Kasoro ilikuwa mbaya kiasi kwamba tuliomba marejesho.

Ilikuwa means it was.

It breaks down like this:

• i- = subject marker for a singular class 9 noun
• -li- = past tense
• -kuwa = to be

So kasoro ilikuwa literally means the defect/fault was.

The i- refers back to kasoro.

Because mbaya agrees with the noun class of kasoro.

Kasoro is a class 9 noun, and class 9 nouns often make adjectives take an m-/n- type agreement form. So with the adjective stem -baya (bad), you get:

• kasoro mbaya = a bad defect
• nyumba mbaya = a bad house

If the noun belonged to a different class, the adjective form could change. So mbaya is not random; it matches kasoro.

It is singular here.

You can tell from the verb:

• ilikuwa = it was → singular
• zilikuwa = they were → plural for many class 9/10 nouns

So:

• Kasoro ilikuwa mbaya = The defect was bad
• Kasoro zilikuwa mbaya = The defects were bad

With many class 9/10 nouns, the noun itself often looks the same in singular and plural, so agreement words like the verb help you tell the difference.

Kiasi kwamba means so...that or to such an extent that.

In this sentence:

• mbaya kiasi kwamba = so bad that

A helpful way to understand it is:

• kiasi = amount / extent
• kwamba = that

So the phrase introduces a result:

• It was so bad that...
• It was bad to the extent that...

This is a very natural way in Swahili to connect a degree with its consequence.

Tuliomba means we asked or we requested.

It breaks down like this:

• tu- = we
• -li- = past tense
• -omba = ask / request

So:

• tuliomba = we asked
• tuliomba marejesho = we asked for a refund / return

That is a very common thing learners notice.

Marejesho has the ma- prefix, which often belongs to class 6 and often looks plural. But in actual usage, marejesho can refer to the idea of refunds/returns/reimbursement in a general or business sense, and in English that is often best translated as a refund.

So even though English uses a singular noun, Swahili may use:

• tuliomba marejesho = we asked for a refund

Depending on context, marejesho can also suggest:

• returns
• reimbursement
• money back

So the translation depends a little on the situation.

Because Swahili does not normally use articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• kasoro can mean a defect, the defect, or just defect
• marejesho can mean refund, a refund, or the refund, depending on context

The listener usually understands the intended meaning from the situation, not from a separate article word.

Yes, fairly similar.

The sentence is:

• Kasoro = subject
• ilikuwa = was
• mbaya = bad
• kiasi kwamba = so...that
• tuliomba marejesho = we asked for a refund

So the structure is basically:

Subject + was + adjective + so...that + result clause

That is quite close to English:

The defect was so bad that we asked for a refund.

The biggest differences are:

• no article words like the
• noun class agreement
• the fixed phrase kiasi kwamba

Yes. Kasoro can mean things like:

• defect
• fault
• flaw
• imperfection
• problem in some contexts

So the best English translation depends on what kind of thing is being discussed.

For example:

• for a product: defect
• for workmanship: flaw
• for a system or process: fault or problem

In natural English, it means we asked for a refund.

Swahili often uses -omba directly with the thing being requested, without needing a separate word exactly like English for.

So:

• kuomba msaada = to ask for help
• kuomba ruhusa = to ask for permission
• kuomba marejesho = to ask for a refund

So even if the English translation needs for, Swahili does not have to include an extra word there.

Yes, it is natural and clear.

It sounds like a normal written or spoken sentence, especially in customer-service or product-related contexts. It expresses:

1. there was a defect,
2. the defect was serious,
3. as a result, a refund was requested.

So it is a good example of how Swahili expresses cause and result in a smooth, natural way.