Nimeziweka mezani.

It can be divided like this:

• Ni- = I
• -me- = perfect marker, often translated as have
• -zi- = them (an object marker for a particular noun class)
• weka = put/place

So Nimeziweka means something like I have put them or I have placed them.

-me- is the Swahili perfect marker. In many contexts, it corresponds to English have + past participle.

So:

• ninaweka = I am putting / I put
• niliweka = I put
• nimeweka = I have put

In this sentence, -me- shows that the action has already been completed.

-zi- is the object marker meaning them, but specifically for nouns that belong to the relevant noun class, usually class 10.

Swahili often puts the object inside the verb, not just as a separate word after it.

So:

• Nimeweka = I have put
• Nimeziweka = I have put them

The -zi- tells you the speaker is referring back to some previously mentioned plural noun of that class.

It refers to plural nouns in the noun class that takes zi- as its object marker.

For example, some common class 10 plurals include words like:

• nguo = clothes
• nyumba = houses
• barua = letters

So if the meaning were I have put the clothes on the table, Swahili could express that with Nimeziweka mezani, where -zi- refers to nguo.

The base verb is -weka, which means put, place, or set.

Its dictionary form is kuweka = to put / to place.

Examples:

• kuweka kitabu mezani = to put a book on the table
• nimeweka = I have put
• aliweka = he/she put

Mezani comes from:

• meza = table
• -ni = a locative ending

So mezani means at the table, on the table, or sometimes in the table area, depending on context.

In this sentence, the natural meaning is on the table.

Swahili often adds -ni to a noun to make it locative, meaning something like in, on, or at that place.

So:

• meza = table
• mezani = on/at the table

This -ni ending is very common:

• nyumba = house
• nyumbani = at home / in the house

Because Swahili often uses an object marker in the verb when the object is already known from context.

So if everyone already knows what them refers to, Nimeziweka mezani is enough.

If you wanted to be more explicit, you could also name the object, for example:

• Nimeziweka nguo mezani would sound unusual because the noun and object marker together need to match natural discourse patterns carefully.
• More naturally, you might say either:
  • Nimeweka nguo mezani = I have put the clothes on the table
  • or, if the clothes were already mentioned, Nimeziweka mezani = I have put them on the table

Yes, but Swahili is somewhat flexible.

The basic order here is:

• Nimeziweka = I have put them
• mezani = on the table

So the whole sentence is:

• I have put them on the table

This is a very natural order in Swahili: verb first, then location.

It is usually better understood as I have put them on the table, because of -me-.

In real translation, though, English sometimes uses simple past where Swahili uses the perfect. So depending on context, it might sometimes be translated more naturally as:

• I put them on the table
• I’ve put them on the table

But grammatically, -me- most directly corresponds to have put.

You would usually use -li- for the simple past:

• Niliziweka mezani.

Breakdown:

• Ni- = I
• -li- = past
• -zi- = them
• weka = put
• mezani = on the table

So:

• Nimeziweka mezani = I have put them on the table
• Niliziweka mezani = I put them on the table

Yes, technically it can. The locative -ni does not always map neatly onto just one English preposition.

Depending on context, mezani could suggest:

• on the table
• at the table
• sometimes more broadly by the table

But with kuweka (to put/place), the most natural interpretation is usually on the table.