

Habari is literally "news." So you are not asking "how is home" verbatim. You are really saying "News of home, grandma?"

[NissanBarbarroja]

It said "nyanya" for "bibi" ... Is that normal?

[Drasher]

It's a dialectical difference between kenyan and tanzanian swahili. Not normal in tanzania, but absolutely normal in kenya. Don't remember what bibi usually means in kenya, but I believe it is something completely different.

[tiffanymobisa]

I don't think so as "nyanya" means tomatoes

[jyveturkie]

Nyanya also means grandmother. Ive been cautioned to pay attention to context with this word.

[Ronnie837781]

why is Habari ya nyumbani bibi not correct?

[RamanJames1]

What Does Na mean in a sentence like this

[Airport1.de]

for this ya (singular) vs za (plural) form of "of" see also:
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/21209713/Habari-ya-leo

[michelle51117]

Bibi should be nyanya

[Ayana330815]

My Kenyan husband says bibi is wife, not grandmother