Learn Hardcore Swahili: Chakula chetu cha jioni kiliandaliwa mapema na mpishi wa hoteli. - Our dinner was prepared early by the hotel cook.

Putting chetu right after chakula shows clearly that the food belongs to us.
The cha jioni part then further describes which food (the evening meal).

chakula cha jioni chetu is not how Swahili speakers would normally say it; it sounds wrong or at least very unnatural. The possessive (chetu) wants to be immediately after the noun it owns.

Why is the possessive chetu (our) used here, and not wetu?

Possessive adjectives in Swahili agree with the noun class of the noun they modify.

chakula belongs to noun class 7.
The “our” form for class 7 is chetu.

Very simplified “our” forms:

Class 1 (mtu) → wetu (e.g. mtoto wetu – our child)
Class 2 (watu) → wetu (e.g. watoto wetu – our children)
Class 7 (kitu) → chetu (e.g. chakula chetu – our food)
Class 8 (vitu) → vyetu (e.g. vyakula vyetu – our foods)

So:

chakula chetu = our food (correct, class 7)
chakula wetu = wrong, because wetu does not agree with class 7.

What exactly does cha jioni mean, and why is it used for “dinner”?

Literally:

cha = of (agreeing with class 7 noun chakula)
jioni = evening

So chakula cha jioni literally means food of the evening, i.e. evening meal, which in English is normally translated as dinner or supper depending on context.

Common meal expressions:

chakula cha asubuhi – morning food → breakfast
chakula cha mchana – midday food → lunch
chakula cha jioni / chakula cha usiku – evening/night food → dinner/supper

In many contexts chakula cha jioni is the most natural way to say dinner.

How is the verb kiliandaliwa built, and what does each part mean?

kiliandaliwa is the passive past form of kuandaa (to prepare).

Breakdown:

ki- – subject prefix for a class 7 noun (here: chakula)
-li- – past tense marker
-andaa- – verb root “prepare”
-liw- – passive suffix (attached to the root: andaa → andaliw-)
-a – final vowel

So:

kuandaa – to prepare
kuandaliwa – to be prepared
kiliandaliwa – it (class 7 thing) was prepared

In the sentence:

Chakula chetu cha jioni kiliandaliwa…
“Our dinner was prepared …”

Why does the verb start with ki-? What is it agreeing with?

The ki- at the start of kiliandaliwa is the subject agreement prefix for noun class 7.

chakula is class 7
Class 7 subject prefix is ki-
Therefore: chakula … kiliandaliwa

Subject–verb agreement:

chakula kiliandaliwa – the food was prepared
If the subject were class 2 (e.g. wapishi – cooks), you’d use wa-:
- wapishi waliandaa chakula – the cooks prepared the food

So ki- tells you that the subject is a class 7 noun (like chakula, kitu, kifaa, etc.).

What role does -li- play in kiliandaliwa? Could I use other tenses here?

-li- is the simple past tense marker.

kiliandaliwa – it was prepared (completed action in the past)

You can change -li- to express other times:

kinaandaliwa – it is being prepared / it is prepared (present, progressive/habitual)
kitaandaliwa – it will be prepared (future)
kiliandaliwa mapema jana – it was prepared early yesterday
kingeandaliwa mapema – it would have been prepared early

In the original sentence, -li- simply states a neutral past event: the dinner was prepared early.

Is mapema an adjective or an adverb, and where can it go in the sentence?

mapema functions as an adverb of time meaning early.

In this sentence:

kiliandaliwa mapema – it was prepared early

Typical positions:

After the verb phrase (very common):
- kiliandaliwa mapema
Before the verb for emphasis (less common, but possible in speech):
- Mapema chakula chetu cha jioni kiliandaliwa … (Emphasis: Early, our dinner was prepared …)

You can modify it:

mapema sana – very early
mapema kuliko kawaida – earlier than usual

But its basic role here is simply to say when (earlier than expected), not to describe the noun directly.

Why does na mean “by” here? I thought na meant “and” or “with”.

na is a very flexible word. It can mean:

and
with
by (when marking the agent in a passive sentence)

In a passive construction, na + person/agent is read as “by …”:

Chakula kiliandaliwa na mpishi wa hoteli.
– The food was prepared by the hotel cook.

Other uses of na:

mama na baba – mum and dad
ninasoma na kaka yangu – I am studying with my brother

So here, in the passive sentence, na mpishi wa hoteli clearly means by the hotel cook.

What does mpishi wa hoteli literally mean, and what is the function of wa?

Literal breakdown:

mpishi – cook / chef (a person who cooks)
wa – “of” (genitive connector)
hoteli – hotel (often also: small restaurant, guesthouse, etc.)

So mpishi wa hoteli = the cook of (the) hotel → the hotel’s cook / the hotel cook / the hotel chef.

The wa here links two nouns in a possessive/associative way:

kitabu cha mwanafunzi – book of the student → the student’s book
mpishi wa hoteli – cook of the hotel → the hotel’s cook

Does hoteli always mean “hotel”, or can it also mean “restaurant”?

In Swahili, hoteli is broader than just “hotel” in English.

Depending on region and context, hoteli can mean:

A hotel (place to sleep, maybe with a restaurant)
A small restaurant / eating place
A guesthouse

So:

mpishi wa hoteli might be:
- the cook at a hotel, or
- the cook at a small restaurant that is called a hoteli.

If you specifically want “restaurant”, you may also see:

mgahawa – restaurant, café
restoranti – restaurant (loan from English/French)

But in everyday speech, hoteli often covers “hotel + eating place” together.

How would I say the same idea in active voice instead of passive?

Passive sentence (original):

Chakula chetu cha jioni kiliandaliwa mapema na mpishi wa hoteli.
– Our dinner was prepared early by the hotel cook.

Active version:

Mpishi wa hoteli aliandaa chakula chetu cha jioni mapema.
– The hotel cook prepared our dinner early.

Changes:

Subject moves from chakula chetu cha jioni to mpishi wa hoteli.
Verb becomes active: aliandaa (he/she prepared), not kiliandaliwa (was prepared).
The former subject (chakula chetu cha jioni) becomes the object of the verb aliandaa.

If I wanted to talk about several dinners, how would I make this sentence plural?

Plural of chakula (class 7) is vyakula (class 8).

So:

Singular:
- Chakula chetu cha jioni kiliandaliwa mapema …
  – Our dinner was prepared early …
Plural:
- Vyakula vyetu vya jioni viliandaliwa mapema na mpishi wa hoteli.
  – Our dinners (our evening meals) were prepared early by the hotel cook.

Changes:

chakula → vyakula (noun plural)
chetu → vyetu (possessive agrees with class 8)
cha jioni → vya jioni (agreement with class 8)
kiliandaliwa → viliandaliwa (verb subject prefix vi- for class 8)

Can I move mapema to a different place, like kiliandaliwa na mpishi wa hoteli mapema? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Chakula chetu cha jioni kiliandaliwa na mpishi wa hoteli mapema.

This is still perfectly correct and means the same thing: the dinner was prepared early by the hotel cook.

Nuance:

… kiliandaliwa mapema na mpishi wa hoteli.
– Slightly more neutral; the “earliness” is mentioned right after the action.
… kiliandaliwa na mpishi wa hoteli mapema.
– Very similar; a tiny shift in rhythm/emphasis, with a bit more weight after you mention who did it.

In normal conversation, both orders are acceptable and commonly understood with no real difference in meaning.