Daktari alisema kuwa kuhara na pumu vinaweza kumchosha mtoto haraka, kwa hiyo anahitaji kupumzika.

Swahili has no articles like a or the, so daktari can mean a doctor or the doctor, depending on context.

alisema is one verb word made of several parts:

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

So Daktari alisema means The doctor said.

Here kuwa means that in the sense of reported speech:

• alisema kuwa... = said that...

It introduces the clause that follows. In many sentences, kwamba can be used similarly, and in casual speech the that word may sometimes be left out.

In Swahili, infinitive forms with ku- can also function like nouns.

So kuhara can mean:

• to have diarrhea as a verb form
• diarrhea as a noun-like idea

That is very normal in Swahili. English usually separates these more clearly, but Swahili often uses the infinitive form for actions, processes, or conditions.

vinaweza breaks down as:

• vi- = plural agreement for a non-human subject
• -na- = present tense
• -weza = can / be able to

The subject here is kuhara na pumu together: two non-human things joined by na. In that kind of situation, Swahili commonly uses plural non-human agreement, so vinaweza is natural.

If they were separate, you would usually say:

• kuhara kunaweza...
• pumu inaweza...

But together: kuhara na pumu vinaweza...

It can be broken down like this:

• ku- = to
• m- = him/her
• -chosha = tire / make tired

So kumchosha literally means to make him/her tired.

It is related to choka, which means be tired.
So:

• choka = get tired / be tired
• chosha = tire someone / make someone tired

The m- is an object marker meaning him/her, and it refers to mtoto.

In Swahili, it is very common to use an object marker and still mention the full noun, especially when the object is:

• a person
• specific
• already known from context

So kumchosha mtoto is a natural way to say make the child tired.

haraka means quickly here.

So:

• kumchosha mtoto haraka = make the child tired quickly

Its position is normal. In Swahili, adverbs like this often come after the verb phrase.

kwa hiyo means therefore, so, or for that reason.

It connects the two ideas:

• diarrhea and asthma can tire the child quickly
• therefore / so the child needs rest

It is a very common connector in both spoken and written Swahili.

It refers to mtoto, the child.

anahitaji breaks down as:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense
• -hitaji = need

So anahitaji means he/she needs.

Swahili verbs do not show gender, so a- can mean he or she. Context tells you that it is the child who needs rest, not the doctor.

After a verb like hitaji (need), Swahili normally uses an infinitive for the next verb.

So:

• anahitaji kupumzika = he/she needs to rest

Here kupumzika means to rest.

A useful comparison:

• kupumzika = to rest (verb)
• mapumziko = rest / a break (noun)

So this sentence uses the verb form because it means needs to rest.