Mhasibu alisema tunaweza kulipa ama kwa hundi ama kwa pesa taslimu.

Mhasibu means accountant. The M- marks it as a singular noun referring to a person in the m-/wa- noun class.

• Singular: mhasibu = accountant
• Plural: wahasibu = accountants

This noun class is very common for people:

• mtu / watu = person / people
• mwalimu / walimu = teacher / teachers

So Mhasibu alisema... literally starts with The accountant said...

Alisema breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense marker
• -sema = say, speak

So alisema literally means he/she said.

Swahili does not normally mark gender in verbs, so a- can refer to either a man or a woman. You only know whether it is he or she from context.

In Swahili, after verbs like said, the word that is often left out, just as it often is in English.

So:

• Mhasibu alisema tunaweza kulipa... = The accountant said we can pay...
• Mhasibu alisema kwamba tunaweza kulipa... = The accountant said that we can pay...

Both are natural. Kwamba means that, but it is very often optional.

Tunaweza breaks down as:

• tu- = we
• -na- = present tense
• -weza = be able, can

So tunaweza means we can or we are able to.

This is a very useful pattern:

• ninaweza = I can
• unaweza = you can
• anaweza = he/she can
• tunaweza = we can
• wanaweza = they can

After -weza = can / be able to, Swahili normally uses the infinitive of the next verb.

So:

• tunaweza kulipa = we can pay

Here:

• ku- = the infinitive marker, like English to
• -lipa = pay

This is similar to English can pay, except Swahili keeps the infinitive form:

• anaweza kusoma = he/she can read
• tunaweza kwenda = we can go
• wanaweza kufanya kazi = they can work

Ama ... ama ... means either ... or ...

So:

• ama kwa hundi ama kwa pesa taslimu = either by cheque/check or in cash

Repeating ama on both sides is a normal way to show a clear choice between two options.

You may also hear au for or, but ama ... ama ... makes the either/or structure especially clear.

Kwa is repeated because each option is introduced separately:

• kwa hundi
• kwa pesa taslimu

This is very natural in Swahili. It works much like English either by cheque or by cash, where by can also be repeated for clarity.

In this sentence, kwa expresses the means or method of payment: by / with / via.

Here kwa means something like by, with, or via, depending on the context.

In kulipa kwa hundi and kulipa kwa pesa taslimu, it marks the method of payment:

• kwa hundi = by cheque/check
• kwa pesa taslimu = in cash / with cash

Kwa is a very flexible word in Swahili, so in other sentences it can have other meanings too, such as to, at, for, or with, depending on context.

Hundi is the usual Swahili word for cheque or check.

English spelling depends on the variety:

• British English: cheque
• American English: check

So kwa hundi means by cheque/check.

It is a standard word in financial contexts.

Pesa taslimu is a common expression meaning cash.

• pesa = money
• taslimu helps specify that it is cash money, not a cheque or another form of payment

As a full phrase, pesa taslimu is very common and natural in formal and everyday Swahili. In context, it corresponds to English cash.

Yes. Au also means or.

Possible alternatives include:

• ... ama kwa hundi ama kwa pesa taslimu
• ... au kwa hundi au kwa pesa taslimu
• ... kwa hundi au kwa pesa taslimu

All of these can work, though ama ... ama ... is especially close to either ... or ...

The sentence follows a very normal Swahili order:

• Mhasibu = subject
• alisema = verb
• tunaweza kulipa ama kwa hundi ama kwa pesa taslimu = what was said

Inside the second clause:

• tu- in tunaweza = subject = we
• -naweza = can
• kulipa = to pay
• ama kwa hundi ama kwa pesa taslimu = either by cheque or in cash

So the structure is very close to English:

• The accountant said [we can pay either by cheque or in cash].

No, not by itself.

• Mhasibu does not show gender
• alisema also does not show gender

So the sentence could mean:

• The male accountant said...
• The female accountant said...

You need context to know which one is intended.