Nilipokuwa mdogo, niliogopa wembe na mkasi, lakini sasa ninajua kuvitumia kwa uangalifu.

Swahili often packs several pieces of meaning into one verb form.

Nilipokuwa can be broken down like this:

• ni- = I
• -li- = past tense
• -po- = when / at the time when
• -kuwa = be

So nilipokuwa literally means something like when I was.

This is very normal in Swahili: what would be several words in English is often a single verb word in Swahili.

The tense markers are inside the verbs.

• niliogopa = ni-
  • -li-
    • -ogopa
      -li- marks the past → I was afraid
• ninajua = ni-
  • -na-
    • -jua
      -na- marks the present → I know / I now know

So the sentence contrasts:

• then: niliogopa = I was afraid
• now: ninajua = I know

Yes, mdogo can mean both small and young, depending on context.

In nilipokuwa mdogo, the context is age, so mdogo is naturally understood as young rather than just small.

For people, this is very common:

• mtoto mdogo = a small child / a young child
• nilipokuwa mdogo = when I was young

So the word itself does not change; the context tells you which English translation fits best.

Because adjectives in Swahili agree with the noun class of the person or thing being described, not with English-style person labels like I, you, or we.

Here the speaker is one person, so the adjective takes the singular human form:

• mdogo = singular human
• wadogo = plural human

So:

• mimi ni mdogo = I am small/young
• sisi ni wadogo = we are small/young

Even though the subject is I, the adjective still behaves like it is describing one person.

Because the Swahili verb -ogopa takes its object directly.

English says:

• to be afraid of something

But Swahili says more literally:

• kuogopa kitu = to fear something / be afraid of something

So:

• niliogopa wembe na mkasi = I was afraid of a razor and scissors

There is no extra word corresponding to English of here.

Because Swahili treats mkasi as a singular noun for one pair of scissors.

English has some nouns that are grammatically plural even when they refer to one object, such as:

• scissors
• pants
• glasses

Swahili does not have to copy that pattern. So:

• mkasi = a pair of scissors
• more than one pair can be expressed with a plural form such as mikasi

So even though English uses a plural-looking word, Swahili can use a singular noun.

Literally, ninajua kuvitumia means I know to use them, but in natural English it means I know how to use them.

The ku- here is the infinitive marker, like to in English:

• kutumia = to use

After kujua (to know), Swahili often uses an infinitive to express knowing how to do something:

• ninajua kuogelea = I know how to swim
• ninajua kusoma = I know how to read
• ninajua kuvitumia = I know how to use them

So this is a very common pattern.

Kuvitumia breaks down like this:

• ku- = infinitive to
• vi- = them
• -tumia = use

So it means to use them.

The interesting part is vi-. It refers back to wembe na mkasi together as a group of non-human objects. When several inanimate things are being referred to together, Swahili often uses a plural agreement form as if they were being treated as things / tools as a set.

So vi- here is essentially pointing back to the two items together.

This is one of those areas where noun-class agreement can feel less straightforward to English speakers, especially when two different nouns are grouped together. In real usage, speakers may also rephrase such sentences in different ways, but kuvitumia is understandable as to use them.

Yes. Kwa uangalifu is a very natural way to say carefully.

It is made of:

• kwa = with / in
• uangalifu = carefulness, caution, care

So literally it is with care or with caution, but in English we usually translate it as carefully.

This kind of phrase is very common in Swahili. Instead of using a single adverb, Swahili often uses kwa + noun:

• kwa haraka = quickly
• kwa makini = carefully / attentively
• kwa uangalifu = carefully / with caution

Yes. In everyday Swahili, najua is a very common shortened form of ninajua.

So both of these can mean I know:

• ninajua
• najua

The longer form ninajua is perfectly correct and a bit fuller; the shorter najua is very common in normal speech.

So in this sentence, many speakers would also naturally say:

• lakini sasa najua kuvitumia kwa uangalifu

with the same meaning.