Baada ya kupiga mswaki, nilifunga zipu ya koti langu, nikachukua mkoba, na nikatoka kwenda kazini bila kuchelewa.

Baada ya means after.
After baada ya, Swahili commonly uses the infinitive, so:

• kupiga mswaki = to brush teeth
• baada ya kupiga mswaki = after brushing my teeth / after brushing teeth

This is similar to English after + -ing. Swahili does not need a separate word for brushing here; it uses the infinitive instead.

Yes, kupiga often means to hit, strike, or do certain actions, but in many everyday expressions it combines with a noun idiomatically.

So:

• mswaki = toothbrush
• kupiga mswaki = to brush one’s teeth

This is a fixed expression. You should learn it as a chunk, just as English learners learn expressions like take a shower or have breakfast.

This is a very common storytelling pattern in Swahili.

• nilifunga = I closed / I fastened
• nikachukua = and then I took
• nikatoka = and then I left / went out

The -ka- in nikachukua and nikatoka is often used to show the next action in a sequence. It is sometimes called the consecutive or narrative marker.

So the sentence flows like this:

• nilifunga = I zipped up
• nika-chukua = then I took
• nika-toka = then I left

It helps create a smooth chain of events.

Yes, that is a very good practical way to understand it.

For example:

• nikachukua mkoba = and then I took the bag
• nikatoka kwenda kazini = and then I left to go to work

It is not a separate word for and then, but in many sentences that is the most natural English translation.

Not always. The -ka- form already shows sequence, so Swahili can often list actions without needing na every time.

Here, na works a lot like English and before the final item in a series:

• nilifunga zipu ya koti langu, nikachukua mkoba, na nikatoka...

This sounds natural and helps mark the last action in the chain, but the sentence could still work without na in many contexts.

It means the zipper of my coat.

Breakdown:

• zipu = zipper
• ya = of
• koti langu = my coat

So:

• zipu ya koti langu = the zipper of my coat

The ya is the possessive connector here, agreeing with zipu.

A useful comparison:

• zipu yangu = my zipper
• zipu ya koti langu = the zipper of my coat

So this sentence is specifically talking about the zipper belonging to the coat.

In Swahili, possessives normally come after the noun:

• koti langu = my coat
• mkoba wangu = my bag
• rafiki yangu = my friend

So langu after koti is the normal Swahili word order.

Also note that the form of my changes to agree with the noun class:

• koti langu
• mkoba wangu
• kitabu changu

All of these mean my, but the form changes with the noun.

The ending -ni often marks a place or location.

• kazi = work, job
• kazini = at work / to work / in the workplace

So in this sentence:

• kwenda kazini = to go to work

This -ni is very common with places:

• nyumbani = at home / home
• shuleni = at school / to school
• ofisini = at the office / to the office

Because the two verbs contribute slightly different ideas:

• kutoka = to go out, leave
• kwenda = to go

So:

• nikatoka kwenda kazini = I left to go to work / I went out for work

The first verb gives the action of leaving, and kwenda kazini tells the direction or purpose. This is very natural in Swahili.

Bila means without, and it is often followed by an infinitive.

• bila = without
• kuchelewa = to be late / to delay

So:

• bila kuchelewa = without being late / without delay

This pattern is common:

• bila kusema = without speaking
• bila kusahau = without forgetting
• bila kuchelewa = without being late

Swahili does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So mkoba can mean:

• a bag
• the bag
• sometimes even my bag, if the context already makes that clear

The exact meaning depends on context rather than an article. That is why a Swahili sentence can sound more general word-for-word, even though the intended meaning is clear in normal use.