Japo nilikuwa na kikohozi kidogo, nilienda famasi kununua dawa ya kikohozi.

Japo means although, even though, or though.

In this sentence, it introduces a concession:

• Japo nilikuwa na kikohozi kidogo = Although I had a slight cough

It is different from lakini:

• japo / ingawa introduce a subordinate clause
• lakini usually means but and connects two main ideas

So this sentence is structured more like:

• Although X, I did Y rather than
• I had X, but I did Y

In Swahili, the subject is often built into the verb.

Here, ni- means I:

• ni-li-kuwa = I was
• ni-li-enda = I went

So Swahili does not need a separate word before the verb for I the way English does.

Nilikuwa can be broken down like this:

• ni- = I
• -li- = past tense marker
• -kuwa = be

So:

• nilikuwa = I was

In this sentence, it is followed by na, giving:

• nilikuwa na = literally I was with
• natural English meaning: I had

A very common way to express possession in Swahili is kuwa na, literally to be with.

So:

• nina kitabu = I have a book
• nilikuwa na kikohozi = I had a cough

This is normal Swahili structure. English uses have, but Swahili often uses be with.

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• kikohozi kidogo = a small/slight cough

Also, the adjective agrees with the noun class:

• kikohozi is in the ki-/vi- class
• the adjective stem is -dogo
• with class agreement, it becomes kidogo

So kidogo is not just the dictionary form of small here; it is the correctly matched adjective form for kikohozi.

It can mean both, depending on context.

With something like an illness or symptom, -dogo often means:

• slight
• mild
• a little

So kikohozi kidogo is best understood as:

• a slight cough
• a mild cough

not necessarily a physically small cough.

After a verb of motion like go, Swahili often uses the infinitive to show purpose.

So:

• nilienda famasi kununua dawa = I went to the pharmacy to buy medicine

Here:

• kwenda / kwenda = to go
• kununua = to buy

The idea is:

• I went somewhere in order to buy something

This is a very natural Swahili pattern.

This is a common Swahili noun + connector + noun pattern.

• dawa = medicine
• ya = connector meaning something like of / for
• kikohozi = cough

So:

• dawa ya kikohozi = cough medicine or medicine for a cough

The connector ya agrees with dawa, not with kikohozi. Since dawa is in the noun class that takes ya, that is the form used here.

Because the two uses do different jobs:

• nilikuwa na kikohozi kidogo = says what the person had
• dawa ya kikohozi = says what kind of medicine they wanted

So even though the same noun appears twice, it is perfectly natural. Swahili often repeats a noun instead of replacing it when clarity is important.

Many learners will more often see farmasi in standard writing.

A few useful notes:

• farmasi is the common standard spelling
• famasi may appear in speech or less formal writing
• you may also hear duka la dawa, meaning drugstore / pharmacy

So the sentence is understandable as written, but farmasi is probably the form you are most likely to meet in textbooks or formal writing.

Yes. Swahili allows some flexibility.

For example, you could also say:

• Nilienda famasi kununua dawa ya kikohozi, japo nilikuwa na kikohozi kidogo.

That still makes sense. But putting japo first gives more emphasis to the contrast:

• Even though I only had a slight cough, I still went...

So the original order helps foreground the although idea.