Utungaji wa swali uko wazi.

Utungaji is a noun derived from the verb kutunga, which can mean to compose, to formulate, to devise, or to put together.

In this sentence, utungaji is best understood as something like:

• formulation
• wording
• composition

So it refers to the way the question has been put together.

Wa is the connective often translated as of.

So:

• utungaji wa swali = the formulation of the question

A very important point: this connector agrees with the first noun (utungaji), not the second one (swali). That is why you get wa here.

Because the connector is controlled by utungaji, not by swali.

Even though swali belongs to a different noun class, that does not determine the form of the connector here. The head noun is utungaji, which takes the connector wa.

So the structure is:

• [head noun] + associative connector agreeing with the head noun + [second noun]

That is why wa swali is correct.

Utungaji is a u- noun. In many grammar descriptions, nouns like this are treated as belonging to the u- class (often analyzed as class 11 or 14, depending on the grammar).

This matters because it controls agreement in the sentence. That is why the verb-like form is:

• u-ko → uko

The u- part agrees with utungaji.

Uko is made up of:

• u- = agreement with utungaji
• -ko = a form of to be often used for state or location

Here, uko wazi means that the formulation is in a clear/open state.

So uko is there because the subject is utungaji, and Swahili shows that agreement directly.

You may hear ni wazi in Swahili, and it often means it is clear or it is obvious.

However, uko wazi is a very natural way to describe the state of a noun like utungaji. It shows explicit agreement with the subject.

A simple way to think about it is:

• uko wazi = the wording/formulation is clear
• ni wazi = it is clear / it is obvious

So uko wazi fits the structure of this sentence very well.

Literally, wazi often means open. But in many contexts it also means:

• clear
• plain
• obvious
• unambiguous

With something like utungaji wa swali, the most natural sense is clear or clearly worded.

There is no separate word for the here because Swahili usually does not use articles the way English does.

So:

• swali can mean a question or the question
• utungaji wa swali can mean the formulation of a question or the formulation of the question

The exact meaning depends on context.

You would change swali to maswali:

• Utungaji wa maswali uko wazi.

Notice that wa stays the same. That is because it still agrees with utungaji, not with maswali.

Also, uko stays the same, because the subject is still utungaji, which is singular.

Yes. This is a normal Swahili order.

The structure is:

• Utungaji wa swali = the noun phrase / subject
• uko wazi = the predicate

So the sentence is built in a straightforward way:

• subject + predicate

Nothing unusual is happening with the order here.