"How is home, dad?"

Translation: Habari za nyumbani baba ?

[LobsangC]

Why do we need the 'za' now, when before DL presented its own correct sentence without 'za', just -Habari nyumbani? Is it because of the 'baba', so then it needs the 'za'? Does anyone know? I dislike getting things wrong because I happen to remember what I was taught. I would like to see a little more logic and consistency in this particular course. No other course that I am taking is so misleading.

[ngwarai]

The course still being in beta will need our contributions to improve. 'za' is needed because of 'habari' and not because of baba. Here 'za' means 'of' in English. Please note that 'za' will change to 'ya, la, cha, vya' for different subjects depending on what noun classes they are from.
Examples:
Chakula cha mtoto = The child's food ( literally 'food of child'),
Vitabu vya wanafunzi = Students' books (litetally 'books of students')

[Greta0506]

Thanks for the explanation! Is there any rule to understand which one you use and when?

[Daleswords]

I put "Habari ya nyumbani," instead of, "Habari za nyumbani", and it accepted it. Now, i think that is incorrect, but am more confused than before. Are both prefixes correct with nyumba or is this an error in the database?

[Martin633120]

Good explanation, ngwarai, thanks!
I think it must also be accepted to write "Baba habari za nyumbani?" But DL rejects this choice of word order.

[BinibiniMarikit]

"Baba" is also the Tagalog term for "down" and "cheek".