Kliniki iko mbali na kijiji chetu.

Iko is used for location or position. In this sentence, the idea is that the clinic is located far from the village.

By contrast, ni is mainly used to identify or classify something, like Hii ni kliniki = This is a clinic.

So:

• Kliniki iko mbali... = The clinic is far / is located far...
• Kliniki ni... would sound incomplete here

Also, the i- in iko agrees with kliniki.

Mbali means far, and na here gives the sense of from.

So mbali na means:

• far from

Even though na often means and, with, or by, in this expression it is part of the normal pattern:

• mbali na = far from
• karibu na = near to / near

So Kliniki iko mbali na kijiji chetu literally follows a pattern like The clinic is far from our village.

Because the possessive must agree with the noun class of kijiji.

Kijiji belongs to the ki-/vi- noun class. In that class, our becomes chetu, not yetu.

Compare:

• kijiji chetu = our village
• kitabu chetu = our book
• kiti chetu = our chair

But with nouns from other classes, the form changes:

• nyumba yetu = our house
• mji wetu = our town

So chetu is not a different meaning from our; it is just the form that matches kijiji.

Yes, basically. Chetu means our.

One small difference is that Swahili does not usually distinguish between:

• our including the listener
• our excluding the listener

English also usually does not distinguish this, so chetu works much like English our in most situations.

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

So:

• kliniki can mean the clinic, a clinic, or just clinic
• kijiji chetu means our village, without needing a word for the

The exact sense usually comes from context. In this sentence, English naturally translates it as The clinic is far from our village, but Swahili does not need a separate word for the.

Kliniki is commonly treated as a noun in the N/N class (often called class 9/10). Many loanwords fall into this class.

That affects agreement. In the singular, the subject agreement here is i-, giving:

• kliniki iko = the clinic is

In the plural, the agreement changes to zi-:

• kliniki ziko = the clinics are

So:

• Kliniki iko mbali... = The clinic is far...
• Kliniki ziko mbali... = The clinics are far...

No. Mbali does not change here.

Some Swahili adjectives agree with the noun class, but words like mbali are commonly used without changing form in this kind of sentence.

So you can have:

• kliniki iko mbali
• nyumba iko mbali
• shule iko mbali

The word mbali stays the same.

The normal order here is:

• Kliniki = subject
• iko = is / is located
• mbali na kijiji chetu = far from our village

So the standard sentence is:

• Kliniki iko mbali na kijiji chetu.

That is the most natural basic order. Swahili can move things around for emphasis in some contexts, but learners should treat this version as the standard pattern.

A simple guide is:

• kijiji ≈ kee-JEE-jee
• chetu ≈ CHEH-too

A few helpful points:

• Swahili vowels are usually clear and steady:
  • i = like ee in see
  • e = like e in bed but often a bit tenser
  • u = like oo in food
• Stress in Swahili usually falls on the second-to-last syllable

So:

• ki-JI-ji
• CHE-tu

You would say:

• Kliniki ziko mbali na kijiji chetu.

The only change is iko → ziko to match the plural subject.

So:

• Kliniki iko mbali na kijiji chetu. = The clinic is far from our village.
• Kliniki ziko mbali na kijiji chetu. = The clinics are far from our village.