Mama alimwambia mtoto asikaribie jiko moto.

Alimwambia can be divided like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -mw- = him/her
• -ambia = tell / say to

So alimwambia means he/she told him/her.

In this sentence, because the subject is Mama, it is understood as Mother told him/her.

That -mw- is the object marker, referring to the child.

So Swahili is doing something like:

• alimwambia = she told him/her
• mtoto = the child

This kind of doubling is very common, especially when the object is a specific person. The object marker makes the verb point to the object, and the full noun mtoto then makes it explicit who that object is.

So it is not wrong or redundant in Swahili; it is a normal pattern.

Because -ambia means say to / tell someone, while -sema mostly just means say / speak.

Compare:

• Mama alisema = Mother said
• Mama alimwambia mtoto = Mother told the child

If you want to include the person being spoken to, -ambia is the more natural verb.

Asikaribie is a negative subjunctive form.

It breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -si- = negative marker
• karibi- = from karibia, approach / come near
• -e = subjunctive ending

So asikaribie means something like:

• that he/she should not approach
• not to approach
• should not go near

After verbs like tell, ask, order, or advise, Swahili often uses this kind of subjunctive clause.

Because asi- is for third person singular (he/she), while usi- is for second person singular (you).

In this sentence, the mother is talking about the child, not directly addressing the child in the sentence structure. So Swahili uses:

• asikaribie = that he/she should not come near

If the mother were speaking directly to the child, you would say:

• Usikaribie jiko moto! = Don’t go near the hot stove!

So the difference is basically:

• usi- = direct command to you
• asi- = reported command/instruction about him/her

Because the subjunctive in Swahili usually ends in -e.

The basic verb is:

• karibia = approach / come near

But in a subjunctive environment, it becomes:

• karibie

Since this sentence has the sense of telling someone what should or should not happen, the subjunctive is used.

So:

• karibia = basic form
• asikaribie = he/she should not approach

In this sentence, the meaning of go near / approach is built into the verb karibia.

So Swahili does not need a separate word like English near here.

• karibia = approach / come near

That is why asikaribie jiko moto naturally means not to go near the hot stove.

Because in Swahili, descriptive words usually come after the noun.

So:

• jiko moto = hot stove

This is the normal order in Swahili:

• noun + description

That is why moto jiko would sound wrong here.

Here it means hot.

The word moto can be connected with the idea of fire/heat, and in phrases like this it is often understood as hot.

So:

• jiko moto = hot stove

Context tells you which sense is intended.

Because Swahili normally does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So words like:

• Mama
• mtoto
• jiko

can mean things like mother / the mother, child / the child, stove / the stove, depending on context.

English requires an article, but Swahili usually leaves that to context.

A useful way to see it is:

• Mama = subject
• alimwambia mtoto = told the child
• asikaribie jiko moto = not to go near the hot stove

So the pattern is roughly:

Subject + told + person + what that person should not do

That is a very common Swahili pattern after verbs of telling, ordering, warning, or advising.