Tafadhali niletee kibanio cha nguo ili tuanike shati hili kwenye kamba.

Niletee means bring me or more literally bring to/for me.

A useful breakdown is:

• ni- = me
• -letee = a request form related to -leta (bring)

This comes from the idea of bringing something to someone. So niletee is more specific than just bring; it includes the person who will receive the item.

Because leta simply means bring, while niletee means bring me or bring it to me.

Compare:

• leta kibanio = bring the clothespin
• niletee kibanio = bring me the clothespin / bring the clothespin to me

So ni- adds the idea that the speaker is the one receiving it.

Word for word, it is something like:

• kibanio = clip, peg, fastening thing
• cha nguo = of clothes

Together, kibanio cha nguo means clothespin, clothes peg, or clothes clip.

It is a descriptive phrase: literally, a clip for clothes.

This is because Swahili uses agreement based on noun classes.

The noun kibanio belongs to the ki-/vi- class, so the connector meaning of must agree with that class. For this class, the form is cha.

So:

• kibanio cha nguo = clothespin
• kitabu cha mtoto = the child’s book
• kikombe cha chai = cup of tea

If the noun belonged to a different class, the connector would change:

• gari la mwalimu = the teacher’s car
• nyumba ya baba = father’s house

So cha is there because it agrees with kibanio.

Ili means so that or in order that.

It introduces the purpose of the request:

• Tafadhali niletee kibanio cha nguo = Please bring me a clothespin
• ili tuanike shati hili... = so that we can hang this shirt...

So ili connects the first action with its purpose.

After ili, Swahili usually uses the subjunctive form of the verb.

Here:

• tu- = we
• -anika = hang out, spread out to dry
• -e = subjunctive ending

So tuanike means something like:

• so that we may hang
• so that we can hang
• so that we hang

This is very normal Swahili grammar after ili.

Tu- means we.

That tells you the speaker is including themself in the action. The idea is not just so that you hang the shirt, but so that we hang the shirt.

So the speaker is asking someone to bring the clothespin, and then the shirt will be hung up by both of us, or at least by a group that includes the speaker.

In Swahili, demonstratives like this usually come after the noun.

So:

• shati hili = this shirt

not usually:

• hili shati

Also, the demonstrative must agree with the noun class of shati.
For singular shati, the correct form is hili.

Compare:

• shati hili = this shirt
• mashati haya = these shirts
• kitabu hiki = this book
• nguo hizi = these clothes

So the position and the agreement are both important.

Literally, it means on/at the rope or on the line.

• kwenye = on / in / at, depending on context
• kamba = rope, line, cord

In this sentence, kamba refers naturally to a clothesline, so kwenye kamba means on the clothesline.

Even though the literal meaning involves a rope or line, in natural English you would usually translate it as on the line or on the clothesline.

Tafadhali means please.

It makes the request polite:

• Niletee kibanio cha nguo = Bring me a clothespin
• Tafadhali niletee kibanio cha nguo = Please bring me a clothespin

It is a very common word in polite requests and can appear at the beginning of the sentence, as it does here.