Hizi meza ni mpya.

Hizi is the demonstrative for a plural noun in the class 10 pattern, so it means these.

The noun meza belongs to the class 9/10 group:

• singular: class 9
• plural: class 10

So:

• hii meza / meza hii = this table
• hizi meza / meza hizi = these tables

Here it is plural, but the form meza itself does not change between singular and plural.

That is very common in Swahili noun classes 9 and 10. The noun often looks the same in both numbers, and the agreement words tell you whether it is singular or plural.

So:

• meza hii = this table
• meza hizi = these tables

Because Swahili does not make plurals with one general ending like English does.

Instead, Swahili shows number through noun class agreement. In this sentence, plural is shown by hizi, not by changing meza itself.

So the plural meaning comes from the whole pattern, not just the noun:

• hii meza = singular
• hizi meza = plural

Ni is the copula here, roughly equivalent to English is/are.

So in this sentence it links the subject hizi meza with the description mpya.

You can think of the structure as:

• hizi meza = subject
• ni = are
• mpya = predicate adjective

In this kind of present-tense sentence, Swahili uses ni for both is and are.

So:

• Meza hii ni mpya = This table is new
• Meza hizi ni mpya = These tables are new

English changes between is and are, but Swahili does not here.

The basic adjective stem is -pya, meaning new. In Swahili, adjectives agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

With class 9/10 nouns like meza, the adjective appears as mpya.

So:

• meza mpya = new table or new tables, depending on context
• hizi meza ni mpya = the tables are new

For this noun class, the singular and plural adjective form often looks the same.

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

Instead, definiteness is understood from context or from words like demonstratives.

In this sentence, hizi already points to specific tables, so English naturally uses these tables.

A very common basic order in Swahili is noun + demonstrative, so many learners will often see:

meza hizi ni mpya

That is a very natural way to say these tables are new.

Hizi meza ni mpya is still understandable, but it can sound more emphatic or more focused on these. So for beginners, it is useful to remember that meza hizi is the more neutral pattern.

You would say:

Meza hii ni mpya.

That means This table is new.

The main change is:

• plural hizi → singular hii

Not most naturally.

Hizi meza ni mpya means These tables are new.

If you want These are new tables, a more natural Swahili sentence is:

Hizi ni meza mpya.

That changes the structure:

• Hizi = These
• ni = are
• meza mpya = new tables

Not if you want a full sentence meaning are new.

Without ni, you would just have something like hizi meza mpya, which sounds more like a noun phrase such as these new tables, not a complete statement.

So:

• hizi meza mpya = these new tables
• hizi meza ni mpya = these tables are new

It is pronounced roughly M-pyah.

A few tips:

• pronounce the m
• do not insert a vowel between m and p
• the py is a consonant cluster, said smoothly together

So it is closer to m-pyah than to mu-pee-ya.