Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ningependa kusoma uhandisi, lakini ada ya chuo ni kubwa sana. - I would like to study engineering, but the college fees are very high.

This form often implies a polite or hypothetical desire, sometimes with an unspoken idea of "but I can’t" or "if it were possible." That nuance fits the contrast introduced by lakini ("but") in the sentence.

What is the difference between Ningependa and Ninapenda or Napenda?

All three use the verb penda (“to like / love”), but the time and mood are different:

Ninapenda kusoma uhandisi
- ni- (I) + -na- (present) + penda (like)
- Meaning: "I like to study engineering" / I like studying engineering (in general).
Napenda kusoma uhandisi
- Shorter colloquial form of ninapenda (same meaning)
- Also "I like to study engineering."
Ningependa kusoma uhandisi
- ni- (I) + -nge- (conditional) + penda
- Meaning: "I would like to study engineering."
- This is more hypothetical or polite, and often implies a condition or obstacle, which is then explained by lakini ada ya chuo ni kubwa sana ("but the college fees are very high").

So ningependa is less about what you currently like and more about what you would like to do (but something gets in the way).

What does kusoma mean here? Is it “to read” or “to study”?

Kusoma literally means "to read", but it is also the standard verb for "to study (at school/college)."

Context decides the exact nuance:

Ningependa kusoma uhandisi.
→ The object uhandisi ("engineering") is a field of study, so kusoma is best translated as "study":
"I would like to study engineering."
Ninapenda kusoma vitabu.
→ vitabu = books, so here kusoma is "to read":
"I like reading books."

So the verb kusoma covers both reading and studying, and context (what you are “reading/studying”) clarifies which one is meant.

Why is it kusoma uhandisi and not something like kusoma kwa uhandisi?

In Swahili, when you talk about studying a subject, you usually just place the subject directly after kusoma, as its object, without any preposition:

kusoma uhandisi = to study engineering
kusoma sheria = to study law
kusoma tiba = to study medicine
kusoma historia = to study history

Adding kwa here (kusoma kwa uhandisi) would be ungrammatical or at least very odd in standard Swahili. Kwa is not used the way English uses "for" or "in" with fields of study.

So the natural structure is simply: kusoma + [field/subject].

What kind of word is uhandisi, and why does it start with u-?

Uhandisi is a noun meaning "engineering" as a field of study / discipline.

The initial u- is a common noun prefix in Swahili that often marks:

Abstract nouns (ideas, qualities, fields)
Collective or mass nouns

Some similar patterns:

uandishi = writing (as an activity) ← from -andik- (to write)
uuguzi = nursing (profession) ← from -ugu- (be sick)
utafiti = research ← from -tafiti (to research)

With uhandisi, historically it’s related to mhandisi (an engineer – a person), but:

mhandisi = an engineer (person)
wahandisi = engineers (people, plural)
uhandisi = engineering (the field / discipline, no plural in normal use)

So uhandisi behaves like a mass noun: you don’t usually make it plural, just like "engineering" in English.

How does ada ya chuo work grammatically, and why is it ya and not something else?

Ada ya chuo is a possessive/“of” construction:

ada = fees, tuition (noun, class 9/10)
ya = "of" agreeing with ada
chuo = college / institute

In Swahili, the possessive marker (wa, ya, cha, la, etc.) agrees with the head noun, not with the noun that follows.

Here:

Head noun: ada (class 9/10) → takes ya
Possessor: chuo (class 7) → just comes after

So:

ada ya chuo = literally “fees of college”
→ natural English: "college fees" / "tuition fees."

If the head noun were different, the possessive would change:

gharama ya chuo = the cost of the college (gharama is also class 9/10 → ya)
bei ya chuo = the price of the college
mwalimu wa chuo = teacher of the college (mwalimu is class 1 → wa)

Why chuo and not shule or chuo kikuu?

