Daktari alisema nifunge kifundo hicho kwa kitambaa na nipumzike siku mbili.

Because nifunge and nipumzike are in the subjunctive form, not the normal past tense.

After a verb like alisema (the doctor said), Swahili often uses the subjunctive to show what someone told, advised, or wanted someone to do:

• nifunge = that I wrap / that I should wrap
• nipumzike = that I rest / that I should rest

So the structure is roughly:

• Daktari alisema nifunge... = The doctor said I should wrap...
• ...na nipumzike... = ...and that I should rest...

By contrast:

• nilifunga = I wrapped
• nilipumzika = I rested

Those would describe completed past actions, not instructions or advice.

Here, ni- is the subject marker for I.

So:

• ni-funge = I should wrap
• ni-pumzike = I should rest

This can feel unusual to an English speaker, because English does not mark the subject directly inside the verb in the same way. In Swahili, the subject marker is built into the verb.

For comparison:

• u-funge = you should wrap
• a-funge = he/she should wrap
• tu-funge = we should wrap

Yes, alisema literally means he/she said. But in Swahili, alisema followed by a subjunctive verb can express reported advice, instruction, or command.

So:

• Daktari alisema nifunge... can mean
• The doctor said that I should wrap...
• The doctor told me to wrap...

English often uses told me to..., while Swahili may simply use alisema plus the subjunctive.

If you want a more explicit told me, you could also hear:

• Daktari aliniambia nifunge... = The doctor told me to wrap...

So this sentence is natural, but aliniambia would also be very common.

The final -e is a key sign of the subjunctive in many Swahili verbs.

Compare:

• ninafunga = I am wrapping
• nilifunga = I wrapped
• nifunge = that I wrap / I should wrap

And:

• ninapumzika = I am resting
• nilipumzika = I rested
• nipumzike = that I rest / I should rest

So the -e ending often tells you the verb is expressing a wish, instruction, suggestion, purpose, or command-like meaning.

Kifundo can mean a joint, knuckle, ankle area, or even a knot/lump, depending on context.

In this medical sentence, it most likely refers to an injured body part such as:

• the ankle
• the joint
• possibly the sprained area

The exact English translation depends on the context you were given. Swahili words sometimes cover a wider range of meanings than a single English word.

So if the meaning shown to the learner was something like ankle, that is probably the intended sense here.

Hicho means that and agrees with kifundo.

Since kifundo is in the ki-/vi- noun class, its demonstrative must match that class:

• kifundo hicho = that joint / that ankle

This agreement is very important in Swahili. You cannot just use one general word for that with every noun.

Examples:

• kitabu hicho = that book
• kiti hicho = that chair
• kifundo hicho = that joint/ankle

So hicho is there because kifundo belongs to the same noun class as kitabu, kiti, etc.

Yes. In this sentence, kwa means something like with or using.

• kwa kitambaa = with a cloth / using a cloth

So:

• nifunge kifundo hicho kwa kitambaa means
• I should wrap that joint/ankle with a cloth

Kwa has several uses in Swahili, including:

• with/by means of
• at/to
• sometimes for

Here it is marking the instrument: the cloth is what is being used to do the wrapping.

In Swahili, expressions of duration often use the time noun directly, without a preposition.

So:

• siku mbili = for two days
• literally, something like two days

That is completely normal.

So:

• nipumzike siku mbili = I should rest for two days

You may also hear kwa siku mbili in some contexts, but plain siku mbili is very common and natural for duration.

Other examples:

• nilikaa wiki moja = I stayed for one week
• alifanya kazi saa tatu = he/she worked for three hours

Na here means and.

It links the two actions the doctor mentioned:

• nifunge kifundo hicho kwa kitambaa
• na nipumzike siku mbili

So the doctor said to do two things:

1. wrap that joint/ankle with a cloth
2. rest for two days

Because both verbs are still part of what the doctor said, the second one also stays in the subjunctive:

• nifunge
• nipumzike

No, not naturally.

Because of the subjunctive forms nifunge and nipumzike, the sentence does not describe completed past actions. It expresses what the doctor said should happen.

If you wanted to say The doctor said that I wrapped that joint with a cloth and rested for two days, the verbs would need past-tense forms such as:

• nilifunga
• nilipumzika

So the original sentence clearly means something like:

• The doctor said I should wrap that joint/ankle with a cloth and rest for two days.

Yes. Funga has a broad range of meanings, including:

• close
• fasten
• tie
• wrap/bandage, depending on context

In a medical context, kufunga a body part with cloth can mean to bind, wrap, or bandage it.

So here:

• nifunge kifundo hicho kwa kitambaa

naturally means something like:

• I should wrap/bandage that joint with a cloth

This is a good example of how one Swahili verb may correspond to several English verbs depending on the situation.

There is no object marker inside nifunge here. The direct object is stated openly after the verb:

• nifunge kifundo hicho = that I wrap that joint/ankle

Swahili often allows either:

• an explicit noun object after the verb
• an object marker inside the verb
• sometimes both, depending on emphasis and style

In this sentence, the object is simply the noun phrase kifundo hicho.

A rough breakdown is:

• Daktari = doctor
• alisema = said
• ni-funge = I should wrap
• kifundo hicho = that joint/ankle
• kwa kitambaa = with a cloth
• na = and
• ni-pumzik-e = I should rest
• siku mbili = two days / for two days

So the whole structure is:

• The doctor said [that I should wrap that joint with a cloth] and [that I should rest for two days].

That is a very common Swahili pattern: reporting speech or advice with alisema + subjunctive verb.