Sina chenji ya kutosha sasa, kwa hiyo nitamlipa keshia kwa kadi.

Sina means I do not have.

It is the standard negative form used for possession in the present tense:

• nina = I have
• sina = I do not have

So in this sentence, Sina chenji means I don’t have change.

For learners, it helps to remember sina as a whole form, even though it is historically related to the verb phrase for to have.

Yes, chenji is a very common Swahili borrowing from English change.

In everyday speech, it usually means small change, especially coins or the right smaller amount of money. Even though it is borrowed, it is perfectly normal in conversational Swahili.

Depending on context, you may also hear more native-sounding alternatives, but chenji is very common and natural.

Ya kutosha means enough or more literally of being enough.

Here is the breakdown:

• chenji = change
• ya = a linking word that agrees with the noun class of chenji
• kutosha = to be enough

So:

• chenji ya kutosha = enough change

The ya is there because Swahili often links nouns to descriptive infinitives this way. A very literal gloss would be something like change of being enough, but in natural English it is simply enough change.

Because chenji belongs to a noun class that takes ya in this kind of construction.

In Swahili, these linking words change depending on the noun class of the noun they refer to. Since chenji is treated as a class 9 noun, the correct connector here is ya.

So:

• chenji ya kutosha = correct

A different noun might require a different connector, but with chenji, ya is the expected form.

Sasa here means now, right now, or at the moment.

So:

• Sina chenji ya kutosha sasa = I don’t have enough change right now

It adds a sense that this is the speaker’s current situation, not necessarily a permanent one.

Kwa hiyo means so, therefore, or for that reason.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• Sina chenji ya kutosha sasa = I don’t have enough change now
• kwa hiyo = so / therefore
• nitamlipa keshia kwa kadi = I will pay the cashier by card

It is a very common way to show result or consequence in Swahili.

Nitamlipa can be broken down like this:

• ni- = I
• -ta- = future tense
• -m- = him/her
• -lip- = pay
• -a = final vowel

So nitamlipa literally means I will pay him/her.

In this sentence, him/her refers to keshia.

This is a very common question for English speakers.

In Swahili, it is very normal to include an object marker in the verb even when the object noun is also stated explicitly, especially when the object is:

• a person
• specific
• already clear in context

So:

• nitamlipa keshia = literally something like I will pay him/her, the cashier

That sounds redundant in English, but it is natural in Swahili. The -m- agrees with keshia because the cashier is a singular human being.

Yes. Keshia is a borrowing from English cashier.

It is widely understood and commonly used in everyday Swahili, especially in shops, supermarkets, and similar contexts.

Because keshia refers to a person, the object marker used with it is -m-:

• nitamlipa keshia = I will pay the cashier

Kwa kadi means by card or using a card.

Here, kwa marks the means or method used to do something. So:

• kwa kadi = by card
• kwa pesa taslimu = in cash
• kwa simu = by phone / using the phone

In this sentence, it tells you the method of payment.

Sometimes learners try that because English uses with in pay with a card.

But in Swahili, kwa kadi is the more natural way to express by card / using a card as a payment method.

Na kadi could be understood in some contexts, but kwa kadi is the safer and more idiomatic choice here.

It is quite natural in everyday modern Swahili.

It does contain loanwords:

• chenji
• keshia
• kadi

But that is very normal in modern spoken Swahili, especially in shopping and payment contexts. A native speaker would not find the sentence strange.

So this is a good example of practical, everyday Swahili rather than overly formal textbook language.