"Mfereji wa maji machafu"

Translation: A canal of dirty water

[William526411]

I thought it could be Dirty water canal

[machieng]

for direct translation, the answer given is correct. Also, ordinarily no canal is designed for dirty water, which I think 'dirty water canal' implies. Also also, just as a side note, 'mfereji' is also a tap

[marijkstee]

Why is it machafu here and not mchafu?

[AGreatUserName]

Because it's a canal of dirty water, not a dirty canal of water.

maji machafu = dirty water (ma class)
mfereji mchafu = dirty canal (m-mi class)

There's a table showing all the forms here
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chafu

[Martin633120]

Thanks for a succinct and perfect contribution which answers the question as well as providing us with a nugget of language wisdom. You've got precision and a sense of proportion.

[Joanne394981]

Why can't it be "The ditch with dirty water"?

[Mick554787]

I understand the word Mfereji to be both canal and pipe. Hence Mfereji wa mani machafu should translate as a dirty water pipe ?