wewe

In Swahili, you do not need to use a separate word for 'you' in every sentence. The verb itself tells us who is doing the action through the u- subject prefix in affirmative sentences, or the hu- prefix in standard present negative sentences (remembering to also change the final vowel from -a to -i, so unasoma becomes husomi). For example, unasoma means 'you are reading' all by itself.

So, when do we use the independent pronoun wewe?

• For Emphasis or Clarification: When you want to stress that you are the one doing something, or to clarify who you are asking.
• For Contrast: To compare what you are doing with someone else (e.g., 'I am reading, but you are sleeping').
• With 'ni' (to be): When saying 'You are...', you can use wewe with the present copula ni (e.g., Wewe ni mwalimu - You are a teacher). For strong emphasis, you can use the single-word emphatic copula ndiwe (it is you / you are the one). Note that Swahili also allows the subject prefix u- to be used directly with adjectives or nouns to express state (e.g., u mzima? - are you well?), but it functions as a bound subject prefix, not a standalone copula like ni.
• With the Habitual Tense: The habitual hu- tense (meaning 'usually does') does not use subject prefixes and looks the same for everyone. Therefore, you must use wewe to clarify that 'you' are the one doing the action (e.g., Wewe husoma - You usually read).

Important Notes:
1. Wewe is strictly for one person. If you are talking to a group, use nyinyi (also spelled ninyi) instead.
2. When 'you' is the receiver of the action (the object), Swahili uses the mandatory -ku- object marker inside the verb (e.g., ninakupenda - I love you). In Standard Swahili, this remains -ku- before vowels (e.g., ninakuambia - I am telling you, ninakuona - I see you), though in spoken Swahili it is very frequently contracted to -kw- before 'a' (e.g., ninakwambia). You can still add wewe alongside the object marker for heavy emphasis (e.g., ninakupenda wewe - I love you).
3. When combined with the conjunction na (and/with), you can say na wewe (which is very common in everyday speech) or use the optional contraction nawe.
4. To say 'your' or 'yours', do not use wewe. Instead, use the possessive stem -ako with the appropriate noun class agreement (e.g., kitabu chako - your book).
5. To say 'to you', 'for you', or 'at your place', do not say kwa wewe. Instead, use the locative possessive kwako.
6. In everyday spoken Swahili, wewe is frequently shortened to we (e.g., We vipi? - How are you doing?).