Msisahau kuweka mswaki karibu na sinki; manukato yenu yawe kabatini.

Msisahau is a negative command addressed to more than one person.

• sahau = forget! (singular, positive)
• msisahau = don’t forget! (plural, negative)

The msi- part is what tells you this is a negative command to you all.
If the speaker were talking to just one person, it would be usisahau.

Kuweka is the infinitive, meaning to put / to place.

After verbs like remember or forget, Swahili often uses the infinitive, just like English uses to + verb:

• msisahau kuweka... = don’t forget to put...

So the structure is very natural:

• msisahau = don’t forget
• kuweka = to put

Mswaki is singular. It means toothbrush.

Its plural is miswaki.

So:

• mswaki = toothbrush
• miswaki = toothbrushes

Swahili does not normally use articles like a, an, or the.

So mswaki can mean:

• a toothbrush
• the toothbrush

The exact meaning depends on context. This is very normal in Swahili, and learners often need time to get used to it.

Karibu na means near or close to.

It works as a fixed expression:

• karibu na sinki = near the sink

Here:

• karibu = near / close
• na = to / with, but in this expression it helps form near

So you should learn karibu na as one useful chunk.

Sinki is a loanword, borrowed from English sink and adapted to Swahili spelling and pronunciation.

Swahili uses many borrowed words, especially for modern objects and household items. That is completely normal.

This is because manukato belongs to a noun class that takes ya- agreement, not za- agreement.

So:

• manukato yenu = your perfume(s) / your fragrances

The possessive must agree with the noun class of manukato, and that agreement gives yenu.

For English speakers, this is one of the big differences in Swahili: possessives change form depending on the noun class.

Grammatically, manukato behaves like a class 6 noun, which often looks plural. In actual usage, it can refer to fragrance/perfume in a fairly collective sense, or to perfumes.

That is why the sentence uses class 6 agreement:

• manukato yenu
• yawe

So even if English might prefer perfume as a mass noun, Swahili is following its own noun-class grammar.

Yawe comes from the verb kuwa = to be, and here it is in the subjunctive / jussive form.

It means something like:

• let them be
• they should be

Because manukato takes class 6 agreement, the verb begins with ya-:

• manukato ... yawe kabatini = your perfume(s) should be in the cabinet

So yawe is not random — it is agreeing with manukato.

Using yawe makes the second clause sound like a rule, expectation, or instruction about where the items should be.

Compare the feel:

• manukato yenu yawe kabatini = your perfume(s) should be in the cabinet / let your perfume(s) be in the cabinet
• wekeni manukato yenu kabatini = put your perfume(s) in the cabinet

Both are possible, but yawe focuses more on the desired location/state, not just the action of putting them there.

Kabatini means in the cabinet / in the cupboard.

The ending -ni is a very common locative ending in Swahili. It often adds the sense of:

• in
• at
• on
• to

So:

• kabati = cabinet / cupboard
• kabatini = in the cabinet / in the cupboard

This is a very useful pattern to recognize.

Yes. Both are possible.

• kabatini = in the cabinet
• katika kabati = inside the cabinet

Often -ni is shorter and very natural in everyday Swahili.
Using katika can sound a bit more explicit or emphatic about being inside.

The semicolon separates two related instructions:

• Msisahau kuweka mswaki karibu na sinki
• manukato yenu yawe kabatini

So it works like a strong pause: the ideas are connected, but each one is its own instruction. In less formal writing, you might also see a full stop or sometimes a comma, depending on style.

Yes, that is the most natural reading.

The clues are:

• msisahau = don’t forget, addressed to you all
• yenu = your for a plural you

So the speaker is talking to more than one person.