Mtoto ana pumu kidogo, na jana alianza kuhara na kutapika usiku.

Swahili normally does not use articles the way English does. So mtoto can mean a child, the child, or just child, depending on context.

In this sentence, the context tells you which English translation sounds best.

Mtoto just means child. It does not tell you whether the child is male or female.

The verb form also does not show gender, so mtoto ana... can mean the boy has... or the girl has... if the context makes that clear.

Here ana means has.

So:

• Mtoto ana pumu = The child has asthma

This is the normal Swahili way to express possession or a condition like having an illness.

No. They look the same, but they are doing different jobs.

• ana is one whole verb form meaning he/she has
• the separate na after kidogo means and
• the na before kutapika also means and

So not every na in the sentence should be translated the same way.

Here kidogo means a little, slight, or mild, not literally small in a physical-size sense.

In expressions like this, kidogo often behaves like a fixed word meaning a little / slightly, so pumu kidogo is understood as mild asthma or a bit of asthma. It is very natural Swahili.

Alianza can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -anza = begin/start

So alianza means he/she started.

Because the sentence already has mtoto, Swahili does not need a separate word for he/she.

After alianza (started), Swahili commonly uses the infinitive form, which begins with ku-.

So:

• alianza kuhara = started to have diarrhea
• alianza kutapika = started to vomit

This is similar to English started to...

• kuhara = to have diarrhea
• kutapika = to vomit

They describe actions or symptoms, not just nouns. So the sentence is talking about the child beginning to experience those symptoms.

Jana means yesterday. Time words in Swahili are often placed near the beginning of the clause, before the verb.

So na jana alianza... is a very natural way to say and yesterday the child started...

You could sometimes move time expressions around, but this position is common and clear.

Usiku means at night, during the night, or sometimes last night, depending on context.

Swahili often uses time words without a separate preposition, so:

• usiku = at night
• asubuhi = in the morning
• mchana = during the day

In this sentence, usiku tells you when the diarrhea and vomiting happened or started. You could also hear jana usiku for last night.