All three exist but have slightly different typical uses:

shule = school (very general; often primary or secondary)
chuo = an institute / college / training institution
chuo kikuu = university

In practice:

Ada ya shule ni kubwa sana.
→ The school fees are very high (e.g., primary/secondary school).
Ada ya chuo ni kubwa sana.
→ The college / institute fees are very high.
Ada ya chuo kikuu ni kubwa sana.
→ The university fees are very high.

In your sentence, chuo by itself often implies a post-secondary institution (college-level), but context would remove any remaining ambiguity.

What does lakini do here, and can I replace it with ila?

Lakini is a conjunction meaning "but":

It introduces a contrast or obstacle to what was just said:
- Ningependa kusoma uhandisi, lakini ada ya chuo ni kubwa sana.
  → I would like to study engineering, *but the college fees are very high.*

You can often replace lakini with ila, because ila can also mean "but" in many contexts:

Ningependa kusoma uhandisi, ila ada ya chuo ni kubwa sana.

Differences:

lakini is the more standard, neutral “but”.
ila can be a bit more colloquial in some varieties and has additional meanings like "except" in certain constructions.

In this sentence, lakini and ila are both acceptable; lakini is the safest neutral choice.

How does ni kubwa sana work? What is ni, and why do kubwa and sana come after ada ya chuo?

Breakdown:

ada ya chuo = the college fees
ni = “are/is” as a copula (linking word between subject and description)
kubwa = big, large
sana = very

So:

ada ya chuo ni kubwa sana
= the college fees are very high/big

Key grammar points:

ni as “to be”:
- Used in the present tense to link a subject with a noun or adjective:
  - Juma ni mwalimu. = Juma is a teacher.
  - Ada ya chuo ni kubwa. = The college fees are high.
Adjectives follow the noun in Swahili:
- English: big house
- Swahili: nyumba kubwa (house big)
  Here, the subject is a noun phrase ada ya chuo, so the describing adjective kubwa comes after that subject phrase.
sana = very / extremely, and it normally comes after the adjective or verb it intensifies:
- kubwa sana = very big / very high
- anachelewa sana = he is very late

So the order ada ya chuo (subject) + ni (copula) + kubwa sana (description) is the normal Swahili pattern.

Could I say ada za chuo instead of ada ya chuo?

You sometimes see both ada ya chuo and ada za chuo, but they are not identical in feel.

ada ya chuo (singular ada
- ya)
- Treats ada like a mass/collective noun, similar to "tuition" or "fees" in a general sense.
- Common in phrases like ada ya shule, ada ya chuo kikuu.
- Very natural in standard usage.
ada za chuo (plural ada
- za)
- Grammatically implies multiple kinds of fees (admission fee, exam fee, accommodation fee, etc.).
- za here is the plural possessive marker for class 10 (many ada).

In everyday usage, ada is often treated like a collective even though it can be plural, so ada ya chuo is very typical and perfectly correct for "the college fees / tuition."
Use ada za chuo if you specifically want to emphasize several separate fees.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move things around, like Sana ada ya chuo ni kubwa?

For a neutral, natural sentence, the word order you have is the standard one:

Ningependa kusoma uhandisi, lakini ada ya chuo ni kubwa sana.

Some points about order:

Verb + infinitive + object:
- Ningependa (main verb) + kusoma (infinitive) + uhandisi (object of "kusoma")
- You cannot say Ningependa uhandisi kusoma – that’s ungrammatical.
Subject – copula – description:
- ada ya chuo (subject noun phrase) + ni
  - kubwa sana (description)
- Reversing it (kubwa sana ni ada ya chuo) is not normal word order in neutral statements.
sana placement:
- sana normally comes after the adjective or verb:
  - kubwa sana = very big
- Putting sana at the beginning (Sana ada ya chuo ni kubwa) is ungrammatical.

You can sometimes rearrange parts of a sentence for emphasis (especially with focus constructions), but for a learner and for neutral style, the given order is the correct one.