Mabaki ya chakula cha mchana yako mezani; tuyatie ndani ya jokofu.

Mabaki means leftovers, remains, or what is left over. In this kind of sentence, it is treated as plural in Swahili, which is why later words agree with it as a plural noun of noun class 6.

That is why you get forms like:

• ya in mabaki ya...
• yako
• -ya- in tuyatie

So even though English can sometimes treat food as uncountable, Swahili is thinking of the leftovers as a plural set of remaining things.

Swahili does not use one single word for of. Instead, the connector changes to match the noun class of the noun before it.

Here you have:

• mabaki ya chakula = leftovers of food
• chakula cha mchana = food/meal of midday

Why the difference?

• mabaki is class 6, so the connector is ya
• chakula is class 7, so the connector is cha

So both ya and cha can mean of, but they must agree with the noun that comes before them.

Literally, chakula cha mchana means food of the daytime/noon. Idiomatically, it means lunch.

So:

• chakula = food / meal
• mchana = daytime / noon
• chakula cha mchana = lunch

This is a very normal way Swahili names meals:

• chakula cha asubuhi = breakfast
• chakula cha mchana = lunch
• chakula cha jioni = dinner / evening meal

No. In this sentence, yako does not mean your.

Here, yako is a locative copula form, meaning something like are located or are there. It is made from:

• ya- = agreement for mabaki (class 6)
• -ko = a locative element used for location

So mabaki ... yako mezani means the leftovers ... are on the table.

This can confuse learners because yako can also mean your in other contexts. For example:

• mabaki yako = your leftovers

But in mabaki yako mezani, the following location word mezani makes it clear that yako here means are located.

The ending -ni is a very common locative suffix in Swahili. It turns a noun into a place expression such as in, at, or on that place, depending on context.

So:

• meza = table
• mezani = on the table / at the table

In this sentence, mezani means on the table.

You will see this a lot:

• nyumbani = at home
• shuleni = at school
• mfukoni = in the pocket
• kitandani = on/in bed

The exact English preposition depends on the noun and the situation.

Tuyatie can be broken down like this:

• tu- = let us / we should
• -ya- = them (referring to mabaki)
• -tie = subjunctive form of -tia, meaning put

So tuyatie means let’s put them.

This is a very useful Swahili pattern:

• tu-...-e often gives the idea of let’s...
• an object marker can be inserted in the middle

For example:

• tuweke = let’s put
• tuyaweke = let’s put them
• tuyatie = let’s put them in / put them there

Here -tia gives the sense of putting something somewhere.

Because it refers back to mabaki, and mabaki belongs to noun class 6.

In Swahili, object markers must agree with the noun class of the thing being referred to. For class 6 nouns, the object marker is -ya-.

So:

• mabaki → class 6
• object marker for class 6 → -ya-
• tu-ya-tie = let’s put them

This is one of the most important features of Swahili grammar: words agree with noun classes, not just with singular/plural in a simple English-style way.

Ndani ya jokofu means inside the refrigerator.

It is made of:

• ndani = inside / interior
• ya = of
• jokofu = refrigerator / fridge

So literally it is the inside of the refrigerator, but in normal English we usually translate it as in the refrigerator or inside the fridge.

This pattern is very common:

• ndani ya nyumba = inside the house
• ndani ya sanduku = inside the box
• ndani ya gari = inside the car

Yes. Jokofu is a correct Swahili word for refrigerator. But in everyday speech, many speakers also use friji, which is borrowed from fridge.

So you may hear both:

• ndani ya jokofu
• ndani ya friji

Both are understandable. Jokofu may sound a bit more standard or formal, while friji is very common in everyday conversation.

The semicolon links two closely related clauses:

• Mabaki ya chakula cha mchana yako mezani
• tuyatie ndani ya jokofu

It works like a strong pause: The lunch leftovers are on the table; let’s put them in the fridge.

In normal writing, you could also see a comma or a full stop, depending on style:

• Mabaki ya chakula cha mchana yako mezani. Tuyatie ndani ya jokofu.
• Mabaki ya chakula cha mchana yako mezani, tuyatie ndani ya jokofu.

The semicolon simply shows that the second idea follows directly from the first.

Yes, it is normal.

The basic structure is:

• Mabaki ya chakula cha mchana = the lunch leftovers
• yako mezani = are on the table
• tuyatie ndani ya jokofu = let’s put them in the refrigerator

So the order is basically:

subject + location/existence + suggestion/action

This is very natural in Swahili. The sentence first states the situation, then gives the response to it.

Yes. Swahili often allows more than one natural way to say nearly the same thing. For example, speakers might also say something like:

• Mabaki ya chakula cha mchana yako mezani; tuyaweke kwenye jokofu.

This uses -weka instead of -tia, and kwenye instead of ndani ya. The meaning is very similar: let’s put them in the fridge.

Your original sentence is still perfectly good. It is just useful to know that Swahili often has multiple natural ways to express the same idea.