Learn Hardcore Swahili: Wazazi wetu wanasema ni vizuri watoto wa kike na wa kiume wapate elimu sawa. - Our parents say it is good that girls and boys get equal education.

wazazi – parents
wetu – our
→ wazazi wetu – our parents
wanasema – they say / are saying
- wa- – they (subject prefix for class 2 plural nouns like wazazi, watoto)
- -nasema – say / are saying (present/habitual tense of kusema)
ni vizuri – it is good / it is a good thing
- ni – is (copula)
- vizuri – good, well
watoto – children
wa kike – of female / female
na – and
wa kiume – of male / male
→ watoto wa kike na wa kiume – female and male children
wapate – that they get / so that they may get
- wa- – they (subject prefix for watoto)
- -pat- – get / receive (root of kupata)
- -e – subjunctive ending
elimu – education
sawa – equal

So a very literal rendering would be:
Our parents say it is good [that] children of female and of male may-get education equal.

Why is wazazi used and not a singular form? Does Swahili have a word for a single parent?

Wazazi is the regular plural for mzazi:

mzazi – parent
wazazi – parents

In this sentence, wazazi wetu means our parents, clearly plural. If you want to say one parent, you’d use mzazi:

mzazi wangu – my parent
wazazi wangu / wazazi wetu – my parents / our parents

Here the speaker is talking about both parents in general, so the plural wazazi is the natural choice.

Why is wetu after wazazi instead of before, like in English (our parents)?

In Swahili, possessive adjectives normally come after the noun they modify.

English: our parents
Swahili: wazazi wetu

More examples:

rafiki yangu – my friend
kitabu chako – your book
nyumba yake – his/her house

So wazazi wetu follows the regular Swahili pattern: noun first, then the possessive.

What exactly does wanasema mean? Is it “are saying” or “say”?

Wanasema can be translated as either they say or they are saying, depending on context. Swahili present tense with -na- covers simple present and present progressive:

wanasema – they say / they are saying
anasoma – he/she reads / is reading
tunalala – we sleep / we are sleeping

In this sentence, wazazi wetu wanasema is best understood as a general statement:

Our parents say (that)…
or
Our parents are saying (that)…

Both are acceptable; English just forces you to choose one.

Why is there no word like that (that it is good) after wanasema? Can I add kwamba?

Swahili often omits a word for that where English would require it.

Wazazi wetu wanasema ni vizuri…
→ literally: Our parents say it is good…

You can add kwamba to make the connection more explicit:

Wazazi wetu wanasema kwamba ni vizuri watoto wa kike na wa kiume wapate elimu sawa.
– Our parents say that it is good that boys and girls get equal education.

Both forms are correct. Kwamba is optional in many everyday sentences like this.

What is the function of ni in ni vizuri?

Ni is the basic copula is/are in Swahili.

ni vizuri – it is good
ni kweli – it is true
ni lazima – it is necessary

So ni vizuri is a set phrase meaning it is good or it is a good thing.

The it is implicit; Swahili doesn’t need a separate pronoun here. The whole phrase ni vizuri then introduces a general evaluation, followed by what is considered good (watoto … wapate elimu sawa).

Why does the sentence say watoto wa kike na wa kiume instead of just using separate words for girls and boys?

Swahili does have common words:

msichana / wasichana – girl / girls
mvulana / wavulana – boy / boys

However, mtoto / watoto simply means child / children and does not show gender.

To say girls and boys as “female and male children”, Swahili often uses:

watoto wa kike – female children (girls)
watoto wa kiume – male children (boys)

So watoto wa kike na wa kiume is a natural way to emphasize that the statement applies to both girls and boys. You could also say:

wasichana na wavulana wapate elimu sawa – girls and boys should get equal education.

Both are acceptable; the original just keeps watoto and then clarifies the two sexes.

What does the wa in watoto wa kike and wa kiume do? Why isn’t it just watoto kike na kiume?

The wa here is the genitive/possessive marker linking watoto (children) with kike / kiume (female / male). Literally:

watoto wa kike – children of female (female children)
watoto wa kiume – children of male (male children)

This wa:

agrees with the noun class of watoto (class 2 → wa)
turns kike / kiume into something like of female / of male.

Saying watoto kike na kiume would sound ungrammatical or at least very odd. The wa is needed to link the descriptors to watoto properly.

Why is wa also used at the start of wapate? Is it the same wa as in wa kike?

No, they are different things that just happen to sound the same:

wa in wa kike / wa kiume
- This is a genitive/possessive marker (of).
- It connects the noun (watoto) to a descriptor (kike / kiume).
wa- in wapate
- This is the subject prefix meaning they for class 2 nouns (like watoto).
- It agrees with the subject of the verb.

So:

watoto … wapate
→ watoto (children)
→ wa- (they) + -pate (subjunctive of kupata)
→ “that they (the children) may get…”

What tense or form is wapate? Why not wanapata?

Wapate is in the subjunctive mood, not the normal present tense.

wanapata – they get / they are getting (simple present)
wapate – that they get / so that they may get (subjunctive)

The subjunctive is formed by:

subject prefix (wa-)
verb stem (-pat-)
final -e instead of -a

We use the subjunctive after expressions like:

ni vizuri – it is good (that…)
ni muhimu – it is important (that…)
tunataka – we want (them to…)

So:

ni vizuri watoto wa kike na wa kiume wapate elimu sawa
– it is good that girls and boys get / should get / may get equal education.

Using wanapata would sound more like a plain statement of fact, not a judgment or recommendation.

How does wapate agree with watoto?

The agreement works like this:

watoto – noun class 2 (plural of mtoto)
class 2 subject prefix → wa-

Therefore:

watoto … wapate – children … that they get
watoto … wanasema – children … say
watoto … wanaenda – children … go

In each case, the verb begins with wa- because the subject is a class 2 plural noun.

Why is elimu not pluralized, and what does sawa do here?

Elimu is a mass noun in Swahili; it already means education in a general, uncountable sense. It doesn’t normally have a plural (elim or elimus do not exist).

Sawa here is an adjective meaning equal:

elimu sawa – equal education

Sawa is one of those adjectives that doesn’t change form; it stays sawa regardless of noun class or number:

majibu sawa – equal answers
fursa sawa – equal opportunities

So wapate elimu sawa → that they may get equal education.

Does Swahili really mark gender with kike and kiume, or are these special here?

Swahili nouns themselves are not grammatically gendered like in many European languages, and words like mtoto don’t indicate sex.

To talk explicitly about female or male, Swahili often uses:

wa kike – female
wa kiume – male

attached to another noun:

mtoto wa kike – a girl (female child)
mtoto wa kiume – a boy (male child)
daktari wa kike – a female doctor
daktari wa kiume – a male doctor

In this sentence, watoto wa kike na wa kiume makes clear that both female and male children are included.