Mtoto asipokunywa maji, atasikia kiu.

Asipokunywa means if he/she does not drink.

It can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she subject marker
• -si- = negative
• -po- = used here in a negative conditional pattern
• kunywa = to drink

So asipokunywa literally works like if he/she doesn’t drink.

This is a very common Swahili way to express a negative condition.

Because Swahili often builds the idea of if directly into the verb.

In English, you say:

• If the child does not drink water...

In Swahili, the conditional meaning is carried by asipokunywa itself, so you do not need a separate word like if at the beginning.

That is very normal in Swahili grammar.

The a- is the subject marker for he/she and also agrees with mtoto.

• mtoto = child
• noun class: singular human noun
• matching subject marker: a-

So:

• a-sipo-kunywa = if he/she does not drink
• a-ta-sikia = he/she will feel

If the subject were plural, the verb marker would change:

• Watoto wasipokunywa maji, watasikia kiu.
• If the children do not drink water, they will feel thirsty.

Atasikia means he/she will feel or he/she will hear, depending on context.

It breaks down as:

• a- = he/she
• -ta- = future
• sikia = hear / feel

In this sentence, because it is followed by kiu (thirst), the meaning is will feel thirsty or more literally will feel thirst.

That is a very common question.

Kusikia often means to hear, but it can also mean to feel or experience, especially with physical states.

For example:

• kusikia maumivu = to feel pain
• kusikia njaa = to feel hunger
• kusikia kiu = to feel thirst

So in this sentence, atasikia kiu is a natural Swahili expression meaning he/she will feel thirsty.

Kiu is a noun meaning thirst.

Swahili often uses a noun where English uses an adjective. So instead of saying something exactly like be thirsty, Swahili can say:

• kusikia kiu = to feel thirst
• kuwa na kiu = to have thirst / be thirsty

So atasikia kiu is literally he/she will feel thirst, but in natural English that becomes he/she will feel thirsty or simply he/she will be thirsty.

It can mean either the child or a child, depending on context.

Swahili does not have articles like a and the. So mtoto by itself can be:

• a child
• the child
• sometimes even child in a general sense

You decide from context which English translation fits best.

Even though maji looks plural in form, it usually means water as a mass noun.

So in normal usage:

• maji = water

It is one of those words that does not match English singular/plural ideas neatly. You should usually just learn maji as the standard word for water.

Yes, Swahili has more than one way to express conditions, but asipokunywa is a very natural and common structure for if he/she does not drink.

For example, learners may also see:

• kama mtoto hatakunywa maji...
• if the child will not drink water...

But mtoto asipokunywa maji, atasikia kiu is more idiomatic for a general condition like if the child doesn’t drink water, he/she will get thirsty.

So the sentence you have is a good standard pattern to learn.

In Swahili, just like in English, the if clause can come before the main clause.

So:

• Mtoto asipokunywa maji, atasikia kiu.

is normal and means:

• If the child does not drink water, he/she will feel thirsty.

You could also understand the structure as:

• condition first
• result second

That order is very common because it makes the cause-and-result relationship clear.