Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kibodi yangu ni tulivu, lakini kipanya cha Juma kina kelele. - My keyboard is quiet, but Juma’s mouse is noisy.

Because kibodi belongs to noun class 9/10 (the N-class), so the possessive “my” agrees as yangu. The form changu is used with class 7/8 nouns (ki-/vi-), e.g., kitabu changu “my book.”

Correct: kibodi yangu
Correct: kitabu changu
Tip: Many loanwords end up in class 9/10 even if they start with “ki-”. The “ki-” in kibodi is part of the borrowed word, not the class 7 prefix.

If kibodi starts with “ki-”, why isn’t it class 7?

In Swahili, lots of loanwords begin with syllables that look like class prefixes but aren’t. Kibodi is treated by most speakers as class 9/10 (no visible prefix), with plural unchanged: kibodi (sg/pl). By contrast, true class 7 nouns take agreement like ki- (sg) / vi- (pl), e.g., kipanya/vipanya, kitabu/vitabu.

Why is it kipanya cha Juma (with cha), not kipanya ya Juma or kipanya wa Juma?

The possessive “of” in Swahili is formed with -a plus a class agreement prefix:

Class 7 (ki-/vi-): cha/vya → kipanya cha Juma (“Juma’s mouse” [device])
Class 9/10 (N-class): ya → e.g., nguo ya Juma (“Juma’s cloth”)
Class 1/2 (m-/wa- people): wa → mtoto wa Juma (“Juma’s child”)

Since kipanya is class 7, you must use cha: kipanya cha Juma.

What does kina mean in kipanya cha Juma kina kelele?

Kina is the present-tense subject agreement for class 7 with the verb kuwa na (“to have/be with”). So kipanya … kina kelele literally “the mouse has noise,” i.e., “is noisy.”
Compare:

Class 9/10: ina → kibodi ina kelele (if you wanted to say the keyboard is noisy)
Class 1 (person): ana → mtu ana kelele (person is noisy)

Is ni tulivu the only way to say “is quiet”? Could I say iko kimya or haina kelele?

Several natural options exist, each with a nuance:

ni tulivu = “is calm/quiet” (adjectival, general property)
iko kimya = “is silent/quiet right now” (state/location verb; very common with kimya)
haina kelele = “doesn’t have noise” (negated “have”)
haitoi/haleti kelele = “doesn’t emit/produce noise” (more physical/causal)

What’s the difference between kelele and kupiga/toa kelele?

kelele = “noise” (a mass noun; often thought of as plural-like but used as a mass)
kuwa na kelele = “to have noise” → “to be noisy”
kupiga/kuleta/kutoa kelele = “to make/bring/emit noise”
So you can say: kipanya kina kelele (is noisy) or kipanya kinatoa kelele (emits noise).

Can I say kipanya cha Juma kinapiga kelele?

Yes. Kinapiga kelele (or kinatoa/kinaleta kelele) is very natural and often more vivid than kina kelele. All mean it makes noise/is noisy.

Does tulivu need an agreement prefix, like kitulivu?

No. Many common adjectives (e.g., safi, chafu, rahisi, ghali, tulivu) don’t take the class prefix when used predicatively. So you say:

kibodi yangu ni tulivu
mji huu ni tulivu When used attributively before/after a noun, the form still doesn’t change: mji tulivu. (By contrast, stems like -zuri, -kubwa do take agreement: kizuri, mzuri, etc.)

What’s the difference between panya and kipanya?

panya = “mouse/rat” (the animal), class 9/10, plural also panya
kipanya = the computer mouse, class 7, plural vipanya
Some speakers also use the loan mause/mause for the device, but kipanya is widely understood.

How would I make the whole sentence plural?

“My keyboards are quiet, but Juma’s mice are noisy.”
Possible rendering:
Kibodi zangu ni tulivu, lakini vipanya vya Juma vina kelele.
Notes:
kibodi (class 9/10) stays the same in plural; agreements change: zangu (pl), and still ni tulivu.
kipanya → vipanya (class 7→8), so vya (of) and vina (have) agree in class 8.

Why is it yangu with kibodi but cha with kipanya in the same sentence?

Two different constructions, two different agreement systems:

yangu is a possessive pronoun (“my”) agreeing with the head noun’s class: kibodi (9/10) → yangu.
cha Juma is the associative “of Juma,” which uses the -a + class prefix agreeing with the head noun: kipanya (class 7) → cha.
So the surface forms differ because the head nouns belong to different classes and the functions (pronoun vs. “of”) are different.

Can I use ila instead of lakini?

Yes. ila also means “but/except,” and is common in speech and writing. Your sentence would be fine as:

Kibodi yangu ni tulivu, ila kipanya cha Juma kina kelele.
Another contrastive option is bali, which often contrasts qualities: … si … bali …

Could I say kibodi yangu iko tulivu?

It’s understood, but less idiomatic. With adjectives like tulivu, rahisi, ghali, Swahili typically uses ni (the copula) rather than -ko forms. Use iko primarily for location/existence or states commonly paired with it (e.g., iko kimya, iko wazi, iko tayari). So prefer:

kibodi yangu ni tulivu
but: kibodi yangu iko kimya is fine.

Is kelele singular or plural?

It’s an N-class mass noun that often behaves like a plural concept (“noises”), but you don’t need to mark singular/plural. You can quantify it:

kelele nyingi = a lot of noise
kelele kidogo = a little noise
With “have,” match the subject’s class, not kelele’s: kipanya kina kelele, vipanya vina kelele, kibodi ina kelele (if needed).