Wakiwa wamevaa sandaali na kaptula, watoto walicheza nje mpaka mama akawaita kwa chakula.

Wakiwa means while they were / while being.

It can be understood as:

• wa- = they (agreeing with watoto)
• -ki- = a marker often used for while / when / if
• -wa = from kuwa, to be

So wakiwa introduces a background situation: while they were...

Because wakiwa turns wamevaa sandaali na kaptula into a background clause.

• wamevaa sandaali na kaptula = they are wearing sandals and shorts
• wakiwa wamevaa sandaali na kaptula = while they were wearing sandals and shorts / wearing sandals and shorts

So wakiwa helps set the scene before the main action walicheza.

This is a very common Swahili pattern with clothing.

The verb kuvaa means to put on / wear. In Swahili, the perfect form often expresses a resulting state. So:

• amevaa = he/she is wearing
• wamevaa = they are wearing

Even though it literally looks like have worn, the natural meaning is often are wearing / have on.

By contrast, wanavaa more often suggests they wear, they usually wear, or they are putting on, depending on context.

Walicheza breaks down like this:

• wa- = they
• -li- = past tense
• cheza = play

So walicheza means they played.

Many borrowed nouns in Swahili do not visibly change between singular and plural, especially names of clothes and other everyday items.

So forms like sandaali and kaptula can stay the same, and the number is understood from context.

A learner should not expect every plural noun in Swahili to have an obvious plural prefix. Borrowed nouns often behave differently from native noun patterns.

Swahili often puts a background or descriptive clause first, especially in narration.

So this structure is very natural:

• Wakiwa wamevaa sandaali na kaptula, watoto walicheza nje...

It first sets the scene, then gives the main action.

You could also say:

• Watoto walicheza nje wakiwa wamevaa sandaali na kaptula

That would also be grammatical, but the original sentence sounds a bit more like storytelling.

Nje means outside.

When it stands alone as an adverb, you just say nje:

• walicheza nje = they played outside

You use nje ya when something follows it:

• nje ya nyumba = outside the house

So in this sentence, nje is correct by itself because no noun comes after it.

Here mpaka means until.

It shows the point where the action continued up to:

• walicheza nje mpaka mama akawaita = they played outside until mother called them

In other contexts, mpaka can also mean up to or sometimes even, but until is the right meaning here.

Akawaita can be broken down as:

• a- = she
• -ka- = a narrative/consecutive marker, often like then / and so
• -wa- = them
• -ita = call

So akawaita means she called them or then she called them.

The -wa- refers back to watoto.

Both would be understandable, but akawaita is especially common in storytelling or connected narration.

• aliwaita = a straightforward past tense: she called them
• akawaita = then she called them / and she called them, linking this event to what came before

So in this sentence, akawaita helps the story flow naturally: the children were playing, and then their mother called them.

Literally, kwa chakula means for food or for the meal.

In natural English, this often becomes something like:

• for food
• to eat
• for the meal
• for lunch/dinner depending on context

Here kwa shows purpose or occasion, so the idea is that the mother called them because it was time to eat.

Because Swahili does not use articles like a, an, and the.

So:

• mama can mean mother, a mother, or the mother
• watoto can mean children or the children

The exact meaning comes from context. In this sentence, the context makes it clear that English should use the children and the mother / mom.