Bila kujali kama mgongano ni mdogo au mkubwa, piga picha.

Bila kujali means regardless of or without caring about.

It is made from:

• bila = without
• kujali = to care, to mind, to pay attention to

So literally, it is something like without caring whether..., but in natural English it usually comes out as regardless of whether...

Here, kama means whether.

In other contexts, kama can also mean:

• like
• as
• if

But in the pattern kama ... au ..., it often means whether ... or ...

So:

• kama mgongano ni mdogo au mkubwa = whether the collision is small or large

Mgongano means collision, crash, or impact.

It comes from the verb -gonga, which has the idea of hitting, bumping, or striking.

A learner may notice that mgongano is a bit more specific than a general word like ajali:

• ajali = accident
• mgongano = collision/crash

So this sentence is specifically talking about the severity of a collision.

Ni is the copula here, meaning is.

So:

• mgongano ni mdogo = the collision is small/minor
• mgongano ni mkubwa = the collision is big/serious

This is different from just putting the adjective next to the noun:

• mgongano mdogo = a small collision
• mgongano ni mdogo = the collision is small

So ni is important because it turns the phrase into a full statement.

They agree with the noun mgongano, which belongs to the m-/mi- noun class.

In Swahili, adjectives often change form to match the noun class of the noun they describe. Because mgongano is singular in this class, the adjectives take the singular agreement form:

• mdogo = small/minor
• mkubwa = big/large/serious

If it were plural, you would expect forms like:

• migongano midogo
• migongano mikubwa

So the m- at the beginning is part of noun-class agreement.

It can definitely mean minor here.

Likewise, mkubwa can mean not just big, but also major, serious, or severe, depending on context.

So in this sentence:

• mdogo = minor
• mkubwa = major/serious

That is a very natural way to talk about the seriousness of a collision.

Au means or.

So:

• mdogo au mkubwa = small or large, or more naturally here, minor or major

You may also see ama for or in Swahili. Both exist, but au is very common.

Yes, piga often literally means hit, beat, or strike, but it is also used in many common expressions.

One of those fixed expressions is:

• piga picha = take a picture / take photos

So even though the literal pieces might seem unusual to an English speaker, the whole phrase is just the normal way to say take a photo.

This is similar to how languages often use verbs in idiomatic ways that do not translate word-for-word.

Piga is the imperative singular form, so it is a command addressed to one person:

• piga picha = take a picture / take photos

Swahili imperatives usually do not need an explicit subject pronoun. The subject you is understood.

If you were speaking to more than one person, or using the plural command, you would say:

• pigeni picha

So the sentence is giving a direct instruction.

It can function very naturally as either take a picture or take pictures, depending on context.

Even though picha often looks the same in singular and plural, the phrase piga picha is commonly used in a general sense, and English may translate it as:

• take a picture
• take pictures
• photograph it

In this sentence, English often prefers take pictures, because that sounds natural in instructions after a collision.

Yes. Swahili allows some flexibility.

For example, you could also say:

• Piga picha bila kujali kama mgongano ni mdogo au mkubwa.

That means the same thing: Take pictures regardless of whether the collision is minor or major.

The original version puts the regardless idea first, which gives it a slightly more formal or instruction-like tone.

Yes. A few alternatives are possible, depending on style.

For example:

• Haijalishi kama mgongano ni mdogo au mkubwa, piga picha.
  • It doesn’t matter whether the collision is minor or major, take pictures.

Or:

• Bila kujali ukubwa wa mgongano, piga picha.
  • Regardless of the size/severity of the collision, take pictures.

The original sentence is perfectly natural, but learners should know there is often more than one good way to express the same idea in Swahili.