Bibi anapenda kusaga iliki kwa mkono, lakini mimi napendelea kutumia blenda.

Anapenda can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense marker
• penda = like / love

So anapenda means he/she likes or he/she loves.

In this sentence, it refers to Bibi, so it means she likes.

The full form would be ninapendelea:

• ni- = I
• -na- = present tense
• pendelea = prefer

But in everyday Swahili, especially in speech, ni- is often dropped before -na-, so ninapendelea becomes napendelea.

So:

• ninapendelea = full form
• napendelea = very common shorter form

Because mimi is already there, the meaning I prefer is still perfectly clear.

They are related, but they do not mean exactly the same thing.

• anapenda = she likes
• napendelea = I prefer

The verb -pendelea comes from -penda but adds the idea of preferring one thing over another.

So the sentence contrasts two choices:

• Bibi likes grinding cardamom by hand,
• but I prefer using a blender.

The ku- form is the infinitive, like English to + verb.

• kusaga = to grind
• kutumia = to use

After verbs like -penda and -pendelea, Swahili often uses an infinitive:

• anapenda kusaga = she likes to grind
• napendelea kutumia = I prefer to use

So here, ku- works very much like English to in to grind and to use.

Kusaga means to grind, to mill, or to crush into small particles, depending on context.

It is often used for things like:

• spices
• grains
• coffee
• maize

In this sentence, it means to grind cardamom.

iliki means cardamom.

Swahili does not use articles like English a, an, or the. So a noun can often be translated in different ways depending on context.

For example, iliki could be understood as:

• cardamom
• the cardamom
• some cardamom

English needs an article, but Swahili usually does not.

Kwa mkono literally means by hand.

• kwa = by / with / using / at, depending on context
• mkono = hand / arm

So kusaga iliki kwa mkono means to grind cardamom by hand or manually.

This is a very common pattern in Swahili:

• kwa gari = by car
• kwa nguvu = forcefully / with force
• kwa makini = carefully

Both kwa and na can relate to means or accompaniment, but they are used differently.

Here, kwa mkono expresses the manner or method: by hand, manually.

• kwa mkono = using the hand as the method
• na mkono would more naturally sound like with a hand or simply not be the normal idiomatic choice here

So kwa mkono is the natural expression for by hand.

Lakini means but.

It introduces a contrast between two ideas:

• Bibi anapenda kusaga iliki kwa mkono
• lakini mimi napendelea kutumia blenda

So it works just like English but to show that the speaker’s preference is different from Bibi’s.

Yes, napendelea already shows I prefer, so mimi is not strictly necessary for grammar.

It is included for emphasis or contrast:

• lakini mimi napendelea... = but I prefer...

This is very natural because the sentence is comparing Bibi’s preference with my preference.

Without mimi, the sentence would still be correct:

• Bibi anapenda kusaga iliki kwa mkono, lakini napendelea kutumia blenda.

But adding mimi makes the contrast clearer and stronger.

Kutumia blenda means to use a blender.

• kutumia = to use
• blenda = blender

Blenda is a borrowed word from English, adapted to Swahili spelling and pronunciation.

Borrowed words are very common in modern Swahili, especially for technology, kitchen tools, and modern life.

Yes. Even though blenda ultimately comes from English, it is perfectly normal for Swahili to use borrowed words.

Swahili has borrowed many words from:

• Arabic
• English
• Portuguese
• Hindi
• and other languages

Once borrowed, they are treated like ordinary Swahili words in sentences.

This order is natural in Swahili:

• verb: kusaga
• object: iliki
• manner/method phrase: kwa mkono

So:

• kusaga iliki kwa mkono = to grind cardamom by hand

This is similar to English word order in many cases: verb + object + manner.

Swahili word order can sometimes be flexible, but this version is the most straightforward and natural.

Yes. A more literal breakdown would be:

• Bibi anapenda kusaga iliki kwa mkono
  Grandmother likes to grind cardamom by hand
• lakini mimi napendelea kutumia blenda
  but I prefer to use a blender

That is already quite close to natural English, so the literal and natural translations are very similar here.

A learner should especially notice these:

1. Subject prefixes on verbs

   • a- in anapenda = she
   • implied ni- / na- in napendelea = I

2. Present tense marker

   • -na- marks the present tense

3. Infinitives with ku-

   • kusaga = to grind
   • kutumia = to use

4. Contrast word

   • lakini = but

5. Method expression

   • kwa mkono = by hand

6. Emphatic pronoun

   • mimi adds contrast: but I...

This one sentence is a very useful example of everyday Swahili sentence structure.