Nataka kuhoji bili ya umeme.

It is built into nataka.

The full form is ninataka:

• ni- = I
• -na- = present tense marker
• -taka = want

In everyday Swahili, nataka is a very common shortened form of ninataka. So you do not need a separate subject pronoun unless you want extra emphasis. If you did add one, it would be Mimi nataka..., but that is usually only for emphasis.

After nataka meaning I want, Swahili normally uses the infinitive form of the next verb.

So:

• hoji = question, challenge, interrogate
• kuhoji = to question, to challenge, to dispute

This works much like English want to....
So nataka kuhoji means I want to question/dispute.

In this sentence, kuhoji suggests more than just asking a simple question. It often has the sense of:

• questioning something
• challenging something
• disputing something
• raising doubts about something

So with a bill, it can imply that the speaker thinks the bill may be wrong or wants it reviewed.

If the idea is only I want to ask about the electricity bill, a softer and more neutral choice might be:

• Nataka kuuliza kuhusu bili ya umeme

So kuhoji is a bit stronger than kuuliza.

Word for word, it is:

• bili = bill
• ya = of, for
• umeme = electricity

So literally it is bill of electricity, but in natural English that becomes electricity bill.

Also, bili is a loanword from English bill.

Ya is the linking word that connects bili and umeme.

In Swahili, this kind of connector agrees with the first noun, not the second one. Here, the head noun is bili, and that noun takes ya.

So:

• bili ya umeme = electricity bill

This is a very common pattern in Swahili noun phrases.

For a learner, the easiest way to think of it is:

• ya often works like of in English
• but its exact form depends on the noun class of the first noun

Swahili does not have articles like the or a/an.

So bili ya umeme can mean:

• the electricity bill
• an electricity bill
• simply electricity bill

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is very normal in Swahili, and learners often need to get used to understanding definiteness from the situation instead of from a separate word.

The overall order is actually fairly close to English:

• Nataka = I want
• kuhoji = to question/dispute
• bili ya umeme = the electricity bill

So the sentence follows this pattern:

• I want + to verb + object

What feels different is that the subject I is built into the verb instead of appearing as a separate word.

You would say:

• bili yangu ya umeme

So the full sentence would be:

• Nataka kuhoji bili yangu ya umeme

Here:

• yangu = my

Again, the possessive agrees with bili, not with umeme.

It is understandable, especially if the idea is I want to dispute the electricity bill.

But if you mean a customer-service type of inquiry, many speakers might prefer something slightly softer or more specific, such as:

• Nataka kuuliza kuhusu bili ya umeme = I want to ask about the electricity bill
• Ningependa kuuliza kuhusu bili yangu ya umeme = I would like to ask about my electricity bill
• Nina swali kuhusu bili ya umeme = I have a question about the electricity bill

So kuhoji is fine if you mean challenge/dispute, but not always the best choice if you only mean ask about.

A common way is to replace nataka with ningependa, which means I would like.

For example:

• Ningependa kuhoji bili ya umeme
• Ningependa kuuliza kuhusu bili yangu ya umeme

You can also add tafadhali for extra politeness, depending on the situation.

So:

• nataka = direct, plain
• ningependa = more polite and softer