Uhalifu unaongezeka.

A simple breakdown is:

• uhalifu = crime, criminality
• u-na-ongezeka = is increasing

And inside unaongezeka:

• u- = subject marker agreeing with uhalifu
• -na- = present/current time marker
• ongezeka = increase, become more, go up

So the sentence is literally something like Crime, it-is-increasing.

Because in Swahili, a normal finite verb usually includes a subject marker, even when the subject noun is already stated.

So:

• uhalifu = the subject
• u- in unaongezeka = repeats that subject agreement on the verb

This is very normal Swahili grammar. English does not do this in the same way, so it can feel redundant at first.

It agrees with uhalifu, which belongs to an abstract noun class often associated with nouns beginning in u-.

So the verb has to match that noun class:

• uhalifu unaongezeka
• umaskini unaongezeka = poverty is increasing
• utalii unaongezeka = tourism is increasing

The important idea is: the verb changes to match the noun.

Swahili usually does not need a separate word like English is in this kind of sentence.

Instead, the verb itself carries the tense information:

• u-na-ongezeka

Here -na- gives the meaning of a present or ongoing action, so is increasing is built into the verb form.

Usually it covers both ideas, depending on context.

So unaongezeka can mean:

• is increasing
• is going up
• sometimes more generally increases

In this sentence, the most natural English translation is Crime is increasing or Crime is on the rise.

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

So uhalifu can mean:

• crime
• the crime
• sometimes criminality

The context tells you how specific or general it is. In this sentence, it most naturally means crime in general.

It is best understood as an abstract mass noun here, like English crime or violence.

So it is not usually thought of as a countable singular like one crime in this sentence. It refers to the general phenomenon of crime.

If you want to talk about individual crimes, you would usually use different wording.

This is a very useful distinction:

• ongezeka = increase, become more, go up
  
  • usually intransitive
  • the subject itself increases
• ongeza = increase something, add
  
  • usually transitive
  • someone causes something else to increase

So:

• Uhalifu unaongezeka = crime is increasing
• Serikali inaongeza kodi = the government is increasing taxes

Yes, and it means something slightly different.

• Uhalifu unaongezeka = crime is increasing, crime is on the rise
• Uhalifu umeongezeka = crime has increased

So:

• -na- focuses on an ongoing or current process
• -me- focuses on a completed change with a present result

Both are common, but they are not exactly the same.

The dictionary form is kuongezeka.

In Swahili dictionaries, verbs are usually listed with ku-, the infinitive marker:

• kuongezeka = to increase, to go up, to become more

Then in an actual sentence, the verb changes form:

• kuongezeka → dictionary form
• unaongezeka → it is increasing

A helpful syllable breakdown is:

• u-ha-li-fu
• u-na-o-nge-ze-ka

Swahili words are usually pronounced quite regularly, and the stress normally falls on the second-to-last syllable of each word:

• u-ha-LI-fu
• u-na-o-nge-ZE-ka

So you can say it roughly as:

uh-ha-LEE-foo oo-na-oh-ngeh-ZEH-ka

It can cover both ideas.

In everyday translation, crime is usually the best choice. But because uhalifu is an abstract noun, it can also feel like criminality or crime as a social problem.

So Uhalifu unaongezeka is naturally understood as:

• Crime is increasing
• Crime is on the rise

Yes, very easily. For example:

• Uhalifu unaongezeka mjini. = Crime is increasing in town.
• Uhalifu unaongezeka nchini. = Crime is increasing in the country.
• Uhalifu unaongezeka siku hizi. = Crime is increasing these days.

The basic sentence stays the same, and you just add more information after it.