Learn Hardcore Swahili: Pazia jepesi lenye mistari ya bluu linawacha mwanga mwingi uingie chumbani. - The light curtain with blue stripes lets a lot of light enter the room.

pazia is class 5 (JI-/LI- class).
For class 5, -epesi takes the prefix j-, giving jepesi.
nyepesi is the form used with N-class nouns (class 9/10), e.g.:
- kazi nyepesi – light/easy work
- nguo nyepesi – light clothes

So with pazia (class 5), the correct agreement is pazia jepesi.

What does lenye mean in pazia jepesi lenye mistari ya bluu?

-enye is a special relative adjective meaning having / with. It must agree with the noun class of the noun it describes.

The head noun is pazia (class 5).
The class‑5 form of -enye is lenye.

So pazia jepesi lenye mistari ya bluu literally means:

“a light curtain having blue stripes”
i.e. “a light curtain with blue stripes”.

Other examples of -enye:

chumba chenye dirisha – a room with a window (class 7: chenye)
vitabu vyenye picha – books with pictures (class 8: vyenye)

Why is it mistari ya bluu and not mistari wa bluu?

The little word ya is a genitive marker (a possessive/“of” linker) that must agree with the class of the first noun.

mstari (line/stripe) is class 3; mistari is its class‑4 plural (prefix mi-).
Class 4 uses ya for “of”.

So:

mistari ya bluu = “stripes of blue / blue stripes”.

wa is used with class 1/2 (people) and a few other patterns, e.g.:

mtoto wa mwalimu – the teacher’s child
wanafunzi wa shule – students of the school

Here the head noun is mistari (class 4), so ya is the correct choice, not wa.

Why does the verb start with li- in linawacha?

The li- at the beginning of linawacha is the subject prefix agreeing with pazia.

pazia is class 5.
The present‑tense verb structure is:
[subject prefix] + na + [verb root]

So:

li- (class‑5 subject) + na (present) + wacha (root)
→ linawacha – “it (class‑5 thing) lets/leaves”.

If the subject were class 9, for example meza (table), you would see:

meza inawacha… – i- is the class‑9 subject prefix.

What is the difference between -wacha and -acha?

Both are related verbs meaning “leave / let / stop,” but -acha is the standard dictionary form.

kuacha – to leave, to let, to stop doing something.
kuwacha (with w) appears in some regional / colloquial usage with a similar meaning, especially in East Africa.

In this sentence linawacha mwanga mwingi uingie means roughly:

“it lets a lot of light enter” / “it leaves a lot of light to enter”.

In more formal Swahili you are likely to see:

linaacha mwanga mwingi uingie
or a different verb:
linaruhusu mwanga mwingi uingie – it allows a lot of light to enter.

Why is it mwanga mwingi and not mwanga mengi?

The adjective “a lot of, much/many” comes from the root -ingi, and it changes form based on noun class.

mwanga (light) is class 3.
Class‑3 singular takes the form mwingi.

So:

mwanga mwingi – a lot of light / much light.

Some patterns with -ingi:

class 3: mwanga mwingi, mti mwingi (a lot of light, a big/much tree – often “plenty of”)
class 4: mianga mingi, miti mingi – many rays/trees
class 6 (ma‑): maji mengi, mapazia mengi – a lot of water, many curtains

mengi is the form that goes with ma- nouns (class 6), e.g. maji mengi, so it does not fit mwanga (class 3).

Why is uingie in the form -ingie and not -ingia or unaingia?

uingie is a subjunctive form of the verb kuingia (to enter).

u- is the subject prefix for class 3 here, referring back to mwanga (light).
-ingie (final -e) is the subjunctive ending, not the normal -a.

So mwanga mwingi uingie chumbani literally is:

“(so that) much light may enter the room.”

This subjunctive is used after verbs like kuacha / kuruhusu / kuwacha, to express purpose or allowance:

anaruhusu watoto waingie – he allows the children to enter.
linawacha mwanga mwingi uingie – it lets a lot of light enter.

Using unaingia would make it a separate statement: “a lot of light is entering,” not a purpose clause.

What is the difference between mwanga mwingi uingie and mwanga mwingi unaingia?

mwanga mwingi uingie – uses the subjunctive and depends on the previous verb:
- linawacha mwanga mwingi uingie chumbani
  “it lets a lot of light enter the room” (purpose/allowance).
mwanga mwingi unaingia – independent present tense:
- “a lot of light is entering.”

If you said linawacha mwanga mwingi unaingia chumbani, it would sound like two clauses running together awkwardly: “it lets a lot of light is entering the room.” To show “what is allowed to happen,” Swahili prefers the subjunctive: uingie.

Is chumbani different from katika chumba?

Both express the idea of “in the room,” but they use different structures:

chumbani = chumba
- -ni (locative suffix)
- can mean “in the room / into the room / at the room,” depending on context.
- In this sentence, with kuingia, it is understood as “into the room.”
katika chumba – “in/inside the room,” using the preposition katika.

You could say:

linawacha mwanga mwingi uingie chumbani
or
linawacha mwanga mwingi uingie katika chumba.

chumbani is a bit more compact and very common.

How would the sentence change if we talked about curtains in the plural instead of one curtain?

You need to change the noun and all agreeing words from class 5 (singular) to class 6 (plural):

pazia → mapazia (class 6)
jepesi (class‑5 agreement) → mepesi (class‑6 agreement)
lenye (class‑5 -enye) → yenye (class‑6 -enye)
verb subject prefix li- (class 5) → ya- (class 6)

So a correct plural version would be:

Mapazia mepesi yenye mistari ya bluu yanawacha mwanga mwingi uingie chumbani.
“Light curtains with blue stripes let a lot of light enter the room.”

Notice that mwanga mwingi uingie chumbani stays the same, because mwanga is still singular/mass (the amount of light doesn’t become plural just because the curtains are plural).