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Chaja ya simu ya Asha ni fupi sana.

Chaja ya simu ya Asha ni fupi sana.
Asha’s phone charger is very short.

Breakdown of Chaja ya simu ya Asha ni fupi sana.

ni
to be
Asha
Asha
simu
the phone
ya
of
fupi
short
sana
very
chaja
the charger
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Questions & Answers about Chaja ya simu ya Asha ni fupi sana.

Why is there two instances of the word ya, and what do they do?

Each ya is the associative “of” linker (-a) agreeing with the immediately preceding noun:

  • chaja ya simu = charger of phone
  • simu ya Asha = phone of Asha

So the whole chain reads left to right: charger of (phone of Asha).

Why is it ya and not wa/cha/la/za?

The -a “of” linker changes form to agree with the head noun’s class.

  • chaja (charger) is class 9 → take ya: chaja ya …
  • simu (phone) is class 9 → take ya: simu ya …

A quick mini–cheat sheet (singular → plural):

  • Class 1/2 (mtu/watu): wa — mtoto wa Asha; watoto wa Asha
  • Class 3/4 (mti/miti): wa/ya — mti wa shamba; miti ya shamba
  • Class 5/6 (gari/magari): la/ya — gari la Asha; magari ya Asha
  • Class 7/8 (kisu/visu): cha/vya — kisu cha jikoni; visu vya jikoni
  • Class 9/10 (simu/simu): ya/za — simu ya Asha; simu za Asha
Could I say Chaja ya Asha ya simu instead?

No. In Swahili, you link things in the order “head of (modifier of possessor).” So you say:

  • chaja ya simu ya Asha = charger of (phone of Asha) Putting ya Asha right after chaja would suggest “charger of Asha,” then “of phone,” which is unnatural.
Does ya agree with “Asha” (because Asha is a person)?
No. The form of -a (here: ya) agrees with the head noun, not with the possessor. In simu ya Asha, the head is simu (class 9), so you use ya. If the head were a class 1 noun like rafiki, you’d use wa: rafiki wa Asha.
What does ni do here? Is it required?

ni is the present-tense copula “is/are.” In clear, standard statements linking a subject to an adjective or noun, you use ni:

  • Chaja … ni fupi sana. = The charger is very short.

The negative of ni is si:

  • Chaja … si fupi. = The charger is not short.

Colloquially, some speakers may drop ni, but learners should keep it.

Where does sana go, and what does it mean?

sana means “very” and comes after the adjective or verb it modifies:

  • fupi sana = very short
  • anapenda sana = he/she likes it a lot

It doesn’t go before the adjective.

Why is it fupi and not mfupi?

Adjectives in Swahili take different class markers. With class 1 nouns (people), you often see an m-/wa- pattern:

  • mtu mfupi (a short person), watu wafupi (short people)

But with class 9 nouns like chaja or simu, the adjective typically has no extra prefix for this adjective:

  • chaja fupi, simu fupi Predicatively, you keep the same class behavior:
  • Chaja … ni fupi. If the subject were class 1, you’d say: Mtoto ni mfupi.
Could simu ya Asha mean “Asha’s phone call” as well as “Asha’s phone”?

Yes, simu can mean “phone” or “(phone) call.” Context disambiguates:

  • chaja ya simu clearly points to a physical phone, not a call.
  • Nilipokea simu ya Asha would naturally mean “I received a call from Asha.”
Can I shorten it to just Chaja ya Asha ni fupi sana?
Yes, that means “Asha’s charger is very short.” It’s fine if the context already makes it clear which kind of charger you’re talking about. Adding ya simu specifies it’s a phone charger.
How would I say “Asha’s phone charger is too short”?

Use mno for “excessively/too (much)”:

  • Chaja ya simu ya Asha ni fupi mno. You could also say: … ni fupi sana kupita kiasi (very short, beyond measure), but mno is the compact, idiomatic choice.
How do I make this plural (chargers/phones)?

Both chaja and simu are class 9/10, so the plural “of” linker changes to class 10 forms:

  • Chargers of Asha’s phones are very short:
    • Chaja za simu za Asha ni fupi sana. Note the linkers: za for plural head nouns in class 10.
If I want to talk about the cable being short rather than the whole charger, how do I say that?

Use a specific word for cable/wire, then link it:

  • Waya wa chaja ya simu ya Asha ni mfupi sana.
    • waya (wire/cable) is class 11/14 in many varieties; you’ll commonly hear wa as the linker here. You might also hear kebo (loanword “cable”): Kebo ya chaja … ni fupi sana.
Is there any ambiguity about who owns what in this chain?

No. The structure binds tightly from left to right:

  • chaja ya [simu ya Asha] = charger of [Asha’s phone] By default, it’s Asha who owns the phone, and the charger belongs to that phone.
Are there alternative intensifiers besides sana?

Yes:

  • kabisa (completely/absolutely): ni fupi kabisa (very/absolutely short; emphatic)
  • mno (excessively/too): ni fupi mno (too short)
  • sana sana (very very): informal emphasis.