Baba ana pumu, kwa hiyo akipata kizunguzungu hufungua mdomo na hupumua polepole.

In Swahili, many physical conditions are expressed with kuwa na = to have.

So:

• ana = he/she has
• pumu = asthma

So Baba ana pumu literally means Father/Dad has asthma.

Breaking ana down:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense

So ana pumu is a very normal Swahili way to say someone has a condition.

Kwa hiyo means so, therefore, for that reason, or as a result.

It connects the first idea to the result:

• Baba ana pumu = Dad has asthma
• kwa hiyo = so / therefore
• the next clause explains what he does in that situation

It is a very common linking expression in both speech and writing.

Akipata can be broken into parts:

• a- = he/she
• -ki- = a marker often meaning if, when, or whenever
• -pata = get, receive, experience

So akipata kizunguzungu means if/when he gets dizzy or more literally if/when he gets dizziness.

This is a very common Swahili pattern:

• nikipata = if/when I get
• ukipata = if/when you get
• akipata = if/when he/she gets

It can mean either, depending on context.

In many cases, -ki- gives a sense like:

• if
• when
• whenever

So akipata kizunguzungu could be understood as:

• if he gets dizzy
• when he gets dizzy
• whenever he gets dizzy

In this sentence, English might naturally use either if or when, depending on how definite or habitual you want it to sound.

The prefix hu- is often used for a habitual or general action.

So:

• hufungua = he usually opens / he opens as a habit
• hupumua = he usually breathes / he breathes habitually

That fits this sentence well, because it describes what he generally does when this situation happens.

Compare:

• anafungua mdomo = he is opening his mouth / he opens his mouth (more immediate or regular present)
• hufungua mdomo = he habitually opens his mouth / this is what he does

So hu- makes the sentence sound like a general response or routine.

Yes.

• hupumua polepole suggests a habitual, customary, or general action:
  he breathes slowly / he tends to breathe slowly
• anapumua polepole often suggests something more current or ongoing:
  he is breathing slowly or he breathes slowly

In this sentence, hupumua polepole is a good choice because it describes what he does whenever that situation occurs, not just what he is doing at one exact moment.

Swahili often leaves out possessive words with body parts when the owner is obvious from context.

So:

• hufungua mdomo literally = he opens mouth
• natural meaning = he opens his mouth

Because the subject is already clear, Swahili does not always need to say his.

If you wanted to emphasize it, you could say:

• hufungua mdomo wake = he opens his mouth

But in many cases, just mdomo is completely normal.

Kizunguzungu is a noun meaning dizziness, giddiness, or sometimes vertigo.

It belongs to the ki-/vi- noun class, which is why it begins with ki-.

Singular:

• kizunguzungu

Possible plural form:

• vizunguzungu

But in this kind of medical or physical-condition meaning, the singular is the normal form.

So akipata kizunguzungu is literally if/when he gets dizziness.

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

So:

• mdomo can mean a mouth or the mouth
• pumu can mean asthma
• kizunguzungu can mean dizziness

The exact meaning is understood from context.

That is why Swahili sentences often look shorter than their English translations.

Polepole means slowly, gently, or little by little.

It is just a normal Swahili word in this form. Even though it looks repeated, learners should usually treat polepole as the standard word meaning slowly.

So:

• hupumua polepole = he breathes slowly

You will hear polepole very often in everyday Swahili.

It can mean different things depending on context.

Most naturally here, Baba means:

• Father
• Dad
• my father, if the speaker is talking about their own father

Swahili often allows family terms like baba and mama to function a bit like names or titles, especially in context. So English may translate it as Dad even though the word itself is simply father.