Daraja ni refu.

• daraja = bridge
• ni = is in this kind of simple sentence
• refu = long

So the structure is basically bridge + is + long.

Ni is the linking word, like the verb to be in English. It connects the subject to a description.

So:

• Daraja ni refu = The bridge is long

In this kind of sentence, ni does not change for singular or plural:

• Daraja ni refu = The bridge is long
• Madaraja ni marefu = The bridges are long

Yes, but then it usually becomes a noun phrase, not a full statement.

• daraja refu = a long bridge / the long bridge
• Daraja ni refu = The bridge is long

So if you want a complete sentence saying that the bridge has the quality of being long, keep ni.

Because adjectives in Swahili agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

Daraja belongs to class 5 in the singular. With the adjective stem -refu, the class 5 singular form is refu.

Compare:

• daraja refu = long bridge
• mtu mrefu = tall person

Here mtu is a different noun class, so the adjective form changes to mrefu.

The plural of daraja is madaraja.

The adjective also changes to match the plural noun class:

• Daraja ni refu = The bridge is long
• Madaraja ni marefu = The bridges are long

So:

• singular: daraja ... refu
• plural: madaraja ... marefu

Swahili usually does not use articles like English a and the.

So daraja can mean:

• a bridge
• the bridge

The exact meaning depends on context. In a sentence like Daraja ni refu, English often translates it as The bridge is long, but Swahili itself does not need a separate word for the.

It can mean either, depending on what noun it describes.

• with a bridge, road, or journey, it usually means long
• with a person or tree, it often means tall

So in Daraja ni refu, refu is best understood as long.

That is normal in Swahili. Not every noun shows its class clearly in the singular form.

Daraja is a class 5 noun even though it does not visibly start with ji-. Many class 5 nouns have no obvious singular prefix. The plural often makes the class easier to see:

• singular: daraja
• plural: madaraja

So learners often recognize its class from the plural and from the agreement pattern.

A simple guide is:

da-RA-ja ni RE-fu

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Swahili stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable
• j sounds like the j in jam
• each vowel is usually pronounced clearly:
  • a as in father
  • i as in machine
  • e as in bed or slightly tenser
  • u as in rule

So say it smoothly as da-RA-ja ni RE-fu.