Ukimwona mtoto amevaa koti zito ndani ya nyumba, mwambie alivue kabla hajapata joto sana.

Ukimwona = uki- + -m- + -ona.

• uki- = if/when you
• -m- = him/her
• -ona = see

So ukimwona means if/when you see him/her. Because mtoto follows, the full sense is if/when you see the child.

Also, the m becomes mw before the vowel in ona, which is why you get mwona, not just mona.

This is a very common Swahili pattern, especially with people or other animate objects.

The object marker -m- already means him/her, and then mtoto is added to name that object explicitly. So the structure is something like:

• ukimwona mtoto = if/when you see the child

In English, this feels a bit redundant, but in Swahili it is natural. It often makes the object feel more definite or more prominent.

You could also hear Ukiona mtoto..., without the object marker. That is also possible, but the original sentence is very normal.

Amevaa is from:

• a- = he/she
• -me- = perfect marker
• vaa = wear / put on

Literally, it means he/she has put on, but with clothing this often translates naturally as is wearing.

So:

• amevaa koti = he/she is wearing a coat

By contrast, anavaa can mean things like:

• he/she is putting on
• he/she wears
• he/she usually wears

So amevaa is the better choice here because the sentence is describing the child’s current state: the child already has the coat on.

Because koti belongs to a noun class that takes the adjective form zito in the singular.

So:

• koti zito = a heavy coat
• makoti mazito = heavy coats

Even though koti refers to an object, it does not belong to the ki-/vi- class, so the adjective is not kizito.

This is one of those places where you have to learn the noun class of the noun, not just rely on meaning.

Literally, ndani ya nyumba means the inside of the house.

In natural English, that becomes:

• inside the house
• in the house, depending on context

Breakdown:

• ndani = inside / interior
• ya = linking word, roughly of
• nyumba = house

So the phrase is very idiomatic and common.

Yes, that would also be possible.

• ndani ya nyumba = inside the house
• katika nyumba = in the house / inside the house

The original ndani ya nyumba emphasizes being physically inside a building. Katika is also very common, but ndani ya can feel a bit more concrete or spatial.

So this is mostly a wording choice, not a major change in meaning.

Mwambie means tell him/her.

It comes from kuambia = to tell / to say to someone.

Breakdown:

• m- = him/her
• -ambie = verb form meaning tell

So:

• mwambie = tell him/her

The mw- happens because the object marker m- comes before a vowel.

Also, in Swahili, when a command includes an object marker like this, the verb commonly appears with the -e ending. That is why you get mwambie, not just ambia.

Here, alivue means that he/she take it off or to take it off.

Breakdown:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = it
• vue = subjunctive form of vua, take off

The important point is that -li- here is not the past tense marker.
It is the object marker for a noun in the same class as koti.

So alivue means:

• he/she take it off

with it referring to the coat.

This is a very common learner question, because li can be a past marker in other verbs, but here it is an object marker.

Because after a verb like mwambie (tell him/her), Swahili often uses the subjunctive to express what someone should do.

So:

• mwambie alivue = tell him/her to take it off

The final -e in alivue is a clue that this is the subjunctive form.

This is similar to English patterns like:

• tell him to go
• ask her to sit
• want them to come

Swahili does this very often after verbs of telling, asking, wanting, ordering, and so on.

This is a very important Swahili pattern.

After kabla (before), Swahili often uses a negative perfect form:

• ha-ja-pata = he/she has not yet gotten

So:

• kabla hajapata joto sana
  literally = before he/she has gotten very hot naturally = before he/she gets too hot

This may look strange to an English speaker, but it is very normal in Swahili. The idea is before X has happened yet.

Literally, joto sana means a lot of heat or very much heat.

In context, English naturally translates it as too hot:

• kabla hajapata joto sana = before he/she gets too hot

So sana literally means very, but depending on the situation, English may prefer too. The Swahili wording is still perfectly natural.

Also note that Swahili often says:

• kupata joto = to get hot / warm up

So the idea is not just be hot, but become too warm.

No. Swahili does not mark gender here.

Forms like:

• -m-
• a-
• haja-

can all refer to he or she, depending on context.

So the child could be a boy or a girl. English often has to choose him/her, or you could translate more neutrally as them in modern English if the context allows it.

Yes. For example, you could say:

Ukiona mtoto amevaa koti zito ndani ya nyumba, ambie avue kabla hajapata joto sana.

That version removes some object markers.

The original sentence is still very natural, and in some ways a bit more explicit:

• ukimwona clearly marks the child as the object
• alivue clearly marks the coat as it

So the original is a good example of how Swahili often uses object markers even when the nouns are also present.