Ingawa nina mafua kidogo, nitapita supermarketi kununua sharubati na shampuu baada ya kazi.

Ingawa means although or even though. It introduces a contrast:

• Ingawa nina mafua kidogo = Although I have a slight cold
• nitapita supermarketi... = I’ll stop by the supermarket...

So the sentence sets up a contrast between feeling a bit sick and still planning to do something.

In standard Swahili, kuwa na (to have) is usually expressed with the -na- form attached to the subject:

• nina = I have
• una = you have
• ana = he/she has

So:

• nina mafua = I have a cold / I have flu-like symptoms

You may hear niko na in some spoken varieties, but nina mafua is the more standard and expected form for learners.

Mafua can cover a cold, flu, or cold/flu symptoms, depending on context. It does not always match English medical terms exactly.

In this sentence, because of kidogo (a little / slight) and the context of buying sharubati, a natural English interpretation is:

• I have a slight cold
• or I’ve got mild flu/cold symptoms

So learners should think of mafua as a common everyday illness term rather than a highly precise diagnosis.

In Swahili, words like kidogo often come after the noun or idea they modify.

So:

• mafua kidogo = a slight cold / a little bit of a cold

This is a common pattern:

• maji kidogo = a little water
• chakula kidogo = a little food
• usingizi kidogo = a little sleep

So the order here is normal Swahili word order.

Literally, nitapita comes from kupita, which often means to pass or to go by. In this context, it means something like:

• I’ll stop by the supermarket
• I’ll drop by the supermarket
• I’ll pass by the supermarket

So nitapita supermarketi is a very natural way to say you plan to go by the supermarket, especially as part of your route or routine.

Swahili often allows place nouns directly after verbs of motion, especially in everyday speech.

So both of these ideas are possible:

• nitapita supermarketi = I’ll stop by the supermarket
• nitapita kwenye supermarketi = I’ll stop by / go by the supermarket

The version without a preposition is concise and natural. English usually needs by or at, but Swahili does not always.

Nitapita breaks down like this:

• ni- = I
• -ta- = future tense marker
• pita = verb root meaning pass / go by

So:

• nitapita = I will pass by / I will stop by

This is a very useful pattern in Swahili:

• nitanunua = I will buy
• nitakula = I will eat
• nitafanya = I will do

Kununua means to buy. Here it explains the purpose of stopping by the supermarket.

So:

• nitapita supermarketi kununua sharubati na shampuu = I’ll stop by the supermarket to buy syrup and shampoo

This is a common Swahili structure:

• verb of movement/action + ku- infinitive for purpose

For example:

• ninaenda sokoni kununua matunda = I’m going to the market to buy fruit
• alikuja kusaidia = he/she came to help

Sharubati can mean syrup, and in health-related contexts it often refers to medicine in syrup form, such as cough syrup.

Because the speaker says nina mafua kidogo, the most likely meaning here is something like:

• cough syrup
• medicinal syrup

In other contexts, sharubati can also refer to a sweet syrup or cordial-type drink, so context matters.

Yes. Shampuu is a borrowed word adapted to Swahili spelling and pronunciation.

This is very common in Swahili, especially for modern products and technology. Other borrowed words are also adapted to fit Swahili sound patterns.

So:

• shampuu = shampoo
• supermarketi = supermarket

A learner should get used to seeing loanwords written in a more Swahili-friendly way.

Na means and.

So:

• sharubati na shampuu = syrup and shampoo

This is the normal way to join nouns in Swahili:

• chai na mkate = tea and bread
• kalamu na daftari = pen and notebook

Baada ya means after, and kazi means work.

So:

• baada ya kazi = after work

This is a very common expression. Notice that Swahili does not use articles like the, so English after work and after the work are not distinguished the same way here. In natural English, after work is the best translation.

In Swahili, time expressions often come at the end, especially when they add extra information about when the action happens.

So the main structure is:

• Ingawa nina mafua kidogo, nitapita supermarketi kununua sharubati na shampuu = main idea

Then:

• baada ya kazi = after work

This placement is very natural. Swahili is flexible, but the end position for time phrases is extremely common.

Yes, literally kupita can mean to pass by, so in isolation it could suggest simply going past. But in this sentence, the phrase kununua sharubati na shampuu makes the intention clear:

• the speaker is going by the supermarket in order to buy things

So the best English understanding is:

• I’ll stop by the supermarket to buy syrup and shampoo

not merely

• I’ll pass the supermarket

Several things:

• Ingawa sets up a natural contrast.
• nina mafua kidogo is a very normal way to describe mild illness.
• nitapita supermarketi sounds conversational and idiomatic for stopping by a place.
• kununua... clearly gives the purpose.
• baada ya kazi adds a common everyday time expression.

So this is the kind of sentence a native speaker could naturally say in daily life.