Mtoto alianguka na kuumia paji la uso na paja lake wakati wa mchezo.

Alianguka can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense marker
• -anguka = fall

So alianguka means he/she fell.

In this sentence, the subject is mtoto (child), so alianguka means the child fell.

Mtoto means child. Swahili does not have articles like a and the, so mtoto can mean:

• a child
• the child

You figure out which one is meant from context.

No. Mtoto is gender-neutral. It can mean:

• boy
• girl
• child

Also, the subject marker a- in alianguka means he/she, so it does not tell you the gender either.

After na (and), Swahili often uses the infinitive form ku-... to add another action closely connected to the first one.

So:

• alianguka na kuumia = fell and got hurt / fell and injured...

This sounds natural when the second action is part of the same event.

You may also hear forms like:

• alianguka na akaumia = he/she fell and then got hurt

That version can sound a bit more sequential or narrative. The sentence you have uses a very common compact structure.

Kuumia comes from the verb umia, which means to be hurt, to get injured, or to feel pain.

In this sentence, it means the child hurt or injured the listed body parts.

So here it is not just general pain; it is tied to specific parts of the body:

• paji la uso = forehead
• paja lake = his/her thigh

Paji la uso is the normal way to say forehead.

Literally, it is something like:

• paji = brow/forehead area
• la = linking word meaning of
• uso = face

So literally it is roughly the brow of the face, but as a whole it simply means forehead.

This kind of noun linking is very common in Swahili.

The linker changes according to the noun class of the first noun.

Here, the head noun is paji, and it takes the linker la. So:

• paji la uso = forehead

You do not need to translate la word-for-word every time; it is just the normal grammatical connector here, like of in English.

This is a very common learner question.

In Swahili, possessives agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner.

Here:

• paja = thigh
• lake = his/her agreeing with paja

So:

• paja lake = his/her thigh

If the possessed noun belonged to a different noun class, the possessive form would change.

So lake does not mean a different kind of his/her from yake in English meaning; it is just the form required by the noun class of paja.

Because with body parts, Swahili often leaves the possession understood from context.

Since the subject is the child, it is naturally understood that it is the child’s forehead and thigh.

So paji la uso na paja lake is understood as:

• the forehead and his/her thigh

A speaker could make the first one more explicit, but it is often unnecessary. Swahili commonly avoids repeating ownership when it is obvious.

Because it connects two different kinds of things.

First na connects actions:

• alianguka na kuumia = fell and got hurt

Second na connects nouns:

• paji la uso na paja lake = forehead and his/her thigh

So both mean and, but they are joining different parts of the sentence.

Wakati wa mchezo means during the game or during play.

Broken down:

• wakati = time / moment / during
• wa = linker, roughly of
• mchezo = game / play

So literally it is something like the time of play/game, but natural English is:

• during the game
• while playing

Yes. Mchezo can mean:

• game
• play
• sometimes even sport depending on context

So wakati wa mchezo could be understood as:

• during the game
• during play
• while playing

The exact best translation depends on the situation.

Putting wakati wa mchezo at the end is very natural. Swahili often places time expressions there.

So this order works well:

• Mtoto alianguka na kuumia paji la uso na paja lake wakati wa mchezo.

But time phrases can sometimes move earlier for emphasis. The sentence as given is normal and clear.