Baada ya kuangalia menyu, Rahma alisema angependelea dengu kuliko chipsi, ingawa watoto walitaka sandwichi.

That opening phrase sets the time frame: it tells you when the main action happened.

• baada ya = after
• kuangalia menyu = looking at the menu

So the whole phrase works like After looking at the menu...

Swahili often puts this kind of time phrase at the beginning of a sentence, just as English does.

After baada ya, Swahili commonly uses the infinitive form of a verb, which begins with ku-.

So:

• kuangalia = to look / looking
• baada ya kuangalia = after looking

In English, we often use a form ending in -ing after a preposition. Swahili uses the infinitive instead.

This is reported speech:

• alisema = she said
• angependelea = she would prefer

So the structure is basically:

Rahma said she would prefer...

Swahili often uses this kind of form after a verb like alisema when reporting what someone said, thought, or intended.

angependelea can be broken down like this:

• a- = she/he
• -nge- = would
• pendelea = prefer

So angependelea means she would prefer.

The -nge- part gives a conditional or less direct nuance. Here it sounds natural because Rahma is expressing a choice rather than stating a hard fact. It is softer than a plain past form.

kuliko means than in comparisons.

So:

• dengu kuliko chipsi = lentils rather than chips / lentils more than chips

After verbs of preference, kuliko is a very natural way to compare two options.

A rough pattern is:

X anapendelea A kuliko B = X prefers A to B

In East African Swahili, chipsi usually means French fries.

So if you are a British English speaker, it is close to chips. If you are an American English speaker, it is close to fries, not potato chips.

That is a very common point of confusion for English speakers.

These are loanwords that Swahili has adapted from other languages, especially English.

• menyu = menu
• chipsi = chips/fries
• sandwichi = sandwich

This is very normal in Swahili, especially for modern food items, technology, and international vocabulary.

Their spelling is adjusted to fit Swahili sound patterns.

Many borrowed nouns in Swahili do not change form between singular and plural, or they do so less predictably than native Swahili nouns.

So sandwichi may refer to one sandwich or sandwiches, depending on context.

In this sentence, the plural idea comes more from the situation and from watoto walitaka than from changing the noun itself.

Because watoto is the plural form of mtoto:

• mtoto = child
• watoto = children

The verb agrees with that plural noun:

• wa- = they
• -li- = past tense
• taka = want

So:

• walitaka = they wanted

If it were singular, you would expect:

• mtoto alitaka = the child wanted

ingawa means although or even though.

It introduces a contrast:

• Rahma preferred lentils
• ingawa the children wanted sandwiches

So it marks a situation where two ideas do not fully line up.

It can also be moved to the front:

Ingawa watoto walitaka sandwichi, Rahma alisema angependelea dengu kuliko chipsi.

That means essentially the same thing.

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

So a noun like menyu can mean:

• a menu
• the menu

The exact meaning comes from context.

That is why English speakers often feel something is missing at first, but in Swahili this is completely normal.

Yes, to some extent.

Swahili word order is often flexible, especially with time phrases and subordinate clauses. For example, you could say:

Ingawa watoto walitaka sandwichi, baada ya kuangalia menyu, Rahma alisema angependelea dengu kuliko chipsi.

That still makes sense.

However, the original version sounds natural because it presents the events in a clear order:

1. she looked at the menu
2. she spoke
3. we learn the contrast with the children

You could say something like:

Baada ya kuangalia menyu, Rahma alisema: Napendelea dengu kuliko chipsi.

That means Rahma’s exact words are being given more directly.

The original sentence, with alisema angependelea, is more like indirect speech:

• direct: I prefer lentils
• reported: she said she would prefer lentils

Both are natural, but they feel slightly different in style.