Mtoto anaoga bafuni sasa.

The child is bathing in the bathroom now.

Breakdown of Mtoto anaoga bafuni sasa.

• mtoto: the child
• sasa: now
• kuoga: to bathe
• bafuni: in the bathroom

Questions & Answers about Mtoto anaoga bafuni sasa.

What does each word in Mtoto anaoga bafuni sasa correspond to in English?

Roughly, word‑for‑word:

• mtoto – child
• anaoga – he/she is bathing (or: is taking a bath)
• bafuni – in the bathroom
• sasa – now

So the whole sentence is something like: The child is bathing in the bathroom now.

How is the verb anaoga formed, and what does each part mean?

anaoga comes from the infinitive kuoga (to bathe / to shower).

It can be broken down as:

• a- – subject prefix for he/she/it (3rd person singular)
• -na- – present tense marker (often similar to English is …ing)
• -oga – verb root oga (to bathe / to shower)

So anaoga literally encodes he/she is bathing all in one word. Swahili does not need a separate word for is here; the tense is built into the verb.

What is the difference between kuoga and kuosha? Why not anaosha?

• kuoga – to bathe or shower oneself (to wash your own body).
• kuosha – to wash something or someone else (clothes, dishes, a car, a child, etc.).

In this sentence, the child is washing himself/herself, so anaoga (is bathing) is correct.
If the child were washing something else, you would use anaosha, for example:

• Mtoto anaosha sahani. – The child is washing the plates.

What does bafuni literally mean, and why does it end in -ni?

The basic noun is bafu – bathroom, bath, shower room.

The ending -ni is a common locative suffix that often means in, at, or on.

So:

• bafu – bathroom
• bafuni – in the bathroom / in the bath

You use -ni on certain place nouns to show location instead of using a separate preposition word like in.

Could I also say katika bafu instead of bafuni?

Yes, katika bafu is grammatically correct and also means in the bathroom.

However:

• bafuni is shorter and more natural in everyday speech.
• katika bafu can sound a bit more formal or emphatic, like stressing the location.

In many practical situations, Swahili speakers prefer the -ni locative form (bafuni).

Is mtoto masculine or feminine? How do I know if it is “he” or “she”?

Swahili does not mark grammatical gender the way English does.
Mtoto simply means child; it can refer to a boy or a girl.

In English you must choose he or she, but Swahili uses the same verb prefix a- for both. Context tells you whether the child is male or female, or you can specify:

• mtoto wa kiume – boy (male child)
• mtoto wa kike – girl (female child)

How do I make this sentence plural, like “The children are bathing in the bathroom now”?

You change both the noun and the verb agreement:

• mtoto (child) → watoto (children)
• a- (he/she) → wa- (they) for the verb subject prefix

So the plural sentence is:

• Watoto wanaoga bafuni sasa. – The children are bathing in the bathroom now.

Here, wanaoga = wa- (they) + -na- (present) + -oga (bathe).

Can mtoto anaoga bafuni sasa ever mean “The child bathes in the bathroom now and then / regularly”?

Normally, -na- in anaoga expresses a present ongoing action (is bathing right now), similar to English is …ing.

However, in narration or habitual context, -na- can also express present habitual (does, usually does). Context decides:

• Right now:
  Mtoto anaoga bafuni sasa. – The child is bathing in the bathroom now.

• Habitual (with extra context):
  Kila siku jioni, mtoto anaoga bafuni. – Every evening, the child bathes in the bathroom.

By itself with sasa, it most naturally means right now.

Does Swahili always put the subject first, then the verb, then place, then time like in this sentence?

The default and most common word order is:

Subject – Verb – Place – Time

That is exactly what we have:

• Mtoto (subject)
• anaoga (verb)
• bafuni (place)
• sasa (time)

You can sometimes move sasa for emphasis, for example:

• Sasa mtoto anaoga bafuni. – Now the child is bathing in the bathroom. (emphasis on now)
• Mtoto sasa anaoga bafuni. – The child is now bathing in the bathroom.

But the meaning stays essentially the same; you just shift the emphasis.

Can I drop the word mtoto and just say Anaoga bafuni sasa?

Yes, you can. The verb anaoga already tells us the subject is he/she.

• Anaoga bafuni sasa. – He/She is bathing in the bathroom now.

However:

• Without mtoto, you need context to know who he/she is.
• Adding mtoto makes it clear that the subject is the child.

So both are correct, but Mtoto anaoga... is clearer if the listener does not already know who you are talking about.

What exactly does sasa mean, and can it appear elsewhere in the sentence?

sasa usually means now, and often indicates right at this moment. It can also mean so / well then in conversation, but here it clearly means now.

It is flexible in position:

• Mtoto anaoga bafuni sasa.
• Mtoto sasa anaoga bafuni.
• Sasa mtoto anaoga bafuni.

All can be understood as The child is bathing in the bathroom now, with slightly different emphasis.

Is there any difference between kuoga = to bathe and to take a shower in Swahili?

In everyday Swahili, kuoga covers both taking a bath and taking a shower. The language does not always sharply distinguish between the two as English does.

If you need to be more specific, you might add extra words like kuoga kwa bomba (to bathe with a shower head / running water) vs kuoga kwenye beseni (to bathe in a basin), but in normal conversation people usually just use kuoga.