Krimu hii ni nzuri, lakini dada yangu anapendelea losheni kwa sababu ni nyepesi.

In Swahili, demonstratives usually come after the noun, not before it.

• krimu hii = this cream
• compare English: this cream

So the word order here is completely normal for Swahili.

Ni is acting like the verb to be here.

So:

• Krimu hii ni nzuri = This cream is good

Swahili often uses ni to link a subject to a description or identity.

This is because krimu and losheni belong to the same noun class, which is very common for loanwords in Swahili: class 9/10.

Adjectives in Swahili often change form to match the noun class. Here:

• adjective stem -zuri becomes nzuri
• adjective stem -epesi becomes nyepesi

So:

• krimu ... nzuri
• losheni ... nyepesi

are both showing the correct agreement for that noun class.

They are loanwords, adapted from English:

• krimu ← cream
• losheni ← lotion

This is very common in Swahili, especially for modern items, cosmetics, and technology. The spelling is adjusted to fit Swahili sound patterns.

Anapendelea means she prefers or he prefers.

It can be broken down like this:

• a- = she/he
• -na- = present tense
• pendelea = prefer / like more

So:

• dada yangu anapendelea losheni = my sister prefers lotion

This is stronger and more specific than just anapenda, which usually means she likes/loves.

The prefix a- is the subject marker for he/she.

Even though dada does not look like some other person nouns in Swahili, it still refers to a human being, so the verb takes the normal human singular agreement:

• dada yangu anapendelea = my sister prefers

If the subject were plural, the marker would change:

• dada zangu wanapendelea = my sisters prefer

This is a very common learner question. Family words like mama, baba, dada, kaka often use possessive forms like yangu in everyday Swahili:

• dada yangu = my sister
• baba yangu = my father
• mama yangu = my mother

So although dada refers to a person and takes human verb agreement like ana-, the possessive form is still commonly yangu. It is one of those patterns you mostly just learn as a set phrase.

Not necessarily. Dada usually means sister, and in some contexts it can also be used for a woman or young woman more generally.

Whether it means older sister, younger sister, or simply sister depends on context. In this sentence, the natural reading is just my sister.

Because the subject is already clear from context.

Here, ni nyepesi means it is light, and the it is understood to refer to losheni.

So:

• dada yangu anapendelea losheni kwa sababu ni nyepesi
• literally: my sister prefers lotion because [it] is light

Swahili often leaves out a subject pronoun when it is obvious. If you wanted to be more explicit, you could say:

• kwa sababu losheni ni nyepesi

Literally, nyepesi means light, but in this context it most likely means:

• light in texture
• not heavy
• not thick
• feels light on the skin

So the sentence is saying the sister prefers lotion because it feels lighter than the cream.

Kwa sababu means because.

It introduces the reason for something:

• anapendelea losheni kwa sababu ni nyepesi
• she prefers lotion because it is light

It is a very common expression and useful to learn as a chunk.