Tafadhali, bandika lebo hii kwenye sanduku.

Tafadhali means please. It makes the command sound polite.

So Bandika lebo hii kwenye sanduku is a direct command, and adding tafadhali softens it:

• Bandika lebo hii kwenye sanduku. = Stick this label onto the box.
• Tafadhali, bandika lebo hii kwenye sanduku. = Please stick this label onto the box.

You can also place tafadhali at the end in some contexts, but putting it first is very common.

Bandika is the imperative form, used for giving a command to one person.

In Swahili, commands often do not need a separate word for you. The verb form itself already tells you it is a command.

So:

• bandika = stick / attach!
• not you stick as a full subject-verb phrase, but a direct instruction

If you were speaking to more than one person, you would usually say:

• bandikeni = stick / attach! (plural)

Bandika means stick, attach, paste, or put on by sticking.

It is used for things like:

• sticking a label on a box
• pasting a notice on a wall
• attaching something with glue or adhesive

So in this sentence, it suggests physically placing the label onto the box so it stays there.

Lebo means label.

Hii means this.

In Swahili, demonstratives like this usually come after the noun, not before it. So:

• lebo hii = this label

This is different from English, where we say this label.

Swahili nouns belong to noun classes, and words like this, that, adjectives, and verbs often have to agree with the noun class.

Lebo belongs to the noun class that takes the demonstrative hii in the singular. So:

• lebo hii = this label

If the noun belonged to a different class, the form of this would change.

This agreement system is very important in Swahili grammar.

Kwenye often means on, in, at, or to, depending on context.

In this sentence, kwenye sanduku means something like:

• on the box
• onto the box

Because the verb is bandika (attach/stick), the meaning is clearly that the label should be attached to the surface of the box.

So the full phrase means the label should go onto the box, not just near it.

Sanduku means box.

Its plural is usually:

• masanduku = boxes

So:

• sanduku = box
• masanduku = boxes

In this sentence, kwenye sanduku means on/onto the box.

Swahili does not have articles like a, an, and the the way English does.

That means a noun like sanduku can mean:

• a box
• the box

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, the context makes it natural to understand sanduku as the box.

It is generally neutral and polite.

• tafadhali makes it polite
• bandika is a straightforward command
• the sentence sounds natural for instructions or requests

You could hear this in places like:

• shipping or packaging
• an office
• a classroom
• customer service
• everyday household situations

If you wanted to sound even softer or more indirect, you could use a longer structure such as asking whether someone can do it, but the given sentence is already polite.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Tafadhali = ta-fa-DHA-li
• bandika = ban-DI-ka
• lebo = LE-bo
• hii = HII
• kwenye = KWEN-ye
• sanduku = san-DU-ku

A few helpful notes:

• dh in tafadhali sounds like the th in this
• Swahili vowels are usually pronounced clearly:
  • a as in father
  • e as in bet but often a bit cleaner
  • i as in machine
  • o as in more without much glide
  • u as in flute
• Stress is often on the second-to-last syllable

So the sentence flows roughly like:

ta-fa-DHA-li, ban-DI-ka LE-bo HII KWEN-ye san-DU-ku

Yes, a little, but the given order is very natural.

Standard order here is:

• Tafadhali, bandika lebo hii kwenye sanduku.

You might also hear:

• Bandika lebo hii kwenye sanduku, tafadhali.

Both are polite. Putting tafadhali first is often a very clear way to begin a polite request.

The core order inside the sentence is:

• verb: bandika
• object: lebo hii
• location/destination phrase: kwenye sanduku

That order is very normal in Swahili.