Tulitafuta fasili ya nahau hiyo kwenye kamusi na kuandika nukuu fupi pembeni.

It breaks down like this:

• tu- = we
• -li- = past tense
• -tafuta = look for / search for

So tulitafuta means we looked for or we searched for.

This is very typical Swahili verb structure: subject marker + tense marker + verb root, all in one word.

After one fully marked verb, Swahili often uses na + infinitive to add another action without repeating the subject and tense.

So:

• Tulitafuta ... na kuandika ...

means roughly:

• We looked for ... and wrote ...

The subject is still understood to be we.

You could also say na tuliandika, but that sounds more separate or more deliberate, because you are repeating the full verb marking. The version with na kuandika is smoother and very natural.

Fasili usually means definition, explanation, gloss, or interpretation, especially in a more formal, dictionary, or academic sense.

Maana means meaning in a broader everyday sense.

So in a sentence about checking something in a dictionary, fasili is especially appropriate because a dictionary gives a definition.

Ya is the connector meaning of here.

So:

• fasili ya nahau hiyo = the definition of that idiom

In Swahili, this of-connector changes form depending on the noun before it. Here the head noun is fasili, so ya is the correct form.

A useful way to think of it is:

• fasili = definition
• ya = of
• nahau hiyo = that idiom

In Swahili, demonstratives like this, that, and those usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• nahau hiyo = that idiom

This pattern is very common:

• kitabu hiki = this book
• mtu huyo = that person
• neno lile = that word

So noun + demonstrative is the normal order.

Hiyo means that, and it often refers to something already mentioned, known from context, or closer to the listener than the speaker.

In this sentence, it points to a specific idiom already being discussed:

• nahau hiyo = that idiom

So it is not just any idiom; it is a particular one.

Yes. Kwenye kamusi means in the dictionary here.

Kwenye is a very common locative word that can mean in, on, at, or to, depending on context. With kamusi, it naturally means in.

You could also say katika kamusi, which is also correct. Broadly:

• kwenye kamusi = very natural everyday wording
• katika kamusi = also correct, sometimes felt as a bit more explicitly inside/in

In this sentence, both work well.

Nukuu often means quotation, quote, excerpt, or a short piece copied from another source.

In this sentence, it probably means a brief quoted line or short written note based on what was found. The best English translation depends on context, but the core idea is something short that was written down from the source.

So nukuu is more specific than just any writing; it suggests something taken or copied from elsewhere.

Because adjectives normally come after the noun in Swahili.

So:

• nukuu fupi = a short quotation / a short note

Compare that with English, where the adjective usually comes before the noun:

• short note

In Swahili, noun + adjective is the usual pattern.

Yes, but in this case the agreement is not very noticeable on the surface.

Nukuu belongs to a noun class where many adjectives can appear in a form like fupi without an obvious extra prefix. So the phrase nukuu fupi is correct.

For a learner, the most important point is:

• the adjective comes after the noun
• the form fupi is the correct one here

Pembeni means at the side, beside, off to the side, or in the margin.

In this sentence, it most likely suggests that the short note or quotation was written:

• beside the text
• in the margin
• off to the side

So it gives a spatial idea: the writing was not placed in the main line, but next to it.

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

That information is usually understood from context.

So:

• kamusi can mean a dictionary or the dictionary
• nahau hiyo is clearly that idiom because of hiyo
• nukuu fupi can be a short quote or the short quote, depending on context

This is a very common adjustment English speakers have to make when learning Swahili.

Here it is understood as singular: the dictionary or a dictionary.

A tricky point is that kamusi belongs to a noun class where singular and plural often look the same in form. So context tells you whether one dictionary or more than one is meant.

In this sentence, the context strongly suggests one dictionary.