Kichapishi cha ofisi hakina karatasi sasa.

Cha is the linking word that means something like of or for here.

So:

• kichapishi = printer
• cha ofisi = of the office / office

Together, kichapishi cha ofisi means office printer or more literally printer of the office.

Swahili usually links nouns this way instead of just putting one noun directly before another as English does.

Because cha has to agree with the noun kichapishi.

Kichapishi belongs to the ki-/vi- noun class, and the associative linker for a singular ki- noun is cha.

A few examples:

• kitabu cha mwanafunzi = the student’s book
• kiti cha ofisi = office chair
• kichapishi cha ofisi = office printer

If the noun were from another class, the linker would change:

• nyumba ya mwalimu = the teacher’s house
• meza ya ofisi = office table

So the choice of cha is about noun-class agreement.

Kichapishi is in the ki-/vi- noun class:

• singular: ki-
• plural: vi-

So:

• kichapishi = printer
• vichapishi = printers

This matters because other words connected to the noun often have to agree with that class. In this sentence, that affects:

• cha in kichapishi cha ofisi
• ki inside hakina

Swahili agreement is one of the most important things to notice when learning the language.

Hakina means it does not have.

It can be understood as:

• ha- = negative
• ki- = subject agreement for a singular ki- noun
• -na = have / be with

So with kichapishi, you get:

• kina = it has
• hakina = it does not have

That is why:

• Kichapishi kina karatasi. = The printer has paper.
• Kichapishi hakina karatasi. = The printer does not have paper.

It is written as one word.

In Swahili, subject markers and negation are usually attached to the verb form, so what looks like several pieces in English becomes one word in Swahili.

So you should write:

• hakina

not:

• ha kina

Swahili often expresses these ideas differently from English.

For to have, Swahili commonly uses forms built with -na. So instead of a separate verb like English has, you get forms such as:

• nina = I have
• una = you have
• ana = he/she has
• kina = it has (for a ki- noun)
• hakina = it does not have

So hakina karatasi is the natural way to say doesn’t have paper.

Because Swahili does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

Whether a noun is understood as a printer, the printer, or just printer depends on context.

So Kichapishi cha ofisi hakina karatasi sasa can mean:

• The office printer has no paper now
• An office printer has no paper now

In most real contexts, the intended meaning is clear from the situation.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence, karatasi most naturally means paper as an uncountable material: the printer has no paper in it.

But in other contexts it can also mean papers/sheets of paper.

This is common with some Swahili nouns, especially loanwords: the form does not always visibly change between singular and plural.

Because karatasi is one of those nouns whose form often stays the same in singular and plural, especially in everyday use.

Also, in this sentence it is easiest to understand it as a mass noun:

• hakina karatasi = it has no paper

That works much like English paper, where you usually do not need a plural form unless you specifically mean individual sheets or documents.

Sasa means now, and in Swahili time words like this often come at the end of the sentence.

So:

• Kichapishi cha ofisi hakina karatasi sasa.

is a very natural word order: subject + predicate + object + time expression.

You may also hear time expressions in other positions, but sentence-final sasa is very common and natural.

Yes. Kichapishi is related to chapisha, which means to print.

So kichapishi is basically a printing device/machine, which is why it means printer.

This is useful to notice because Swahili often builds nouns from verbs in systematic ways. Recognizing that connection can make vocabulary easier to learn.

Yes, that is a very natural English translation of the idea.

Literally, the Swahili sentence is closer to:

• The office printer does not have paper now

But in normal English, you might also say:

• There is no paper in the office printer now
• The office printer is out of paper now

All of those capture the same basic meaning. The Swahili sentence focuses on what the printer has / does not have.

Yes. A few alternatives are possible, depending on style and emphasis. For example:

• Kichapishi cha ofisi hakina karatasi kwa sasa.
  = The office printer has no paper at the moment.

• Hakuna karatasi kwenye kichapishi cha ofisi sasa.
  = There is no paper in the office printer now.

The original sentence is perfectly natural. These alternatives just shift the wording slightly.