Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana.

a comedy (like a comedy show, play, movie, or skit)
a comic piece or something meant to make people laugh
in some contexts, it can also refer to a joke, though utani is more common for a simple “joke.”

So kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana is most naturally “This comedy is very good” or “This comic piece is very good,” though in some contexts learners might be told it means “This joke is very good.”

Why is it hiki and not something like huyu or hili?

Swahili uses different demonstratives (this/that) depending on the noun class of the noun.

kichekesho belongs to noun class 7, which normally has:
- singular: ki-
- plural: vi-

The class 7 demonstrative for “this (near me)” is hiki.

Some common “this” forms for comparison:

mtu huyu – this person (class 1, people)
kitabu hiki – this book (class 7)
tunda hili – this fruit (class 5)

Because kichekesho is class 7, the correct “this” is hiki, not huyu or hili.

Why does kizuri start with ki-? I thought “good” was nzuri.

The basic adjective stem is -zuri (“good, nice, beautiful”), but adjectives in Swahili change their prefix to agree with the noun class.

With a class 7 noun like kichekesho, the agreeing form is kizuri (ki- + -zuri).
With a class 9/10 noun like nyumba (house), you’d use nzuri (n- + -zuri):
- nyumba hii ni nzuri sana – This house is very good / very nice.

So:

kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana (class 7 agreement: ki-)
nyumba hii ni nzuri sana (class 9 agreement: n-)

You’re seeing agreement, not two completely different words.

What role does ni play here? Is it the verb “to be”?

Yes. Ni here is the copula, equivalent to the verb “to be” in English.

The pattern is:

[Subject] + ni + [Complement]

So:

kichekesho hiki – this comedy (subject)
ni – is
kizuri sana – very good

Altogether: kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana – “This comedy is very good.”

In this use, ni does not change with person or number:

mimi ni mwalimu – I am a teacher
wewe ni mwanafunzi – you are a student
vitabu hivi ni vipya – these books are new

Why is sana at the end, and what exactly does it mean?

Sana means “very” or “very much.”

In Swahili, sana normally comes after the adjective or verb that it intensifies:

kizuri sana – very good
anapenda sana – he/she loves it very much
imechelewa sana – it is very late

You generally do not put sana before the adjective the way English puts “very” before “good.” So:

kizuri sana (correct), not sana kizuri.

How do the words agree with each other in this sentence?

All the agreement revolves around the noun kichekesho, which is in class 7:

kichekesho – class 7 noun
hiki – class 7 demonstrative “this”
kizuri – class 7 agreement form of the adjective -zuri (“good”)

So you have a neat pattern of class 7 markers:

kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana

This matching of prefixes between noun, adjectives, and demonstratives is a core feature of Swahili grammar.

What would the plural of this sentence be?

The plural of kichekesho is vichekesho (class 8, the plural of class 7):

kichekesho hiki – this comedy
vichekesho hivi – these comedies

The adjective and demonstrative also switch to plural forms:

singular: kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana
– This comedy is very good.
plural: vichekesho hivi ni vizuri sana
– These comedies are very good.

Note how:

ki- → vi- in kizuri → vizuri
hiki → hivi

Can I change the word order, like putting kizuri sana first?

Yes, Swahili word order is somewhat flexible for emphasis, though the original is the most neutral.

You can say, for example:

Kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana. (neutral)
Kichekesho hiki kizuri sana. (often still understood as “This comedy is very good”; ni is sometimes omitted in casual speech.)
Ni kizuri sana kichekesho hiki. (more emphatic on kizuri sana, like saying “It’s very good, this comedy.”)

For a learner, it’s safest to stick to the clear pattern:

[Subject] + ni + [Adjective phrase]
→ kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana.

Is kizuri only “good,” or can it also mean “beautiful” or “nice”?

Kizuri (from -zuri) is quite broad in meaning. Depending on context, it can mean:

good
nice
beautiful
fine / of good quality

So:

msichana mzuri – a beautiful girl
chakula kizuri – good/tasty food
nyumba nzuri – a nice/beautiful house

In kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana, it’s most naturally “very good” or “very well done” as a piece of entertainment, but “really nice” could also fit.

What is the difference between saying kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana and kichekesho hiki kinachekesha sana?

They are related but not identical in meaning:

kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana
– This comedy is very good.
General positive judgment: quality, writing, acting, etc.
kichekesho hiki kinachekesha sana
– This comedy makes (people) laugh a lot / is very funny.
Focuses specifically on how much it makes people laugh.

Grammatically:

ni kizuri sana uses the copula ni and an adjective.
kinachekesha sana uses a verb (-chekesha – to make someone laugh) with the subject-prefix ki- for kichekesho.

Why do we use hiki and not hicho here? Don’t both mean “this/that”?

Swahili has three basic “distance” levels for demonstratives (using class 7 as the example):

hiki – this (near the speaker)
hicho – that (near the listener)
kile – that (far from both speaker and listener)

In kichekesho hiki ni kizuri sana, hiki suggests “this comedy right here (with me/us).”

If you used hicho:

kichekesho hicho ni kizuri sana – “That comedy (near you) is very good.”

Both are correct Swahili, but they describe different physical or contextual distances.

How can I say “This is a very good comedy” without repeating kichekesho?

You can use hiki as a pronoun for “this one” when the context is clear:

Hiki ni kizuri sana. – This is very good.

If you want to keep the idea “This is a very good comedy,” you could say:

Hiki ni kichekesho kizuri sana. – This is a very good comedy.

Here, hiki stands for “this (thing we’re talking about),” and kichekesho kizuri sana describes what it is.