Chai hii haitoshi.

This tea is not enough.

Breakdown of Chai hii haitoshi.

• chai: the tea
• hii: this
• kutosha: to be enough

Questions & Answers about Chai hii haitoshi.

Why is hii placed after the noun chai rather than before like in English?

In Swahili demonstrative adjectives always follow the noun they modify. So instead of “this tea” (demonstrative + noun) you say chai hii (noun + demonstrative).

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How do I know to use hii instead of hiyo or huyu with chai?

Swahili nouns belong to different classes, and each class has its own set of demonstratives. Chai is class 9 (things like tea, sugar, etc.). For class 9 you use:
• hii for “this (near me)”
• hiyo for “that (near you)”
By contrast, huyu is the class 1 form (used for people).

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What does haitoshi break down into, and what does each part mean?

haitoshi = ha- + -i- + tosh + -i
• ha- = negative prefix (“not”)
• -i- = class 9 subject concord (“it”)
• tosh = verb root “to suffice/be enough”
• -i = negative-present final suffix
Altogether it means “it is not enough.”

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Why does the verb end in -i instead of the usual -a?

In the negative present tense Swahili drops the final -a of the infinitive and replaces it with -i. So tosh-a (to suffice) → tosh-i in negative present.

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I don’t see a separate word for “it.” Why is there no pronoun for “it” in “haitoshi”?

Swahili verbs carry subject concords (prefixes) that indicate the person or class of the subject. Here -i- inside hai-toshi stands for “it” (class 9). No extra pronoun is needed.

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Could I write hii chai haitoshi instead of chai hii haitoshi?

The normal, unmarked word order is noun + demonstrative (chai hii). Putting hii before chai sounds marked or emphatic and is rarely used in neutral speech.

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How would I say “This tea was not enough” (past tense) in Swahili?

In past negative you use -ku- as the tense marker. For class 9 this gives:
chai hii hakutoshi
• ha- negative prefix
• -ku- past tense marker
• tosh root
• -i negative final suffix

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How can I turn this into the question “Is this tea enough?”

Switch to the affirmative present and add the question particle -je (optional):
chai hii inatosha-je?
or simply
chai hii inatosha?