Usipulize chakula cha mtu mwingine mezani; subiri kipoe kidogo.

usi- is the marker for a negative command addressed to one person.

So usipulize means don’t blow.

A useful pattern is:

• usi- + verb = don’t ... (to one person)
• msi- + verb = don’t ... (to more than one person)

For example:

• usile = don’t eat
• usiondoke = don’t leave
• msile = don’t eat, everyone

That -e ending is very common in Swahili negative commands.

The dictionary form is kupuliza. In a negative command, the final -a usually changes to -e:

• kupuliza → usipulize
• kufanya → usifanye
• kula → usile

So the -e here is not random; it is part of the grammar of the negative imperative.

cha is the possessive linker meaning something like of.

So:

• chakula cha mtu mwingine = the food of another person / someone else’s food

It changes form depending on the noun class of the noun before it. Since chakula belongs to a class that takes cha, you get:

• chakula cha mtoto = the child’s food
• chakula cha Amina = Amina’s food

So cha is there because it agrees with chakula.

In Swahili, modifiers usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• mtu mwingine = another person / someone else
• kitabu kingine = another book
• siku nyingine = another day

That is why mwingine follows mtu.

mezani comes from meza + -ni.

The ending -ni makes a location word, so mezani means:

• on the table
• at the table

The exact English translation depends on context. Swahili often uses -ni where English has in, on, or at.

Other examples:

• nyumbani = at home
• shuleni = at school
• dukani = at/in the shop

subiri is the normal singular imperative of kusubiri.

So it simply means:

• subiri = wait!

This is the positive command form, unlike usipulize, which is negative.

Compare:

• subiri = wait
• usisubiri = don’t wait

So the sentence gives two commands in sequence:

• don’t do this
• wait ...

kipoe comes from kupoa, which means to cool down.

It has two important parts:

• ki- = the subject marker referring back to chakula
• -poe = the verb in a subjunctive-type form

So kipoe means roughly:

• let it cool
• for it to cool
• until it cools

In natural English here, it is best understood as wait for it to cool.

The idea of it is built into the verb as ki-.

Swahili often does not use a separate word like English it. Instead, the verb shows the subject.

Here:

• chakula is the thing being talked about
• chakula takes class agreement with ki-
• so kipoe already means it cools / it should cool

So ki- is doing the job of English it.

Because chakula belongs to a noun class that uses ki- for singular subject agreement.

That is why you see different agreement markers in the sentence:

• cha in chakula cha ...
• ki- in kipoe

Both agree with chakula, but they are used in different grammatical jobs:

• cha = possessive agreement
• ki- = subject agreement

So even though they look different, they both match chakula.

kidogo means a little or a bit.

So:

• subiri kipoe kidogo = wait for it to cool a little

Here kidogo is working like an adverb, describing the degree of cooling.

You will often hear it in similar ways:

• ongea kidogo = speak a little
• subiri kidogo = wait a bit
• punguza kidogo = reduce it a little

Not very naturally.

A very literal breakdown would be something like:

• Usipulize = don’t blow
• chakula cha mtu mwingine = another person’s food
• mezani = on/at the table
• subiri = wait
• kipoe kidogo = for it to cool a little

But natural English would usually rearrange this to sound smoother. Swahili and English often package commands and pronouns differently, so a word-for-word translation can sound awkward even when the grammar is correct.