Bili za huduma, gharama za chakula, na gharama za usafiri zimeongezeka.

Za is a linking word that often corresponds to English of or for.

So:

• bili za huduma = bills for/of services
• gharama za chakula = costs of food
• gharama za usafiri = costs of transport

In Swahili grammar, this linker changes form to agree with the noun before it. Here, za is the correct form for these plural N-class nouns.

Yes — both can look the same in singular and plural. That is normal for many Swahili nouns, especially loanwords like bili.

You tell the number from context and agreement:

• bili ya huduma = a service/utility bill

• bili za huduma = service/utility bills

• gharama ya usafiri = the cost of transport
• gharama za usafiri = transport costs

So the form of the noun may stay the same, but words like ya/za and the verb help show whether the meaning is singular or plural.

It is repeated for clarity and balance in the list.

The sentence is structured as three parallel items:

• bili za huduma
• gharama za chakula
• gharama za usafiri

This makes each category stand out clearly. Swahili can sometimes combine them more tightly, but repeating gharama za sounds neat and explicit here.

Yes, you could. Gharama za chakula na usafiri means food and transport costs.

So a shorter version could be:

Bili za huduma na gharama za chakula na usafiri zimeongezeka.

But the original sentence repeats gharama za to make the list more clearly separated and more symmetrical. Both are possible; the original is just more explicit.

Not literally in every context. Huduma is a broad word meaning service, services, or assistance, depending on context.

In bili za huduma, it often refers to household services you get billed for, such as:

• electricity
• water
• gas
• internet
• phone service

So translating it as utility bills is natural in this context, even though huduma by itself is wider than just utilities.

Because it agrees with the plural subject and uses the perfect marker.

You can break it down like this:

• zi- = subject marker for plural N-class nouns
• -me- = perfect/completed aspect
• -ongezeka = increase, rise, go up

So zimeongezeka means have increased, have gone up, or simply increased, depending on context.

Because the subject is a plural list, and the nouns in that list are treated as plural N-class items.

The items are:

• bili za huduma
• gharama za chakula
• gharama za usafiri

Since the subject is plural, the verb takes the plural agreement marker zi-, giving zimeongezeka.

So even though there are several noun phrases, the verb still agrees with the whole subject as a plural group.

This is a very common and important distinction:

• ongezeka = increase / become greater / go up
  This is intransitive: the thing itself increases.
• ongeza = increase something / add to something
  This is transitive: someone causes something else to increase.

Examples:

• Gharama zimeongezeka. = Costs have increased.
• Serikali imeongeza kodi. = The government has increased taxes.

In your sentence, bills and costs are the things going up themselves, so zimeongezeka is the correct form.

Usually have increased or have gone up.

The -me- marker typically shows a completed action with present relevance, so zimeongezeka often means that the increase has already happened and is now true.

If you wanted are increasing in an ongoing sense, you would more likely use:

zinaongezeka

So:

• zimeongezeka = have increased / have gone up
• zinaongezeka = are increasing

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

Whether something is the bills or just bills usually comes from context, not from a separate word.

So Bili za huduma, gharama za chakula, na gharama za usafiri zimeongezeka can naturally be understood as:

• Utility bills, food costs, and transport costs have increased, or
• The utility bills, food costs, and transport costs have increased

Context tells you which is intended.

Because in this structure, the grammatical agreement happens on the linker za, not on the following noun.

So in:

• gharama za chakula
• gharama za usafiri

the word za changes to match gharama, while chakula and usafiri stay in their normal forms.

That is a very common Swahili pattern:

• kitabu cha mwanafunzi = student’s book / book of the student
• vitabu vya mwanafunzi = student’s books

The linker changes; the second noun usually does not.