Mwalimu anasema tusionyeshe kiburi darasani.

Swahili does not use articles like a, an, or the.

So mwalimu can mean:

• a teacher
• the teacher
• sometimes just teacher, depending on context

The context tells you which one is meant. In this sentence, English naturally uses the teacher, but Swahili simply says mwalimu.

Also, mwalimu is a noun in the human noun class. Its plural is walimu.

• mwalimu = teacher
• walimu = teachers

Anasema breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present / ongoing / habitual marker
• -sema = say, speak

So anasema literally means he/she is saying or he/she says.

In this sentence, English usually translates it as the teacher says.

This present tense in Swahili can cover:

• something happening now
• something said regularly
• a general statement

Because this sentence is not just making a normal negative statement like we do not show arrogance. It is expressing a negative instruction, wish, or reported command:

• that we should not show arrogance
• let us not show arrogance

That is why Swahili uses the negative subjunctive.

Tusionyeshe breaks down like this:

• tu- = we
• -si- = negative marker used in this form
• -onyesh- = show
• -e = subjunctive ending

So tusionyeshe means something like:

• that we not show
• we should not show
• let us not show

By contrast, hatuonyeshi is ordinary negative indicative:

• we are not showing
• we do not show

That would describe a fact, not a reported instruction.

The subjunctive is used because the second part of the sentence expresses what someone wants, tells, advises, or says should happen.

So:

• Mwalimu anasema... = The teacher says...
• tusionyeshe kiburi darasani = that we should not show arrogance in class

This is a very common pattern in Swahili after verbs of saying, telling, asking, advising, ordering, and similar ideas.

You can think of it as reported speech or reported instruction.

So the structure is roughly:

• X anasema + subjunctive
• X says that ... should ...

Here it is negative, so you get the negative subjunctive:

• tusionyeshe

The -e ending is the usual marker of the subjunctive in Swahili.

Compare:

• kuonyesha = to show
• tuonyeshe = let us show / that we should show
• tusionyeshe = let us not show / that we should not show

So the -e is a strong clue that you are looking at a subjunctive form rather than an ordinary present tense form.

The difference is simply affirmative vs negative in the subjunctive.

• tuonyeshe = let us show / that we should show
• tusionyeshe = let us not show / that we should not show

So adding -si- gives the negative meaning.

This is different from ordinary present tense negatives, which use a different pattern.

Kiburi is a noun meaning pride, arrogance, or conceit, depending on context.

Like mwalimu, it does not need an article because Swahili has no words corresponding directly to a or the.

So kiburi can mean:

• arrogance
• pride
• conceit

In this sentence, it is being used as a general noun, so English naturally says arrogance without an article too.

The noun begins with ki-, which is a noun class prefix. Many learners notice that ki- often belongs to the ki-/vi- class.

Darasani means in the classroom or in class.

It comes from:

• darasa = class / classroom / lesson
• -ni = locative ending, often meaning in, at, or to

So:

• darasa = classroom / class
• darasani = in the classroom / in class

This -ni ending is very common in Swahili for places.

For example:

• nyumbani = at home
• shuleni = at school
• mezani = on the table / at the table
• darasani = in class

Because it is a locative phrase telling you where the action happens: in class.

A very common Swahili word order is:

• subject + verb + object + place

So here:

• Mwalimu = subject
• anasema = verb
• tusionyeshe kiburi = reported clause
• darasani = place

Putting the location at the end is very natural.

Yes. That is very close to the grammar.

The form tusionyeshe can often be understood literally as let us not show.

But in smoother English, depending on context, you might translate the full sentence as:

• The teacher says we should not show arrogance in class.
• The teacher tells us not to be arrogant in class.
• The teacher says that we shouldn’t show arrogance in class.

So the exact English wording may vary, even though the Swahili grammar stays the same.

Yes. The dictionary form is kuonyesha, meaning to show.

In an inflected verb form, the ku- infinitive prefix disappears, and you are left with the verb stem:

• kuonyesha = to show
• anaonyesha = he/she shows
• tuonyeshe = let us show
• tusionyeshe = let us not show

So the important lexical verb is -onyesha.

Yes, that is a very helpful way to understand it.

Part 1:

• Mwalimu anasema = The teacher says

Part 2:

• tusionyeshe kiburi darasani = that we should not show arrogance in class

So the sentence structure is basically:

• [main clause] + [subordinate subjunctive clause]

That makes it easier to see why the second verb is not in an ordinary present-tense form.