Tunamshukuru Mungu kwa afya njema ya mama.

Tunamshukuru can be broken into these parts:

• tu- = we
• -na- = present tense marker, often understood as are / do
• -m- = object marker for him/her
• shukuru = thank

So tunamshukuru literally means something like we are thanking him/her.

In this sentence, the -m- refers to Mungu, so the whole verb means we thank God.

That -m- is the object marker, and in Swahili it is very common to include it even when the object noun is also stated.

So:

• Tunamshukuru Mungu = We thank God
• literally: We-him-thank God

This may feel unusual to an English speaker because English does not do this. But in Swahili, using the object marker often makes the sentence sound natural and complete, especially with people or animate beings.

Swahili does not use articles like a and the the way English does.

So Mungu can mean God depending on context, without needing a separate word for the.

This is normal in Swahili:

• Mungu = God
• no article is needed

English speakers often look for the, but Swahili usually leaves that idea to context.

In this sentence, kwa means something like for or because of.

So:

• kwa afya njema ya mama = for the mother’s good health / because of mother’s good health

Kwa is a very common preposition in Swahili, but it can have several meanings depending on context, including:

• for
• by
• with
• because of
• at someone’s place

Here, the best sense is for or because of.

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• afya = health
• njema = good

Together:

• afya njema = good health

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come before the noun.

Also, the adjective normally agrees with the noun class of the noun. Afya takes the adjective form njema, not just any form of good.

Ya mama means of mother or mother’s.

Breakdown:

• ya = a possessive connector meaning of, agreeing with the noun before it
• mama = mother

So:

• afya njema ya mama = the mother’s good health

An English speaker may want to translate it word-for-word as good health of mother, but in natural English it becomes mother’s good health.

The possessive connector in Swahili changes according to the noun class of the thing being possessed.

Here, the possessed noun is afya. Since afya belongs to a noun class that takes ya in this structure, we get:

• afya ya mama = mother’s health

This is an important point: the possessive connector agrees with afya, not with mama.

So it is not chosen because mama is mother; it is chosen because afya is the noun being linked.

Yes. That is a very natural translation.

The structure is:

• Tunamshukuru Mungu = We thank God
• kwa afya njema ya mama = for mother’s good health

So the full sentence is naturally:

• We thank God for mother’s good health

Depending on context, it could also be understood as:

• We thank God because mother is in good health

Mama often means mother, but it can also be used more broadly and respectfully.

Depending on context, it might mean:

• one’s mother
• a mother
• a woman being addressed respectfully
• sometimes a wife or older woman in certain contexts

In this sentence, the most likely meaning is simply mother, but context always helps confirm exactly whose mother is meant.

You would change the subject marker at the beginning of the verb:

• Tu- = we
• Ni- = I

So:

• Tunamshukuru Mungu = We thank God
• Ninamshukuru Mungu = I thank God

The rest of the sentence can stay the same:

• Ninamshukuru Mungu kwa afya njema ya mama.
• I thank God for mother’s good health.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• Tu-na-m-shu-ku-ru Mun-gu kwa a-fya nje-ma ya ma-ma

Helpful notes:

• Swahili vowels are usually pronounced clearly:
  • a as in father
  • e as in bed but often cleaner
  • i as in machine
  • o as in more without a glide
  • u as in rule
• ng in Mungu is pronounced as in finger, not usually like the ng in singer
• stress in Swahili often falls on the second-to-last syllable:
  • tu-na-mshu-KU-ru
  • MUN-gu
  • a-fya NJE-ma
  • MA-ma

A smooth reading would sound something like:

• tunamshuKURU MUNgu kwa afya NJEma ya MAMA