Bibi ana pumu kidogo, lakini leo alihisi kizunguzungu baada ya kutembea haraka.

In this sentence, bibi most naturally means grandmother / grandma.

But learners should know that bibi can also mean:

• an old woman
• a lady / madam in some respectful contexts

So the exact meaning depends on context. If the translation you were shown says Grandma, that is a very natural reading.

Swahili often expresses to have with subject prefix + na.

So here:

• a- = she / he
• na = with / have

So ana pumu literally means something like she is with asthma, but in normal English we translate it as she has asthma.

A useful point: this na is not the same thing as the normal present-tense marker inside verbs like anasoma. In ana pumu, it is the have/with construction.

Because Swahili usually puts the subject inside the verb itself.

alihisi breaks down like this:

• a- = she / he
• -li- = past tense
• -hisi = feel

So alihisi = she felt.

Even when the noun bibi is already stated, the verb still carries subject marking. That is completely normal in Swahili.

It is past tense.

Breakdown:

• a- = she
• -li- = past
• hisi = feel

So alihisi means she felt.

Because today can still include something that already happened earlier.

So leo alihisi kizunguzungu means:

• today she felt dizzy
• in other words, at some point earlier today, this happened

That is perfectly normal. Leo does not force the present tense.

Swahili often uses a noun where English uses an adjective.

So:

• alihisi kizunguzungu literally = she felt dizziness
• natural English = she felt dizzy

This is a very common kind of difference between the two languages. Swahili often talks about the state/condition as a noun.

Here kidogo means a little, slight, or mild.

So pumu kidogo means:

• a little asthma
• more naturally in English, mild asthma

In everyday Swahili, kidogo often softens the idea of a condition, amount, or degree.

Because in Swahili, modifiers often come after the word they describe.

So:

• pumu kidogo = mild asthma
• not kidogo pumu

This is a common word-order difference from English.

This is a very common pattern:

• baada ya = after
• kutembea = to walk / walking

Together, baada ya kutembea means after walking.

A useful pattern to remember is:

baada ya + ku-verb = after doing something

Examples:

• baada ya kula = after eating
• baada ya kusoma = after reading
• baada ya kufika = after arriving

Because the subject is understood from context.

In this sentence, the same person is understood:

• Bibi ... alihisi ... baada ya kutembea haraka
• so it means Grandma felt dizzy after walking quickly

Swahili often leaves that understood when it is obvious.

Because adverbs often follow the verb in Swahili.

So:

• kutembea haraka = to walk quickly

This word order is very common:

• kukimbia haraka = to run quickly
• kuongea polepole = to speak slowly

Because Swahili does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So words like bibi, pumu, and kizunguzungu appear without articles. Whether something is a grandmother, the grandmother, dizziness, or the dizziness is understood from context.

Yes, that would also be natural.

• alihisi kizunguzungu = she felt dizzy
• alijisikia kizunguzungu = she felt dizzy / she felt herself becoming dizzy

Both are understandable and natural. -jisikia often sounds a little more like feel oneself / feel physically.

Yes, some parts can move for emphasis, but the original sentence is natural.

For example:

• Leo bibi alihisi kizunguzungu baada ya kutembea haraka, lakini ana pumu kidogo.

That is possible, but it changes the flow a bit. The original version first mentions her general condition (ana pumu kidogo) and then gives the specific event from today.