Tafadhali weka vikombe kabatini baada ya chakula.

Tafadhali means please.

It often goes at the beginning of a polite request, as in:

Tafadhali weka vikombe kabatini.
= Please put the cups in the cupboard.

It can also appear elsewhere in conversation, but sentence-initial position is very common and natural for requests.

Weka is the verb put, place, or set.

Its basic dictionary form is kuweka = to put / to place.
When giving a command to one person, Swahili often uses the bare verb stem as the imperative:

• weka = put
• leta = bring
• kula = eat

So weka vikombe kabatini means put the cups in the cupboard.

Yes. In this sentence, weka is an imperative: a command or instruction.

To one person:

• weka = put

To more than one person:

• wekeni = put (plural command)

So you could say:

• Tafadhali weka vikombe kabatini. = speaking to one person
• Tafadhali wekeni vikombe kabatini. = speaking to multiple people

In Swahili commands, the subject you is usually understood and does not need to be stated.

So English says:

• Please put the cups...

But Swahili simply says:

• Tafadhali weka vikombe...

The person being addressed is clear from the imperative verb form.

Vikombe means cups.
The singular is kikombe = cup.

This is part of the Swahili noun class system:

• kikombe = one cup
• vikombe = cups

This is a common ki-/vi- noun pair.

The vi- shows the plural noun class for this noun.

Swahili nouns are grouped into classes, and many nouns referring to objects use:

• singular: ki-
• plural: vi-

So:

• kikombe = cup
• vikombe = cups

This matters because other words in the sentence may sometimes agree with the noun class in longer sentences.

Kabatini means in the cupboard / in the cabinet.

The base noun is:

• kabati = cupboard, cabinet, wardrobe

The ending -ni is a very common locative suffix in Swahili. It often gives the meaning in, at, or to a place.

So:

• kabati = cupboard
• kabatini = in the cupboard / in the cabinet

This is why Swahili does not need a separate word exactly like English in here.

Yes. Both are possible.

• kabatini = in the cupboard
• ndani ya kabati = inside the cupboard

Kabatini is shorter and very natural.
Ndani ya kabati is a little more explicit about being inside.

In many contexts, they can mean nearly the same thing.

Baada ya means after.

It is a very common expression:

• baada ya kazi = after work
• baada ya shule = after school
• baada ya chakula = after the meal / after food

The word ya is a connector often used between nouns and related expressions. In this phrase, you can think of baada ya X as the standard pattern for saying after X.

Chakula usually means food or meal, depending on context.

In this sentence, baada ya chakula most naturally means:

• after the meal
• or more generally after eating / after food

The noun comes from the verb kula = to eat.

You may also see:

• chakula cha mchana = lunch
• chakula cha jioni = dinner / evening meal

They are similar, but not exactly the same.

• baada ya chakula = after the meal / after food
• baada ya kula = after eating

The first focuses more on the meal/food as a noun.
The second focuses more on the action of eating.

In many everyday situations, both can work, but the nuance is slightly different.

This order is very natural in Swahili:

• weka = verb
• vikombe = object
• kabatini = location
• baada ya chakula = time expression

So the sentence is structured roughly as:

Please + put + the cups + in the cupboard + after the meal

Swahili word order is often similar to English in simple sentences, though it can be flexible.

Swahili does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So:

• vikombe can mean cups or the cups
• kabati can mean a cupboard or the cupboard
• chakula can mean food or the meal

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is why the English translation may include the, even though there is no separate word for it in Swahili.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ta-fa-DHA-li WE-ka vi-KOM-be ka-ba-TI-ni ba-A-da ya cha-KU-la

A few helpful points:

• Swahili vowels are usually pronounced clearly:
  • a as in father
  • e as in bet but often a bit cleaner
  • i as in machine
  • o as in for but pure
  • u as in rule
• Stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable:
  • tafaDHAli
  • WEka
  • viKOMbe
  • kabaTIni
  • baAda
  • chaKUla

Yes, but Swahili usually does this through an object marker on the verb rather than a separate word like English them.

Since vikombe belongs to the vi- plural noun class, the matching object marker is also vi-.

So if the cups are already known in the conversation, you might say:

• Tafadhali viweke kabatini.

This means:

• Please put them in the cupboard.

Here:

• vi- = them (for class 8 nouns like vikombe)
• weke = put

This is more advanced, but very common in real Swahili.

It is polite and very natural in everyday use.

The politeness mainly comes from tafadhali. Without it:

• Weka vikombe kabatini baada ya chakula.

That can still be fine, but it sounds more direct. Adding tafadhali makes it softer and more courteous.

So this sentence works well in normal household conversation when speaking politely to someone.