Rahma anasafisha banda la kuku kila jioni.

In Swahili, a verb often includes several pieces of information in a single word. anasafisha can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she subject marker
• -na- = present tense
• -safisha = clean

So anasafisha means he/she is cleaning or he/she cleans, depending on context.

Because Swahili normally keeps a subject marker on the verb even when the subject noun is stated separately.

So in:

• Rahma anasafisha

you have both:

• Rahma = the subject noun
• a- = the subject agreement on the verb

This is completely normal in Swahili. English usually does not do this, but Swahili does.

It can mean either one, depending on context.

• Rahma anasafisha banda la kuku. could mean Rahma is cleaning the chicken coop.
• With kila jioni added, the sentence is naturally understood as a habitual action: Rahma cleans the chicken coop every evening.

So the time phrase kila jioni helps make the habitual meaning clear.

Yes, Rahma husafisha banda la kuku kila jioni is also possible and sounds more explicitly habitual: Rahma cleans the chicken coop every evening / Rahma usually cleans...

Very roughly:

• anasafisha = present; can be current or habitual depending on context
• husafisha = habitual/generic action

In everyday Swahili, anasafisha with kila jioni is very natural.

Literally, it is something like shed/pen of chickens.

• banda = shed, stall, pen, enclosure
• la = of
• kuku = chicken / chickens

So banda la kuku is the natural way to say chicken coop or chicken pen.

Because la agrees with the noun banda, not with kuku.

In Swahili, the of-connector changes form according to the noun class of the first noun.

• banda belongs to a noun class that takes la in the singular
• so banda la kuku = coop of chickens

If the head noun were different, the connector could change:

• nyumba ya kuku = house of chickens
• mabanda ya kuku = chicken coops

So the important thing is: the connector agrees with banda.

Because kuku is one of those nouns that often has the same form in both singular and plural.

So:

• kuku can mean a chicken
• kuku can also mean chickens

Context tells you which meaning is intended. In banda la kuku, the idea is usually chicken coop, so English naturally uses the plural idea even though the Swahili form stays kuku.

There is no separate word for the or a/an in standard Swahili.

Swahili usually leaves definiteness unstated, and context tells you whether something is:

• a chicken coop
• the chicken coop

So banda la kuku can mean either one depending on the situation. In translation, English has to choose.

Actually, kila already means every/each.

• kila = every
• jioni = evening

So kila jioni = every evening

Swahili often uses time words directly without a preposition where English would use in, on, or nothing extra. This is very normal:

• asubuhi = in the morning / morning
• usiku = at night
• leo = today
• kila jioni = every evening

Jioni is a time noun meaning evening.

In a sentence like this, it functions adverbially, meaning it tells you when the action happens:

• Rahma anasafisha banda la kuku kila jioni.
• Rahma cleans the chicken coop every evening.

So even though jioni is a noun, it works a lot like an adverbial time expression in English.

Yes. This is a very normal word order:

• Rahma = subject
• anasafisha = verb
• banda la kuku = object
• kila jioni = time expression

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + Verb + Object + Time

Swahili word order is somewhat flexible, especially for emphasis, but this sentence uses a standard, neutral order.