Learn Hardcore Swahili: Daktari aliniambia ni bora kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko soda kila siku. - The doctor told me it is better to drink yogurt than soda every day.

So a-li-ni-ambia literally = “he/she–past–me–told” → “he/she told me.”
Daktari (“the doctor”) tells us who that he/she is. You could also say just Aliniambia… if it’s already clear from context who is speaking.

If -ni- in aliniambia already means “me”, why don’t we have a separate word for “me” like mimi in the sentence?

In Swahili, objects are usually shown inside the verb with an object marker like -ni- (“me”), -ku- (“you”), -wa- (“them”), etc.

So instead of saying:

Daktari aliniambia mimi… (literally “The doctor told me, me…”)

you normally just say:

Daktari aliniambia… – The doctor told me…

You only add mimi for extra emphasis, e.g.:

Daktari aliniambia mimi, si wewe.
“The doctor told me, not you.”

In English we say “told me that it is better…”. Where is the word “that” in the Swahili sentence?

Swahili often leaves “that” unspoken.

Daktari aliniambia ni bora kunywa…
literally: “The doctor told me it is better to drink…”

You can add kwamba (“that”):

Daktari aliniambia kwamba ni bora kunywa maziwa mgando…

Both are correct. In everyday speech, kwamba is frequently omitted when the meaning is clear.

Why is it ni bora kunywa and not kunywa ni bora?

The pattern ni bora + infinitive is a very common way to say “it is better to (do something)”:

Ni bora kunywa maziwa… = “It is better to drink milk…”

This is like an impersonal English sentence: “It is better to drink…”.

You can say sentences where the verb comes first, for example:

Kunywa maziwa mgando ni bora kuliko kunywa soda.
“Drinking fermented milk is better than drinking soda.”

But that slightly changes the structure: now “drinking fermented milk” is the subject. In your sentence, ni bora comes first and presents the evaluation (“it is better”) before the action.

What exactly does bora mean here? Is it “better” or “best” or just “good”?

Bora basically means “of good quality / preferable / best”.

On its own with ni, context decides whether it’s “better” or “best”:

Hii ni bora. – “This is better / this one is best.”
Ni bora kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko soda. – “It is better to drink fermented milk than soda.”

When you add kuliko (“than”), bora clearly takes a comparative sense: “better (than)”.

Why do we use the infinitive kunywa (“to drink”) instead of a conjugated verb like unywe (“that you drink”)?

After ni bora, both patterns exist in Swahili:

Ni bora kunywa maziwa mgando…
Literally: “It is better to drink fermented milk…” (infinitive)
Ni bora unywe maziwa mgando…
Literally: “It is better (that) you drink fermented milk…” (subjunctive)

The infinitive version (kunywa) is a bit more neutral and impersonal: it just states a general recommendation. The subjunctive (unywe) points more directly at you (or another specific subject). In everyday speech, the infinitive after ni bora is very common.

What is maziwa mgando exactly? Is it just “milk,” or something like yogurt?

Maziwa mgando is fermented milk, something like sour milk / yogurt depending on the region and preparation.

maziwa = milk
mgando (from the idea of “clotting / curdling”)

So maziwa mgando is milk that has been allowed to ferment and thicken, not just fresh milk.

Why does maziwa look plural? What is the singular form of “milk” in Swahili?

Grammatically, maziwa is a plural form (it belongs to the ma- noun class). The corresponding singular ziwa literally means “breast” or “lake”, depending on context.

However, when you mean milk as a substance, you normally just use maziwa and don’t use a singular form:

Nimeleta maziwa. – “I’ve brought milk.”

So for “milk” in the everyday sense, think of maziwa as a mass noun (like “water” in English) rather than something that has a practical singular.

Why is it maziwa mgando and not something like maziwa magando to agree with the ma- class?

In maziwa mgando, mgando is functioning like a noun used as a modifier, rather than a normal adjective that changes form for agreement. Literally, it’s close to “clotted milk”:

maziwa = milk
mgando = clot / curd / thickened part

In Swahili, when one noun modifies another (a kind of noun–noun compound), the second noun does not change its form for agreement:

gari moshi – train (literally “car smoke”)
siku ya kazi – work day (with “kazi” unchanged)
maziwa mgando – fermented / clotted milk

So mgando stays as mgando. This phrase is very fixed in usage.

How does kuliko work here? Why is there no verb after it, like kuliko kunywa soda?

Kuliko means “than” in comparisons. The full, explicit structure would be:

Ni bora kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko kunywa soda.
“It is better to drink fermented milk than to drink soda.”

But when the second verb would be the same as the first one, Swahili usually omits it to avoid repetition:

…kuliko soda.

The meaning “than (to drink) soda” is understood from context.

Does kuliko soda kila siku mean “than soda every day” or “than drinking soda every day”?

Semantically, it means “than drinking soda every day”.

Literally, you see:

kuliko soda kila siku = “than soda every day”

But because the earlier verb is kunywa (“to drink”), native speakers automatically understand:

Ni bora kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko (kunywa) soda kila siku.
“It’s better to drink fermented milk than (to drink) soda every day.”

So the idea of drinking is just left out after kuliko to avoid repetition.

What exactly does kila siku mean, and can I say kila siku moja?

Kila siku means “every day”:

kila = every / each
siku = day

You do not say kila siku moja for “every single day”. Kila already requires a singular noun and itself carries the “each / every” meaning, so:

✅ kila siku – correct
❌ kila siku moja – ungrammatical / redundant in standard Swahili

If you really want to stress “every single day”, you could use intonation or add something like kila siku, siku zote (“every day, all the time”), but kila siku alone is usually enough.

Could I say Ni vizuri kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko soda instead of ni bora? What’s the difference between bora and vizuri?

You can say:

Ni vizuri kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko soda.

This would be understood as “It is good to drink fermented milk rather than soda.”

Differences:

bora = “better / best / preferable” – implies a comparison / preference
vizuri = “good / well” – more neutral, “a good thing to do”

Your original sentence with bora is stronger: it clearly expresses preference for fermented milk over soda, not just that it’s a good idea in general.

If the doctor is female, do I need to change anything in the sentence?

No changes are needed. Swahili does not mark gender in the verb or in daktari:

Daktari aliniambia… can be “The (male) doctor told me…” or “The (female) doctor told me…”

Context would tell you whether the doctor is male or female.

Can I move kila siku earlier and say Daktari aliniambia ni bora kila siku kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko soda?

You can say that, and it will be understood, but it sounds a bit less natural.

…ni bora kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko soda kila siku.
Emphasizes: drinking soda every day is the bad habit.
…ni bora kila siku kunywa maziwa mgando kuliko soda.
Sounds more like: it is better every day to drink fermented milk rather than soda (slight shift of focus).

Most native speakers would keep kila siku close to soda here to clearly tie “every day” to the soda-drinking habit: …kuliko soda kila siku.