Akiwa amepika dengu, mama huongeza chumvi kidogo na limau.

Akiwa is built from:

• a- = he/she
• -ki- = a marker often used for when / if / while in a dependent clause
• -wa = to be

So akiwa helps introduce the first clause and gives the idea of when/while being. In this sentence, it works naturally as when/once she is in the state of...

This is a common thing that can confuse learners. The two verbs do different jobs:

• akiwa sets up the time clause
• amepika tells you what action has been completed

So akiwa amepika dengu means something like when/once she has cooked lentils. It is not just two random verbs next to each other; together they express a time relationship.

It can mean any of those, depending on context.

In this sentence, when / once / whenever is the best fit, because the next action happens after the cooking is done. So here it is not really a strong if, and not a literal while she is cooking.

Amepika contains -me-, the Swahili perfect marker. It shows a completed action with present relevance or a resulting state.

So amepika means she has cooked or she has finished cooking. In this sentence, it shows that the cooking happens before the adding of salt and lemon.

Huongeza shows a habitual action: she usually adds, she habitually adds, or she adds as a rule.

That is different from anaongeza, which can mean she is adding or simply she adds in a less explicitly habitual way. Here hu- makes it clear that this is what mother normally does.

Yes, mama is understood as the subject of both parts of the sentence.

Swahili verbs already include the subject in the verb prefix:

• a-kiwa = she/he being...
• a-mepika = she/he has cooked

Because of that, Swahili often does not need a separate pronoun like she unless you want emphasis.

Dengu means lentils as a food item. In practice, it is often treated like a mass or ingredient word, so Swahili does not have to mark plurality the way English does.

That is why English may use lentils, but Swahili simply says dengu.

Here kidogo means a little or a small amount.

With substances and ingredients, Swahili very often uses kidogo to talk about quantity:

• maji kidogo = a little water
• sukari kidogo = a little sugar
• chumvi kidogo = a little salt

This is more natural than thinking of the salt as small in size. It is about amount, not physical size.

Na can mean and or with. Here it is most naturally understood as linking another thing being added, so and lemon is the clearest explanation.

Depending on how the full meaning is translated, English might also phrase it as with a little salt and lemon, but the Swahili structure is simply adding another ingredient.

Because the object is stated directly after the verb:

• huongeza chumvi kidogo na limau

In Swahili, if the object noun is clearly present after the verb, an object marker is often unnecessary. Object markers are more likely when the object has already been mentioned, is especially definite/topical, or is not repeated as a full noun.

Swahili does not have articles that match English a/an and the exactly.

So nouns like mama, dengu, chumvi, and limau appear without articles. English adds a, the, or no article at all depending on what sounds natural in translation.

Not always. In East African usage, limau can refer to lemon or lime, depending on region and context.

So if your translation gives lemon, that is fine, but in some contexts lime may also be possible.