Leo nimevaa fulana nyumbani, lakini dada yangu amevaa blauzi na skafu.

They are single Swahili verb forms made of several parts:

• ni-me-vaa = I have put on / I am wearing

  • ni- = I
  • -me- = a perfect/result marker
  • -vaa = wear / put on

• a-me-vaa = he/she has put on / he/she is wearing

  • a- = he/she
  • -me- = perfect/result marker
  • -vaa = wear / put on

So Swahili often packs the subject and tense/aspect into the verb itself.

With some verbs, the -me- form describes a present state that results from a completed action.

So:

• nimevaa fulana = I am wearing a T-shirt
• literally, something like I have put on a T-shirt

The idea is: you already put it on, and now the result is that you are wearing it. This is very normal Swahili usage with clothing.

Because the verb already shows the subject:

• ni- in nimevaa already means I
• a- in amevaa already means he/she

So Swahili often leaves out separate subject pronouns unless you want emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Mimi nimevaa fulana = I am wearing a T-shirt
  This sounds more emphatic, like I am wearing a T-shirt.

In Swahili, possessives usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• dada yangu = my sister
• fulana yangu = my T-shirt
• nyumba yangu = my house

This is one of the most important word-order differences from English.

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

So:

• fulana can mean a T-shirt or the T-shirt
• blauzi can mean a blouse or the blouse
• skafu can mean a scarf or the scarf

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Nyumbani means at home or home.

It comes from nyumba = house/home, with a locative ending that gives the idea of location. So Swahili does not need a separate word like at here.

That is why:

• nyumbani = at home
• not at nyumbani

It describes the whole situation: I am wearing a T-shirt at home.

It does not mean that the T-shirt itself is at home in some special grammatical sense. In this sentence, nyumbani tells you where the speaker is.

Swahili often puts location words after the object, so this word order is normal.

Lakini means but.

It connects two ideas:

• Leo nimevaa fulana nyumbani
• lakini dada yangu amevaa blauzi na skafu

So the sentence contrasts what I am wearing with what my sister is wearing.

It often appears between two clauses, just like but in English.

Na here means and.

So:

• blauzi na skafu = a blouse and a scarf

Be careful: na can also mean with in other contexts, so you need context to know which meaning is intended. In this sentence, it clearly means and.

Yes, they are common words in Swahili and are borrowed historically from other languages.

For a learner, the important thing is that they are completely normal everyday Swahili words:

• fulana = T-shirt / shirt
• blauzi = blouse
• skafu = scarf

You can treat them as ordinary vocabulary words.

Yes, but the meaning changes a little.

• nimevaa fulana usually means I am wearing a T-shirt right now
• navaa fulana can mean I wear T-shirts, I am wearing a T-shirt, or I put on a T-shirt, depending on context

So in a sentence about what someone has on at the moment, nimevaa is usually the clearer choice.

Not always. Dada can mean sister, but it can also be used more generally for a girl or woman, sometimes politely.

However, dada yangu in a sentence like this is most naturally understood as my sister. Context usually makes the meaning clear.