Tafadhali suuza vikombe hivi kwa maji safi baada ya chai.

Tafadhali means please. It is used to make the command more polite.

So:

• Suuza vikombe hivi... = Rinse these cups...
• Tafadhali suuza vikombe hivi... = Please rinse these cups...

It can appear at the beginning of the sentence, as it does here, and that is very common.

Because suuza is an imperative form, meaning it is giving a command or instruction directly to you.

In Swahili, the subject you is usually not stated in commands unless you want extra emphasis.

So:

• Suuza! = Rinse!
• Tafadhali suuza... = Please rinse...

You do not need wewe here.

Suuza is the singular imperative form of the verb -suuza, meaning to rinse.

It is the form used when speaking to one person directly.

For comparison:

• suuza = rinse! (to one person)
• suuzeni = rinse! (to more than one person)

So this sentence is addressing one person, or it is using the common singular imperative in a general instruction.

In Swahili, the normal order is:

noun + demonstrative

So:

• vikombe hivi = these cups
• literally: cups these

That is why vikombe hivi is correct and natural.

Also, hivi agrees with vikombe because vikombe is a plural noun in the ki-/vi- noun class.

Related forms:

• kikombe hiki = this cup
• vikombe hivi = these cups

Swahili uses noun class agreement. Words connected to a noun often change form so they match the noun’s class.

Here:

• singular: kikombe = cup
• plural: vikombe = cups

The demonstratives must match:

• hiki with kikombe
• hivi with vikombe

So:

• kikombe hiki = this cup
• vikombe hivi = these cups

This agreement is one of the most important features of Swahili grammar.

Here kwa means something like with, using, or by means of.

So kwa maji safi means:

• with clean water
• using clean water

In this sentence, it tells you the means or substance to use for rinsing.

This is a very common use of kwa.

Safi means clean, and it often stays the same in form across different noun classes.

So:

• maji safi = clean water
• vikombe safi = clean cups

Unlike some other adjectives in Swahili, safi does not visibly change here.

Also, maji means water and is a very common noun that learners often memorize as a set phrase in expressions like maji safi.

Baada ya means after.

It is a fixed expression used before a noun or noun phrase:

• baada ya chai = after tea
• baada ya kazi = after work
• baada ya chakula = after food / after the meal

The ya is part of the construction and links baada to the following noun.

So you should learn baada ya as one unit meaning after.

It can depend on context.

Literally, chai means tea, but in East African usage it can also refer to:

• the drink itself
• a tea break
• breakfast or a light meal in some contexts

So baada ya chai could mean:

• after tea
• after having tea
• after tea-time

In this sentence, the practical sense is probably after tea has been served or drunk.

Swahili does not usually have separate words for the or a/an like English does.

Whether something is a cup, the cup, or cups/the cups is usually understood from context or from other words in the sentence.

Here, vikombe hivi already means these cups, so the meaning is specific without needing a separate word for the.

Not with exactly the same meaning.

• -osha = to wash
• -suuza = to rinse

So:

• Osha vikombe = Wash the cups
• Suuza vikombe = Rinse the cups

In your sentence, suuza is more specific: it suggests rinsing the cups, especially with clean water, rather than fully washing them.

Here are the main dictionary forms:

• tafadhali = please
• -suuza = to rinse
• kikombe = cup
• maji = water
• safi = clean
• baada ya = after
• chai = tea

Notice that verbs are usually listed with a hyphen in dictionaries, such as -suuza, because the forms used in sentences add prefixes or sometimes use imperative forms like suuza.