Mama alisema ni vizuri kuloweka maharagwe usiku kabla ya kupika.

Alisema breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense marker
• -sema = say

So alisema literally means he/she said. In this sentence, because Mama is the subject, it means Mother said or Mom said.

Swahili verbs often pack subject and tense directly into one word, so you do not need a separate word for she.

In English, we often say Mom said that..., but we can also say Mom said... with no that. Swahili works similarly.

So:

• Mama alisema ni vizuri... = Mom said it is good...
• You could also say Mama alisema kwamba ni vizuri... = Mom said that it is good...

The word kwamba means that, but it is often omitted when the meaning is already clear.

Ni vizuri means something like:

• it is good
• it is best
• it is advisable

Here is the breakdown:

• ni = is / it is
• vizuri = well / good / nicely

In this kind of sentence, ni vizuri + infinitive is a very common way to say that doing something is a good idea:

• Ni vizuri kusoma kila siku. = It is good to study every day.
• Ni vizuri kuloweka maharagwe... = It is good to soak beans...

So ni vizuri is being used impersonally, like English it is good.

The ku- here marks the infinitive, so kuloweka means to soak or soaking.

In Swahili, infinitives often work a lot like English to + verb or even a gerund:

• kupika = to cook / cooking
• kusoma = to read / reading
• kuloweka = to soak / soaking

In this sentence, kuloweka maharagwe means to soak beans.

Because ni vizuri is followed by an action, the infinitive form is exactly what you would expect.

Kuloweka means to soak, to leave something in liquid, or to let it absorb water.

So in the context of beans, it means leaving the beans in water for a period of time before cooking.

It is more specific than just put in water. The idea is that the beans stay in the water long enough to soften.

Maharagwe means beans. In normal usage, it is commonly treated as a plural or collective noun.

A learner may notice that it looks plural because it starts with ma-, which is a common plural noun-class prefix in Swahili.

So in this sentence:

• kuloweka maharagwe = to soak beans

You do not need an article like the or some, because Swahili does not have articles like English.

Depending on context, maharagwe can mean:

• beans in general
• some beans
• the beans

The context tells you which is intended.

Literally, usiku means night or at night.

But in this sentence, the natural meaning is closer to overnight:

• kuloweka maharagwe usiku kabla ya kupika
  = to soak the beans overnight before cooking

That is because soaking beans at night before cooking usually means leaving them to soak through the night.

So usiku can sometimes be understood more broadly from context, not just as a single point in time.

In standard Swahili, kabla ya is the normal pattern for before when it is followed by a noun or infinitive phrase.

So:

• kabla ya kupika = before cooking
• kabla ya kula = before eating
• kabla ya safari = before the trip

The ya is a connective word that links kabla to what follows. It is part of the normal expression, so learners should usually learn kabla ya as a set phrase.

Kupika means to cook or cooking. In this sentence, there is no object marker because the object is already obvious from context: maharagwe.

So the meaning is naturally understood as:

• before cooking them
• that is, before cooking the beans

Swahili often leaves out things that are clear from context, just like English sometimes does.

If someone wanted to make it more explicit, they could rephrase, but the original sentence is completely natural.

Swahili often uses this pattern:

• ni vizuri + infinitive phrase

So the structure is:

• Mama alisema = Mom said
• ni vizuri = it is good
• kuloweka maharagwe usiku kabla ya kupika = to soak beans overnight before cooking

This is similar to English:

• Mom said it is good to soak beans overnight before cooking.

The infinitive phrase kuloweka maharagwe... acts like the thing that is being recommended.

It can be either, depending on context and translation style.

• Mama literally means mother
• In natural English, it is often best translated as Mom or Mum

It is also worth knowing that mama in Swahili can be used more broadly as a respectful way to refer to a woman, depending on context. But in this sentence, it most naturally means Mom/Mother.

Sometimes, yes, depending on the context.

Strictly speaking:

• ni vizuri kuloweka maharagwe... = it is good to soak beans...

But in natural English, that can sometimes sound like:

• you should soak beans...

The Swahili is a little softer than a direct command. It sounds more like advice or a recommendation than an obligation.

So should can work in translation, but grammatically the sentence is literally built around it is good to...

Yes, roughly like this:

• Mama = Mom / Mother
• alisema = said
• ni = it is / is
• vizuri = good / well
• kuloweka = to soak
• maharagwe = beans
• usiku = at night / overnight
• kabla ya = before
• kupika = to cook / cooking

So a very literal reading is:

Mom said it is good to soak beans at night before cooking.

In more natural English, that usually becomes:

Mom said it is good to soak beans overnight before cooking.