Rahma alijipaka marashi kwenye paja na chini ya kwapa baada ya kuumwa na wadudu, kisha akafunga bandeji ndogo sehemu aliyokuwa ameikuna.

Alijipaka breaks down as:

• a- = she
• -li- = past tense
• -ji- = reflexive marker, herself
• -paka = apply, smear, rub on

So alijipaka marashi means she applied ointment to herself.

The -ji- is important. If you said alipaka marashi, that would just mean she applied ointment, without clearly saying it was on her own body.

In Swahili, body parts often appear without a possessive when the owner is obvious from context.

So:

• kwenye paja = on the thigh
• chini ya kwapa = under the armpit

Because the verb alijipaka already shows she was doing this to herself, Swahili does not need to add lake every time.

If you wanted extra emphasis, you could say paja lake or kwapa lake, but it is not necessary here.

Marashi here means something like ointment, lotion, or medicated oil, depending on context.

Even though it begins with ma-, it often behaves like a mass noun in actual use, so in English it may be translated as singular: ointment.

So alijipaka marashi is naturally understood as she applied ointment.

These are two different location expressions:

• kwenye paja = on the thigh / at the thigh area
• chini ya kwapa = under the armpit

Kwenye is a general locative word meaning on / in / at / to, depending on context.

Chini ya is a fixed expression meaning under / beneath.

So chini ya kwapa already includes the location idea, which is why you do not need kwenye there.

This means after being bitten by insects.

Breakdown:

• baada ya = after
• kuumwa = being bitten
• na wadudu = by insects

Kuumwa comes from kuuma = to bite, with the passive form -umwa = be bitten.

So this is literally after being bitten by insects, not after she bit insects.

Because na is a very common Swahili word with several uses.

In this sentence it means:

• and in kwenye paja na chini ya kwapa
• by in kuumwa na wadudu

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

Very often, na can mean:

• and
• with
• by (especially after a passive verb)

Akafunga uses the -ka- narrative or consecutive tense, which often means and then she...

So:

• kisha akafunga = then she tied/applied...

This tense is very common in storytelling and sequences of actions. It links the next action smoothly to the previous one.

Using alifunga would still be understandable, but akafunga sounds more natural in a narrated sequence.

Yes, the basic meaning of kufunga is to tie, to fasten, or to close.

But with bandeji, it naturally means to fasten/apply a bandage. In good English, that is often translated as:

• she put on a small bandage
• she bandaged the area with a small bandage

So this is a normal extension of the idea of fastening something in place.

Bandeji is treated as a noun in the N-class (class 9/10), and ndogo is the matching adjective form meaning small.

So:

• bandeji ndogo = a small bandage

A lot of class 9/10 nouns use adjective forms like:

• nzuri = good
• kubwa = big
• ndogo = small

without an obvious extra prefix.

Sehemu literally means place, area, part, or spot, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most natural English meaning is:

• the spot
• the area

So sehemu aliyokuwa ameikuna means the spot that she had scratched.

Yes, this is the hardest part of the sentence.

Breakdown:

• sehemu = spot / place / area
• aliyokuwa = that she had been / which was in a state where...
• ameikuna = she has/had scratched it

More closely:

• a- = she
• -li- = past
• -yo- = relative marker agreeing with sehemu (class 9)
• kuwa = be

And in ameikuna:

• a- = she
• -me- = perfect
• -i- = object marker for sehemu
• kuna = scratch

So the whole phrase means the spot that she had scratched.

This structure helps express an earlier completed action, something like a past perfect in English.

The -i- is an object marker referring back to sehemu.

So:

• ameikuna = she has/had scratched it
• the it = sehemu = the spot/area

This is very common in Swahili: once a noun has been introduced, the verb can include an object marker that points back to it.

No. Swahili usually does not repeat the subject if it is already clear.

The verb itself already shows the subject:

• a- = she

So after mentioning Rahma once, the sentence can continue with akafunga and it is still clear that she means Rahma.