Baada ya kuoga, mama hupaka krimu usoni, lakini dada hupendelea losheni mikononi.

Literally, baada ya kuoga means after bathing or after taking a bath.

The word kuoga is the infinitive form of the verb to bathe / to wash oneself. After baada ya (after), Swahili commonly uses an infinitive like this, where it functions a bit like an English -ing form. So:

• baada ya kuoga = after bathing
• literally, something like after to-bathe, but naturally translated as after bathing

The prefix hu- marks a habitual action: something someone usually, generally, or customarily does.

So:

• mama hupaka krimu usoni = mother usually applies cream to her face
• dada hupendelea losheni mikononi = sister usually prefers lotion on her hands

This is different from an action happening right now. If you wanted is applying or is preferring in a present-time sense, you would normally use a different verb form.

With the habitual marker hu-, the usual subject prefix often does not appear.

So instead of:

• mama anapaka for mother is applying

you get:

• mama hupaka for mother usually applies

Likewise:

• dada hupendelea = sister usually prefers

This is a common feature of the hu- habitual form.

Kupaka means to apply, to smear, or to put on by spreading.

It is often used for things like:

• cream
• lotion
• oil
• makeup
• paint

In this sentence, hupaka krimu usoni means applies cream to the face / puts cream on the face.

They are just the Swahili forms of the borrowed English words:

• krimu = cream
• losheni = lotion

These are loanwords that have been adapted to Swahili pronunciation and spelling. A learner may notice that many modern everyday items in Swahili use borrowed vocabulary like this.

The ending -ni is a locative ending. It often gives the sense of in, on, at, or to a place.

So:

• uso = face
• usoni = on the face / at the face

and

• mikono = hands
• mikononi = on the hands / in the hands / at the hands, depending on context

In this sentence, the natural meaning is:

• usoni = on the face
• mikononi = on the hands

No. The locative -ni does not always match one single English preposition.

Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• in
• on
• at
• sometimes something close to to or around

So you should think of it as a general location marker, not as a word that always equals exactly one English preposition.

Kupendelea means to prefer or to favor.

In this sentence:

• dada hupendelea losheni mikononi

means that sister prefers lotion on her hands.

So the structure is:

• hupendelea = usually prefers
• losheni = the thing preferred
• mikononi = the place/context where it is preferred

Not always.

• mama can mean mother, but it can also be used as a respectful way to refer to a woman.
• dada can mean sister, but it can also mean girl, young woman, or be used as a polite form of address.

In this sentence, though, the most natural reading is probably mother and sister.

Swahili does not use articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• mama can mean mother, the mother, or sometimes a mother
• dada can mean sister, the sister, or a sister

The exact meaning depends on context. That is very normal in Swahili.

Lakini means but.

It links the two parts of the sentence and shows a contrast:

• mother usually applies cream to her face,
• but sister usually prefers lotion on her hands.

So lakini works just like but in English.

Yes, it is very natural.

The sentence is arranged like this:

• Baada ya kuoga = time expression
• mama hupaka krimu usoni = first clause
• lakini = contrast word
• dada hupendelea losheni mikononi = second clause

A simple way to view it is:

time phrase + subject + verb + object + location

That is a very common and clear Swahili pattern.