Mimi sipendi vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi.

A natural breakdown is:

• Mimi = I / me
• sipendi = I do not like
• vyakula = foods
• vyenye = that have / with
• sukari = sugar
• nyingi = a lot of / much / many

So the structure is basically:

Mimi + sipendi + vyakula + vyenye sukari nyingi
= I don't like foods that have a lot of sugar.

You could also translate it more naturally as I don't like foods with a lot of sugar or I don't like sugary foods.

Because the verb already shows the subject, mimi is often optional.

• sipendi already contains si-, which tells you the subject is I
• So Sipendi vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi is a complete sentence by itself

Adding mimi can:

• add emphasis: Me, I don't like...
• create contrast: I don't like sugary foods, but my brother does
• make the sentence clearer in conversation

So:

• Sipendi vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi = neutral
• Mimi sipendi vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi = more emphatic or contrastive

sipendi comes from the verb kupenda = to like / to love.

In this sentence:

• si- = I do not (1st person singular negative subject marker)
• -pend- = verb root like/love
• -i = the final vowel used in this negative present form

So:

• napenda = I like
• sipendi = I do not like

This is a very important pattern in Swahili:

• positive: often ends in -a
• negative present: often changes to -i

Example:

• ninasoma = I am reading / I read
• sisomi = I am not reading / I do not read

Usually it means a general preference or habit, not just a temporary feeling at this exact moment.

So Mimi sipendi vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi normally means:

• I don't like foods with a lot of sugar
• I generally dislike sugary foods

It is not usually understood as at this exact moment I am not liking them.

In everyday Swahili, this kind of present-tense negative often covers what English expresses as a general truth or habitual preference.

Because vyakula is plural.

• chakula = food / a food item
• vyakula = foods

The sentence is talking about foods in general, so the plural makes sense.

These belong to a noun class pair:

• singular class 7: chakula
• plural class 8: vyakula

If you wanted the singular, you could say:

Sipendi chakula chenye sukari nyingi.
= I don't like food that has a lot of sugar / I don't like a food with a lot of sugar

vyenye means something like:

• that have
• having
• with

It is built from -enye, a form used to describe something by what it has or contains.

The vy- part agrees with vyakula, because vyakula is a class 8 plural noun.

So:

• vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi = foods that have a lot of sugar
• literally: foods having much sugar

If the noun were singular, the form would change to match:

• chakula chenye sukari nyingi = food that has a lot of sugar

So the beginning changes because Swahili uses noun-class agreement.

nyingi agrees with sukari according to Swahili noun-class rules.

In Swahili, words like many/much must match the noun they describe.
Here, sukari takes the agreement pattern that gives nyingi.

So:

• sukari nyingi = a lot of sugar / much sugar

A native English speaker may wonder why it is not something like mengi, but Swahili agreement is based on noun class, not on the English idea of countable vs. uncountable nouns.

So even though English says much sugar, Swahili still uses the form that agrees with the noun class of sukari:

• correct: sukari nyingi

Because in Swahili, modifiers usually come after the noun.

So you get:

• vyakula vyenye... = foods that have...
• sukari nyingi = much sugar / a lot of sugar

This is different from English, where many modifiers come before the noun, such as sweet foods or sugary foods.

A very common pattern in Swahili is:

• noun + modifier

Examples:

• mtoto mdogo = small child
• kitabu kikubwa = big book
• vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi = foods with a lot of sugar

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

So a sentence can simply say:

sipendi vyakula...

and context tells you whether it means:

• I don't like foods...
• I don't like the foods...
• I don't like some foods...

In this sentence, the meaning is generic: it is talking about foods of that type in general, not a specific plate of food.

Yes, you could. It is correct, and it means almost the same thing.

Compare:

• vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi
• vyakula ambavyo vina sukari nyingi

Both mean foods that have a lot of sugar.

The difference is mainly style:

• vyenye is shorter and more compact
• ambavyo vina is more explicit and clause-like: foods which have...

So vyenye is a very natural choice here, especially for with / having.

You would change the plural noun and the agreeing word:

• Mimi sipendi vyakula vyenye sukari nyingi. = I don't like foods with a lot of sugar.
• Mimi sipendi chakula chenye sukari nyingi. = I don't like food with a lot of sugar.

Notice the changes:

• vyakula → chakula
• vyenye → chenye

That is because both words must agree with the singular noun chakula.