Kemikali hii ni hatari.

• kemikali = chemical
• hii = this
• ni = is / are
• hatari = danger / dangerous

So the whole sentence means This chemical is dangerous.

In Swahili, demonstratives like this usually come after the noun.

• kemikali hii = this chemical
• literally: chemical this

That is normal Swahili word order. English puts this before the noun, but Swahili usually puts it after.

ni is the basic copula, meaning is, am, or are depending on context.

So:

• Kemikali hii ni hatari = This chemical is dangerous

It links the subject (kemikali hii) with what is being said about it (hatari).

Yes. hii agrees with the noun class of kemikali.

Kemikali belongs to the N/N class (often called class 9/10), and the singular/plural forms of many loanwords in this class look the same. The demonstrative for this with that class is hii in the singular.

So:

• kemikali hii = this chemical
• kemikali hizi = these chemicals

You cannot just use any word for this; it must match the noun class.

Because hatari is commonly used in an invariable way here. It can function like danger or dangerous, and after ni it often stays the same.

So:

• Kemikali hii ni hatari = This chemical is dangerous
• Kemikali hizi ni hatari = These chemicals are dangerous

Notice that hatari does not change.

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

So kemikali can mean:

• a chemical
• the chemical
• just chemical

The context tells you which meaning is intended. In this sentence, kemikali hii clearly means this chemical.

Not exactly. Kemikali hii ni hatari most naturally means:

• This chemical is dangerous

If you want to say:

• This is a dangerous chemical

you would more naturally say:

• Hii ni kemikali hatari

So the word order changes the focus and structure.

The plural would be:

• Kemikali hizi ni hatari.
• These chemicals are dangerous.

A few things to notice:

• kemikali stays kemikali
• hii changes to hizi
• ni stays the same
• hatari stays the same

Here it is singular, because the demonstrative is hii = this.

But kemikali is one of those nouns whose singular and plural often look the same. So by itself, kemikali could be singular or plural; the other words in the sentence help you tell.

Compare:

• kemikali hii = this chemical
• kemikali hizi = these chemicals

hii is pronounced with clear vowels, roughly like hee-ee.

Swahili vowels are usually pronounced clearly and consistently. So:

• hii is not like English high
• it is closer to hee-ee

Also, Swahili stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable of the word.

In standard Swahili, for this kind of sentence, ni is normally used:

• Kemikali hii ni hatari

Dropping ni would sound incomplete or nonstandard in careful Swahili. So for learners, it is best to keep ni here.

It can behave a bit like both, which is why it can feel unusual to English speakers.

• As a noun, hatari means danger
• In sentences like this, it is very often used with the meaning dangerous

So although it literally relates to danger, the natural English translation here is:

• This chemical is dangerous

Yes, very often.

Pattern:

• [noun] + [this/that] + ni + [description]

Examples:

• Dawa hii ni nzuri. = This medicine is good.
• Chakula hiki ni kitamu. = This food is delicious.
• Gari hili ni kubwa. = This car is big.

Just remember that the word for this changes depending on the noun class:

• hii
• hiki
• hili
• etc.