Weka kikombe pembeni ya sahani mezani.

Weka is the singular imperative of kuweka, meaning to put, to place, or to set.

So in this sentence, weka means put! or place!, addressed to one person.

Related forms:

• kuweka = to put / to place
• weka! = put! (to one person)
• wekeni! = put! (to more than one person)

In Swahili, commands usually do not need a subject pronoun. The verb form itself already tells you it is a command.

So:

• Weka kikombe... = Put the cup...

If you added wewe for you, it would usually sound emphatic, like:

• Wewe, weka kikombe... = You, put the cup...

That is possible, but not the normal neutral way to give a simple instruction.

Kikombe is a noun in the ki-/vi- noun class.

Important points:

• kikombe = cup (singular)
• vikombe = cups (plural)

This matters because other words in a sentence may sometimes agree with the noun class. Even if this sentence does not show a lot of agreement, learners often want to notice the class early because it affects adjectives, verbs, and pronouns elsewhere.

Also, Swahili has no articles like a or the, so kikombe can mean:

• a cup
• the cup

The context tells you which is meant.

Pembeni ya means beside, next to, or at the side of.

So:

• pembeni ya sahani = beside the plate

You can think of pembeni as referring to the side or the side area, and ya links it to the following noun.

This pattern is very common in Swahili location expressions:

• juu ya meza = on top of the table
• chini ya kiti = under the chair
• mbele ya nyumba = in front of the house
• pembeni ya sahani = beside the plate

In this kind of expression, ya is the normal linker used after words like pembeni, juu, chini, mbele, and ndani when they connect to the noun that follows.

So you should learn pembeni ya as a very common chunk meaning:

• beside
• at the side of

In other words, it is best not to translate ya by itself too literally here. The whole phrase pembeni ya is what matters.

Mezani means on the table, at the table, or on the table surface, depending on context.

It is formed from:

• meza = table
• -ni = a locative suffix meaning something like in / at / on

So:

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

This -ni ending is very common in Swahili:

• nyumbani = at home
• shuleni = at school
• chumbani = in the room
• mezani = on/at the table

Yes. Kwenye meza can also mean on the table or at the table, depending on context.

So these can both work:

• Weka kikombe pembeni ya sahani mezani.
• Weka kikombe pembeni ya sahani kwenye meza.

Very roughly:

• mezani is a compact locative form
• kwenye meza is a more analytic phrase using kwenye

Both are common and natural. In many everyday situations, either one would be understood perfectly well.

Swahili often puts the sentence together in this order:

verb + object + location/details

So:

• Weka = put
• kikombe = the cup
• pembeni ya sahani = beside the plate
• mezani = on the table

That gives:

• Weka kikombe pembeni ya sahani mezani.

In natural English, you might prefer:

• Put the cup on the table beside the plate.

But Swahili commonly lets the location phrases come after the object in a straightforward chain.

In normal use, mezani gives the overall location of the action: the cup is being placed beside the plate, and this is happening on the table.

So the intended idea is usually:

• Put the cup beside the plate on the table.

A learner may notice a possible ambiguity if they analyze it very strictly, but in practice the sentence is natural and understandable.

If someone wanted to make it extra explicit, they could say something like:

• Weka kikombe mezani pembeni ya sahani.

That often feels even clearer to English speakers because mezani comes earlier.

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

So:

• kikombe can mean a cup or the cup
• sahani can mean a plate or the plate

The listener figures it out from context.

That is why a short Swahili sentence can look more general than the English translation, even though native speakers understand it clearly in context.

You would change the imperative verb from weka to wekeni.

So:

• Weka kikombe pembeni ya sahani mezani. = to one person
• Wekeni kikombe pembeni ya sahani mezani. = to more than one person

If you want to sound more polite, you can add tafadhali:

• Tafadhali, weka kikombe pembeni ya sahani mezani.
• Tafadhali, wekeni kikombe pembeni ya sahani mezani.

Sahani means plate or dish.

It is one of many Swahili nouns whose singular and plural often look the same:

• sahani = plate
• sahani = plates

The number is understood from context or from agreement elsewhere in the sentence.

So in this sentence:

• sahani = the plate or a plate

depending on the situation.