Rufaa iko tayari.

Rufaa is a noun. Depending on context, it commonly means appeal or referral. It is a loanword, and in this sentence it is the subject of the sentence.

So structurally, the sentence is:

• rufaa = the appeal / the referral
• iko tayari = is ready

Iko is the form used here to say that something is in a state or is available/present in that state. In everyday Swahili, this is very natural with words like tayari.

So:

• Rufaa iko tayari = The appeal/referral is ready

For an English speaker, it helps to think of iko here as a kind of is that agrees with the noun class of rufaa.

Using ni would not be the normal choice in this sentence.

Rufaa is usually treated as a class 9 noun in the singular. That is why it takes i- agreement, which appears in iko.

So the i- in iko matches rufaa.

This is a very common Swahili pattern: the verb or copula agrees with the noun class of the subject.

Many class 9/10 nouns keep the same noun form in both singular and plural, and rufaa is commonly treated that way.

So:

• singular: Rufaa iko tayari.
• plural: Rufaa ziko tayari.

Notice that the noun rufaa stays the same, but iko changes to ziko for plural agreement.

Because tayari is an invariable word here. It does not change for noun class.

That means you can see it with many different subjects:

• Niko tayari. = I am ready.
• Chakula kiko tayari. = The food is ready.
• Watoto wako tayari. = The children are ready.

So unlike some other words in Swahili, tayari stays tayari.

Here it means ready.

That is a very common learner question because tayari can also mean already in other sentences.

Compare:

• Rufaa iko tayari. = The appeal/referral is ready.
• Nimekula tayari. = I have already eaten.

So the meaning of tayari depends on context. In your sentence, ready is the correct reading.

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

So rufaa by itself can mean:

• the appeal/referral
• an appeal/referral

Context tells you which one is meant. In many real situations, English translations use the because the thing has already been mentioned or is understood.

Yes, if the context is clear.

Iko tayari means It is ready.
This works when everyone already knows what it refers to.

But if you want to name the thing clearly, you keep the noun:

• Rufaa iko tayari.

A simple syllable breakdown is:

• ru-fa-a
• i-ko
• ta-ya-ri

Swahili usually stresses the second-to-last syllable of each word, so you get roughly:

• ru-FA-a
• I-ko
• ta-YA-ri

A few pronunciation tips:

• pronounce every vowel clearly
• r is usually a light tap
• the aa in rufaa is held a little longer than a single a

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

ru-FA-a I-ko ta-YA-ri