Mtoto alikuwa dhaifu baada ya homa, lakini sasa anakula vizuri.

Mtoto means child. It does not specify gender, so it can mean a boy or a girl depending on context.

Because of that, the sentence can be understood as the child... he/she... if no other context tells you the gender.

Swahili does not normally use articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• mtoto can mean a child or the child
• homa can mean a fever or the fever

Context tells you which one is intended.

The a- is the subject marker for a singular human noun, meaning he/she.

Since mtoto is a singular human noun, the verbs agree with it using a-:

• a-li-kuwa = he/she was
• a-na-kula = he/she is eating / eats

So Swahili often builds the subject information into the verb, instead of using a separate word like he or she.

Alikuwa means was here.

It can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -kuwa = be

So mtoto alikuwa dhaifu literally means the child was weak.

In Swahili, after forms of kuwa (to be), you usually do not need ni before an adjective or description.

So:

• alikuwa dhaifu = natural, normal way to say was weak

You may sometimes hear ni in other kinds of sentences, but here leaving it out is standard.

Dhaifu means weak.

It is one of the descriptive words in Swahili that often stays the same instead of changing to match the noun class. So even though mtoto is singular human, you still say:

• mtoto dhaifu = a weak child
• alikuwa dhaifu = was weak

Not every describing word in Swahili behaves the same way. Some adjectives agree with the noun class, but dhaifu is commonly used without changing form.

Baada ya means after.

So:

• baada ya homa = after the fever / after a fever

The word ya is part of this structure. You can think of baada ya as a set phrase meaning after when followed by a noun.

Examples:

• baada ya kazi = after work
• baada ya chakula = after food / after the meal

Lakini means but, and sasa means now.

Together they create a contrast:

• earlier: the child was weak
• now: the child is eating well

So lakini sasa signals a change in condition.

Anakula means is eating or eats, depending on context.

It breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense
• -kula = eat

So:

• anakula = he/she is eating / he/she eats

Because the sentence also has sasa (now), the sense here is very naturally is eating now or is eating well now.

It can mean either one, because the Swahili present tense often covers both simple present and present progressive.

So anakula vizuri can mean:

• he/she eats well
• he/she is eating well

In this sentence, because of sasa (now), English will often translate it as is eating well now.

Vizuri means well here.

It comes after the verb:

• anakula vizuri = is eating well

This is very common in Swahili: the verb comes first, and the adverb follows it.

So the basic pattern is:

• ana-kula vizuri
• he/she-eats well