Usisahau kugeuza karatasi hiyo ili usome maelekezo yaliyoandikwa nyuma.

Usisahau means don't forget when speaking to one person.

It is made from:

• -sahau = forget
• usi- = the negative form used for a singular command or prohibition

So:

• usisahau = don't forget
• msisahau = don't forget (to more than one person)

After -sahau (to forget), Swahili commonly uses an infinitive with ku- to show what someone forgets to do.

So:

• usisahau kugeuza = don't forget to turn / flip

Here:

• kugeuza = to turn over, flip, reverse

Literally, it means to turn/flip the paper.

In this sentence, because the next part talks about reading something written on the back, the meaning is specifically:

• flip the paper over
• turn the sheet to the other side

So it is not just any kind of turning; it means turning it so the back becomes visible.

In Swahili, demonstratives like this and that usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• karatasi hiyo = that paper
• literally: paper that

This word order is normal in Swahili.

Hiyo means that and agrees with karatasi.

It often refers to:

• something near the listener, or
• something already mentioned or understood from context

A useful comparison:

• hii = this
• hiyo = that
• ile = that over there / that more distant one

So karatasi hiyo is that paper.

Ili means so that or in order that.

It introduces a purpose clause: it explains why the paper should be turned over.

So the structure is:

• Usisahau kugeuza karatasi hiyo = Don't forget to turn over that paper
• ili usome... = so that you read / so that you can read...

After ili, Swahili normally uses the subjunctive form.

So:

• usome = so that you may read / so that you can read

Here:

• u- = you (singular)
• -some = subjunctive form of read

Why not the others?

• unasoma = you are reading / you read → not the right form after ili
• kusoma = to read → infinitive, not what is needed here

So ili usome is the natural Swahili way to say so that you can read.

Maelekezo means instructions or directions.

It is grammatically plural. The singular form is elekezo, but in everyday usage, maelekezo is much more common.

Because it is plural, other words in the sentence must agree with it. That is why the relative form later begins with ya- in yaliyoandikwa.

Yaliyoandikwa means that were written or, in smoother English here, written.

It agrees with maelekezo (instructions). A simplified breakdown is:

• ya- = agreement for the noun class of maelekezo
• -li- = past marker
• -yo- = relative marker (which/that)
• andikwa = be written / written (passive form of andika, write)

So:

• maelekezo yaliyoandikwa nyuma = the instructions that were written on the back
• in natural English: the instructions written on the back

Because the instructions are not doing the writing; they are the thing that has been written.

Compare:

• andika = write
• andikwa = be written / be recorded in writing

So maelekezo yaliyoandikwa means:

• instructions that were written not
• instructions that wrote

Nyuma means behind, at the back, or on the back.

In this sentence, the noun after it is understood from context: it is clearly the back of the paper. So Swahili can simply say:

• nyuma = on the back / on the reverse side

If you wanted to say it more explicitly, you could say:

• nyuma ya karatasi = at the back of the paper

Here, nyuma alone is enough because the paper has already been mentioned.

It is speaking to one person.

You can tell from:

• usisahau = don't forget (singular)
• usome = so that you read (singular)

If you were speaking to more than one person, you would say:

• Msisahau kugeuza karatasi hiyo ili msome maelekezo yaliyoandikwa nyuma.

That would mean Don't forget to turn over that paper so that you can read the instructions written on the back when addressing a group.