Mtoto alikuwa na kuhara usiku, na daktari alisema pumu yake si kali, lakini anapaswa kupumzika kwa sababu ya kizunguzungu.

No. The two na’s do different jobs here:

• In alikuwa na kuhara, na means with / having, so the whole phrase means was having diarrhea or simply had diarrhea.
• In ..., na daktari alisema..., na means and.

This is very common in Swahili: the same word can have different functions depending on context.

Alikuwa breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she for a singular person
• -li- = past tense marker
• -kuwa = be

So alikuwa literally means he/she was.

In this sentence, it introduces a past state: the child was / had been in a condition of having diarrhea.

Swahili often uses kuwa na = to be with / to have for illnesses, symptoms, and conditions.

So:

• alikuwa na kuhara = he/she had diarrhea
• literally, he/she was with diarrhea

This structure is very natural in Swahili. English usually prefers have with illnesses too, but Swahili often expresses it through be with / have in this way.

Usiku literally means night or at night. Depending on context, it can sometimes be understood as during the night or last night.

In this sentence, the safest understanding is at night / during the night. If the speaker specifically wanted to emphasize last night, context or another time word could make that clearer.

Yake means his/her or his/hers, depending on context.

So:

• pumu = asthma
• pumu yake = his/her asthma

Swahili possessives agree with the noun being possessed, not with the owner in the same way English works. Here pumu takes the possessive form yake.

Also, yake does not tell you whether the child is male or female. It can mean his or her.

Si is a common negative copula in Swahili, especially in simple sentences like:

• si kali = is not severe
• si nzuri = is not good

You will also hear sio / siyo in many contexts, especially in speech. Both are common, but si is perfectly normal here and sounds natural.

So pumu yake si kali simply means his/her asthma is not severe.

Because Swahili does not have to shift tenses in reported speech the way English often does.

In English, we often say:

• The doctor said it was not severe.

But in Swahili, it is very normal to keep the statement as:

• alisema pumu yake si kali = the doctor said the asthma is not severe

This usually presents the doctor’s statement as still valid or as the content of what was said. If the speaker specifically wanted to make it clearly past-only, a past form could be used, but it is not required.

Kali often means strong, fierce, intense, or severe, depending on context.

With illnesses or symptoms, it commonly means severe.

So:

• pumu yake si kali = his/her asthma is not severe

This is a very useful adjective in medical and everyday contexts.

Anapaswa means he/she should, he/she is supposed to, or he/she ought to.

It contains:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense
• -paswa = a verb meaning be required / be supposed to

So anapaswa kupumzika means he/she should rest.

It is slightly formal or neutral in tone, and it is very common in advice or instructions.

It refers to the child.

Even though mtoto is not repeated, the subject marker a- in anapaswa naturally points back to the previously mentioned person, mtoto.

So the meaning is:

• the child should rest

not

• the doctor should rest

Context makes that clear.

Because after verbs like anapaswa, Swahili usually uses the infinitive to express the action that should be done.

• ku-pumzika = to rest
• anapaswa kupumzika = he/she should rest

This is similar to English in a loose sense:

• should rest
• wants to rest
• needs to rest

Swahili often uses the ku- form after another verb to express that following action.

Kwa sababu ya means because of.

It is a very common expression:

• kwa sababu ya mvua = because of the rain
• kwa sababu ya ugonjwa = because of illness
• kwa sababu ya kizunguzungu = because of dizziness

You can think of it as a fixed phrase. Learners often find it useful to memorize it as one chunk.

Kizunguzungu means dizziness.

The beginning ki- is part of its noun class form. Not every word with ki- is easy to analyze transparently for a beginner, so the most practical approach is to learn kizunguzungu as a complete vocabulary item meaning dizziness or feeling dizzy.

In this sentence:

• kwa sababu ya kizunguzungu = because of dizziness

No. Mtoto simply means child, and it is gender-neutral.

That is why later forms like yake and anapaswa can be translated as either:

• his / he should
• her / she should

You need context to know the child’s gender, if it matters at all.