Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kikombe nilichokipenda sokoni kilikuwa cha bei nafuu. - The cup that I liked at the market was cheap.

ni- = I (1st person singular subject prefix)
-li- = past tense marker
-cho- = relative marker for class 7 (referring back to kikombe) – roughly “which”
-ki- = object prefix for class 7 (again referring to kikombe) – “it”
pend = verb root like / love
-a = final vowel

So:

ni-li-cho-ki-pend-a → nilichokipenda
I–PAST–which–it–like–FV → which I liked (it)

Why are both -cho- and -ki- used in nilichokipenda? Isn’t that like saying “which I it liked”?

They do different jobs:

-cho- is a relative marker, linking the verb to kikombe, the head noun of the relative clause:
- kikombe … nilichokipenda … = the cup which I liked …
-ki- is the object agreement for the same noun class (class 7):
- nilikipenda = I liked it (the cup)

When you combine them, you get:

nilichokipenda = “which I (it) liked”

So it feels redundant from an English point of view, but in Swahili it is very natural:
relative marker (-cho-) + normal object agreement (-ki-).

Can I leave out -ki- and just say Kikombe nilichopenda sokoni kilikuwa cha bei nafuu?

Yes, that is also grammatical, and many speakers say it:

Kikombe nilichopenda sokoni kilikuwa cha bei nafuu.

In that version:

-cho- alone (“which”) links the verb to kikombe, and there is no separate object prefix.

Subtle points:

With -ki- (nilichokipenda) – feels slightly more explicit/“heavier”; very common and natural.
Without -ki- (nilichopenda) – a bit lighter; also fine.

Both are understood as “the cup that I liked at the market…”. For a learner, you can safely use either, but you’ll see the -ki- version a lot in real language.

What does sokoni mean exactly, and why not just soko?

soko = market (basic noun, class 5/6)
sokoni = at the market / in the market

The -ni ending here is a locative suffix, turning a place noun into “in/at/on” that place.

So:

Niko sokoni. = I am at the market.
Alienda sokoni. = He/She went to the market.

You could also say katika soko (“in the market”), but sokoni is shorter and more idiomatic in everyday speech.

How does kilikuwa work, and why does it start with ki-?

Kilikuwa is also made of several parts:

ki- = subject prefix for noun class 7 (agreeing with kikombe)
-li- = past tense
-kuwa = be

So:

ki-li-kuwa → kilikuwa = “it (class 7) was”

We use ki- because the subject is kikombe (class 7). You cannot say ilikuwa here; i- agrees with a different class (e.g. class 9/10 nouns, like meza – table).

In cha bei nafuu, why is it cha and not ya or wa?

Cha is the associative or “of” marker that agrees with the noun class of kikombe:

kikombe is class 7
Class 7 associative form is cha

So:

kikombe cha bei nafuu = cup of cheap price / inexpensive cup

Some comparisons:

mtu wa tabia nzuri = a person of good character
kitabu cha historia = a book of history
gari la rangi nyekundu = a car of red colour

If you said ya bei nafuu, you’d be agreeing with bei (class 9), but here we are describing kikombe, so the agreement marker matches kikombe: cha.

Could I just say kilikuwa bei nafuu instead of kilikuwa cha bei nafuu?

Yes, both are possible:

Kikombe … kilikuwa bei nafuu.
- Literally: “The cup was cheap (in price).”
- bei nafuu acts almost like a predicate adjective phrase.
Kikombe … kilikuwa cha bei nafuu.
- Literally: “The cup was of cheap price.”
- cha makes bei nafuu explicitly something the cup has (a cheap price).

In everyday speech, kilikuwa bei nafuu is very common and completely natural.
cha bei nafuu sounds a bit more explicit or careful, but it’s not formal in any stiff way.

What does bei nafuu really mean? Is it just “cheap”, or is there a nuance?

Bei nafuu literally is “a reduced/favourable price” and in practice means:

affordable, reasonable, not expensive, good value

It’s usually positive or neutral, not insulting, unlike English “cheap” which can sound low-quality. For example:

Duka lile lina bei nafuu. = That shop has good/affordable prices.
Nimepata simu kwa bei nafuu. = I got a phone at a good (low) price.

If you want “cheap” with a negative feel (poor, low-quality), you’d typically use other words (like -duni, or context like vya bei ya chini sana).

Could I use ambacho instead of the -cho- in nilichokipenda?

Yes. You have two main patterns for this kind of relative clause:

Short relative (with -cho-)
- Kikombe nilichokipenda sokoni kilikuwa cha bei nafuu.
Relative with ambacho
- Kikombe ambacho nilikipenda sokoni kilikuwa cha bei nafuu.

Notes:

With ambacho, the relative marker is now a separate word, so the verb just has the normal object prefix ki-: nilikipenda.
With the -cho- version, you do not add ambacho; you choose one or the other, not both.

Meaning-wise, they are the same. Ambacho can feel a bit more explicit or slightly more formal, but both structures are standard.

Why doesn’t nafuu change with noun class like adjectives such as -zuri or -kubwa?

Many “typical” Swahili adjectives change with the noun class:

mtu mzuri, kitabu kizuri, meza nzuri (good person, good book, good table)

But nafuu is different:

It’s used largely in the fixed phrase bei nafuu.
It behaves more like an invariable descriptive word than a fully agreeing adjective.
You say: bei nafuu, gharama nafuu, etc., but not kikombe kinafuu.

In this sentence, nafuu is simply part of the fixed expression bei nafuu (“good/cheap price”), and that whole phrase is linked back to kikombe via cha:

kikombe cha bei nafuu = a cup (that is) of cheap price.