Kishikio cha mlango kimelegea, kwa hiyo baba atakitengeneza jioni.

Cha means of here, so kishikio cha mlango is literally handle of the door.

In Swahili, this of word changes to match the noun class of the first noun, not the second one. Since kishikio is a ki-/vi- noun (class 7 singular), the connector becomes cha.

So:

• kishikio cha mlango = handle of the door
• kitabu cha mtoto = the child’s book / book of the child

If the first noun belonged to another noun class, the connector would be different, such as wa, ya, la, etc.

Yes, it is very important. Kishikio belongs to the ki-/vi- noun class:

• singular: kishikio
• plural: vishikio

Because it is in this noun class, other words in the sentence often have to agree with it. That is why you see ki- again later in:

• ki-me-legea
• ata-ki-tengeneza

That ki- agreement is referring back to kishikio.

Kimelegea can be broken down like this:

• ki- = subject marker agreeing with kishikio
• -me- = perfect marker
• -legea = become loose / be loose

So kimelegea literally means something like:

• it has become loose
• or, more naturally in English, it is loose

Because English and Swahili do not always divide time in the same way, the best translation depends on context.

This is a very common question. In Swahili, the perfect often describes a completed change with a present result.

So kimelegea suggests:

• it has loosened
• and the result now is that it is loose

That is why English may translate it simply as is loose, even though the Swahili form is structurally closer to has become loose.

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

It connects the first idea to the second:

• Kishikio cha mlango kimelegea = The door handle is loose.
• kwa hiyo = so / therefore
• baba atakitengeneza jioni = Dad will fix it in the evening.

It is a very common way to show cause and result.

The a- is the subject marker for he/she in the human singular class.

Even though baba does not begin with m-, it still takes the normal human agreement:

• baba anakuja = father is coming
• baba atasema = father will speak
• baba atakitengeneza = father will fix it

So a- here means he.

It breaks down like this:

• a- = he
• -ta- = future
• -ki- = it, referring to kishikio
• -tengeneza = fix / repair

So atakitengeneza literally means:

he-will-it-fix

In natural English: he will fix it.

This is very typical Swahili structure: subject marker + tense marker + object marker + verb stem.

Because the it is already built into the verb as the object marker -ki-.

In this sentence, -ki- refers back to kishikio, since kishikio is a class 7 noun.

So instead of saying a separate word for it, Swahili often does this:

• atakitengeneza = he will fix it

You could repeat the noun for clarity in some contexts, but it is not necessary here.

Swahili usually does not have articles like a and the.

So:

• kishikio cha mlango can mean a door handle or the door handle
• mlango can mean a door or the door
• baba can mean father, the father, or dad, depending on context

Definiteness is usually understood from the situation rather than from a separate article.

In Swahili, many time expressions can be used directly without a preposition.

So jioni by itself means:

• in the evening
• this evening, depending on context

The same happens with other time words too:

• asubuhi = in the morning
• usiku = at night
• leo = today
• kesho = tomorrow

So baba atakitengeneza jioni naturally means Dad will fix it in the evening.