"Siku njema Esther na Rashidi"

Translation: Have a good day Esther and Rashidi

[AernJardos]

I thought day was leo?

[brjaga]

Leo means "today"

[AernJardos]

Asante!

[Khalidmoha231870]

leo is today not day

[Maggie296920]

When njema not mwema?

[Calypsiana]

Njema with asubuhi, jioni and siku. Mwema with mchana and usiku.

Someone said somewhere that it has to do with name class or something. I haven't learned about that yet, so I cannot explain the general pattern.

[alettamari1]

Now I learnt something! Thank you.

[Joanne112524]

Thank you! Finally I get it

[Ernst557459]

Adjectives ('good' in this sentence) change according to the noun class of the noun they refer to ('day'). That is why we have mchana mwema but jioni njema / usiku njema. Jioni and Usiku belong to the same noun class, mchana to another. All this will be clarified in later lessons!

[AndreaKamariny]

Yes, that's my basic question.

[Siyabonga537133]

When we use Siku as a day I thought it means night or you put together with njema to become a day

[AnnoyingBu]

No usiku is night / siku is day / leo is today

[alettamari1]

Now this was helpful. Thank you!

[Alison458809]

Thank you SO much! that makes a lot more sense now

[OweRichard1]

Have a nice day...?

[DaivikThan]

Would you say something to an elder? For example, if an elderly man or someone of tribal royalty walked into your shop and bought something, would you say "Siku njema"?

[AndreaKamariny]

Where I stay in Kenya, people hardly use any of these. And, we would not speak to an elder unless first spoken to.

[n9outtaX]

Is it not okay to seek knowledge and wisdom from an elder?

[ElizabethF711355]

You would start with "Shikamoo" which is a greeting of respect for elders. Perhaps "Shikamoo baba." Baba means grandfather but can be used for non-relatives as well.