Nilipoinua ndoo vibaya, kiwiko changu na kiuno changu viliuma kidogo.

Nilipoinua can be broken down like this:

• ni- = I
• -li- = past tense
• -po- = when
• -inua = lift / raise

So nilipoinua means when I lifted.

One nice thing about Swahili is that a whole idea like when I lifted can be packed into one word.

Here, -po- is being used as a relative marker of time, giving the sense of when.

So:

• niliinua = I lifted
• nilipoinua = when I lifted

This is a very common pattern in Swahili. A learner often first sees -po- in other uses, but in a form like this, it helps create a clause meaning when...

Vibaya usually means badly, poorly, or in a bad way.

In this sentence, it most naturally suggests something like:

• awkwardly
• with bad form
• incorrectly
• in a way that was not safe or proper

So it does not necessarily mean the speaker was morally bad. It means the bucket was lifted in a poor or harmful way.

In Swahili, possessives agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

So -angu is the basic possessive stem meaning my, but its form changes depending on the noun class:

• mkono wangu = my hand/arm
• kiwiko changu = my elbow
• kiuno changu = my waist/hip

Because kiwiko and kiuno are in the ki-/vi- noun class, the possessive becomes changu.

So changu does not mean a different kind of my. It is still my, just matched to the noun class.

It is repeated because each noun normally takes its own agreeing possessive:

• kiwiko changu = my elbow
• kiuno changu = my waist/hip

So:

• kiwiko changu na kiuno changu

is the clearest and most natural way to say my elbow and my waist/hip.

In English, we often say my elbow and waist, using my only once. Swahili often prefers to repeat the possessive so that it clearly belongs to each noun.

Because the subject is compound: it has two things joined by na:

• kiwiko changu
• kiuno changu

Even though each noun is singular by itself, together they form a plural idea: my elbow and my waist/hip.

Since both nouns belong to the ki-/vi- class, the plural agreement is vi-, so:

• kiliuma = it hurt / ached for one class-7 noun
• viliuma = they hurt / ached for plural class-8 agreement

So viliuma matches the two body parts taken together.

Yes, kuuma can mean both to bite and to hurt/ache, depending on context.

For body parts, it commonly means to hurt or to ache:

• Jino linauma = My tooth hurts / The tooth aches
• Kichwa kinauma = My head hurts / The head aches

So here viliuma means they hurt or they ached, not they bit.

Kiuno can refer to the waist, hip area, or sometimes the lower back area, depending on context.

In this sentence, because the person lifted something badly, kiuno probably means something like:

• waist
• hip
• lower back area

So an English translation might vary a little depending on the context, but the general idea is the same: that part of the body hurt after lifting badly.

Kidogo means a little or slightly.

Here it modifies viliuma, so:

• viliuma kidogo = hurt a little / ached slightly

Putting kidogo after the verb is very normal in Swahili.

Yes, you could say wakati nilipoinua..., but it is less compact.

• Nilipoinua ndoo vibaya... = When I lifted the bucket badly...
• Wakati nilipoinua ndoo vibaya... = At the time when I lifted the bucket badly...

Since nilipoinua already contains the idea of when, adding wakati is often unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or a slightly fuller style.