Daktari alichunguza tishu.

It follows the very common Swahili pattern subject + verb + object.

• daktari = doctor
• alichunguza = examined
• tishu = tissue / tissues

So the sentence is literally:

• Daktari = the doctor / a doctor
• a-li-chunguza = he/she examined
• tishu = tissue

A very literal gloss would be doctor he/she-past-examine tissue.

Alichunguza can be divided into:

• a- = subject marker for he/she or a singular person noun such as daktari
• -li- = past tense marker
• -chunguza = verb stem meaning examine / investigate / inspect

So:

• a-li-chunguza = he/she examined

This is one of the most useful things to notice in Swahili: a lot of information is packed into the verb.

Because in Swahili, a finite verb normally still needs a subject marker, even when the subject noun is stated separately.

So in:

• Daktari alichunguza tishu

the subject is named as daktari, but the verb still agrees with it using a-.

This is normal Swahili grammar, not repetition in the English sense.

Usually yes, especially in a medical context.

Kuchunguza often means:

• to examine
• to inspect
• to investigate
• to look into carefully

So with daktari, examined is the most natural English translation.

It is stronger and more deliberate than simply seeing something.

Swahili does not usually use articles like English the and a/an.

So daktari can mean:

• the doctor
• a doctor

And tishu can mean:

• the tissue
• tissue
• sometimes tissues, depending on context

Context tells you which meaning is intended. That is very normal in Swahili.

Daktari is not inherently masculine or feminine. It is gender-neutral.

So it can mean:

• male doctor
• female doctor

If you really want to specify, you can add extra words, for example:

• daktari wa kike = female doctor
• daktari wa kiume = male doctor

But in many cases, daktari by itself is enough.

The plural is usually madaktari = doctors.

For example:

• Madaktari walichunguza tishu. = The doctors examined the tissue/tissues.

Notice that the verb changes too:

• a- = he/she
• wa- = they, for people

So:

• daktari alichunguza = the doctor examined
• madaktari walichunguza = the doctors examined

Tishu is a borrowed word, and it often stays the same in both singular and plural.

So context may tell you whether it means:

• tissue
• tissues

It is often treated like a class 9/10 noun in Swahili. You can see this in agreement words such as:

• tishu hii = this tissue
• tishu hizi = these tissues

Also, depending on context, tishu can mean either biological tissue or tissue paper, but with daktari it strongly suggests biological tissue.

Because Swahili often does not need an object marker when the object noun is stated clearly after the verb.

So:

• Daktari alichunguza tishu.

is a perfectly normal sentence.

If a speaker wanted to include an object marker, that could make the object sound more specific or more strongly linked to the context. For example:

• Daktari aliichunguza tishu. = The doctor examined it, the tissue.
• Daktari alizichunguza tishu. = The doctor examined them, the tissues.

But for a basic sentence, leaving the object marker out is very common.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

dak-TA-ri a-li-chun-GU-za TI-shu

A few helpful points:

• ch sounds like ch in church
• sh sounds like sh in shoe
• Swahili vowels are usually clear and pure:
  • a as in father
  • i as in machine
  • u as in rule

Swahili stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable of each word, so:

• dakTAri
• alichunGUza
• TIshu

This is the normal, neutral order:

• subject + verb + object

So Daktari alichunguza tishu is exactly the kind of word order a learner should expect and use.

Swahili can sometimes move things around for emphasis, but that is less basic and often involves extra agreement or context. For everyday use, this sentence is a good model.