Daktari alipima kiwango cha oksijeni.

Alipima can be broken into three parts:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense marker
• -pima = verb root meaning measure

So a-li-pima literally means he/she measured.

Because the subject is already built into the verb, Swahili often does not need a separate word for he or she.

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

So daktari can mean:

• the doctor
• a doctor

The exact meaning depends on context. In many translations, English adds the or a because English requires it, but Swahili does not.

Yes. Since Swahili has no articles, the sentence itself does not mark that difference.

Depending on context, it could be understood as:

• The doctor measured the oxygen level
• A doctor measured the oxygen level
• The doctor measured an oxygen level

In normal translation, English speakers usually choose the most natural option for the situation.

The word cha links kiwango and oksijeni and means something like of in English.

So:

• kiwango cha oksijeni = level of oxygen = oxygen level

In Swahili, this connector must agree with the noun that comes before it, which here is kiwango.

Because the agreement is controlled by kiwango, not by oksijeni.

Kiwango belongs to the ki-/vi- noun class (Class 7/8), and the singular connector for that class is cha.

So:

• kiwango cha oksijeni = oxygen level

If the noun were plural, the connector would change:

• viwango vya oksijeni = oxygen levels

This is a very common pattern in Swahili: the of word changes depending on the noun class of the first noun.

Kiwango is in the ki-/vi- noun class:

• singular: kiwango
• plural: viwango

So:

• kiwango cha oksijeni = oxygen level
• viwango vya oksijeni = oxygen levels

This noun class affects agreement words such as cha / vya.

Here it is singular, because the verb shows a singular subject:

• a-li-pima = he/she measured

So Daktari alipima means The doctor measured or A doctor measured.

The plural is commonly madaktari:

• Madaktari walipima kiwango cha oksijeni = The doctors measured the oxygen level

Notice how the verb also changes:

• a- = he/she
• wa- = they

Because the verb already includes the subject.

In alipima:

• a- already means he/she

So if you already have daktari as the subject, adding a separate pronoun would usually be unnecessary.

This is very normal in Swahili. The verb often carries information that English expresses with separate words.

In this sentence, yes. The basic order is:

• Daktari = subject
• alipima = verb
• kiwango cha oksijeni = object

So it follows a normal Subject–Verb–Object order, much like English:

• The doctor measured the oxygen level

Swahili word order can be flexible in some contexts, but this is the most straightforward and common pattern.

Oksijeni is a borrowed word meaning oxygen.

In this sentence, it functions as the second noun in the phrase:

• kiwango cha oksijeni = level of oxygen

Swahili uses many borrowed scientific and medical terms, especially in formal or technical language. Even when a word is borrowed, it still fits into Swahili grammar, as you can see here with cha linking it to kiwango.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

Dak-ta-ri a-li-pi-ma ki-wan-go cha ok-si-je-ni

A few helpful points:

• Swahili vowels are usually pronounced clearly: a, e, i, o, u
• Stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable
• So you would naturally stress:
  • dak-TA-ri
  • a-li-PI-ma
  • ki-WA-ngo
  • ok-si-JE-ni

Swahili pronunciation is generally more regular than English spelling.