Hali hii ni nadra.

In Swahili, demonstratives such as this and that usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• hali hii = this situation / this condition

This is normal Swahili word order. English does the opposite, so this often feels backwards to English speakers at first.

Hali belongs to noun class 9/10. In Swahili, noun class affects the form of words that go with the noun, including demonstratives.

That is why the sentence uses hii:

• hali hii = this situation

Compare with other noun classes:

• mtu huyu = this person
• kitabu hiki = this book
• hali hii = this situation

So hii is not random; it matches the noun class of hali.

Here it is singular, because the demonstrative hii shows that.

A useful thing to know is that hali often looks the same in both singular and plural. The agreement words around it tell you the difference:

• hali hii = this situation / condition
• hali hizi = these situations / conditions

So the form hali itself does not change here, but the demonstrative does.

Ni is the copula, the word that links the subject to what is being said about it. In English, this is often translated as is, am, or are.

So the structure is:

• Hali hii = the subject
• ni = is
• nadra = rare

Together:

• Hali hii ni nadra = This situation is rare

A helpful point: ni does not change for singular or plural in this kind of sentence.

Because nadra is usually treated as an invariable descriptive word. That means it stays the same instead of taking the normal adjective agreement you see with many other Swahili adjectives.

For example, some adjectives do agree:

• mtu mzuri = a good person
• kitabu kizuri = a good book

But nadra usually stays just nadra:

• hali hii ni nadra
• matukio haya ni nadra

So even when the noun changes, nadra normally does not.

For normal learner Swahili, you should keep ni.

The standard sentence is:

• Hali hii ni nadra

Leaving out ni here would sound incomplete or nonstandard in ordinary usage. There are contexts in poetry, headlines, or very compressed styles where things may be omitted, but that is not the safe pattern to learn first.

You would usually say:

• Hali hiyo ni nadra or
• Hali ile ni nadra

Swahili often makes a distinction between different kinds of that:

• hii = this
• hiyo = that, often near the listener or already mentioned
• ile = that over there / that more distant one

So both hiyo and ile can correspond to English that, depending on context.

You change the demonstrative to the plural form:

• Hali hizi ni nadra = These situations are rare

Notice:

• hali stays hali
• hii becomes hizi
• ni stays ni
• nadra stays nadra

So the main visible change is in the demonstrative.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• ha-li hi-i ni na-dra

Roughly:

• hali ≈ HAH-lee
• hii ≈ HEE-ee
• ni ≈ nee
• nadra ≈ NAH-dra

A few useful notes:

• Swahili vowels are usually clear and pure.
• hii has two i vowels, so do not pronounce it like English high.
• The r in nadra is usually a light flap or roll, not a strong English r.