Sipendi kugombana na dada yangu.

Yes:

• Si-pend-i = I do not like
• ku-gomban-a = to argue / to quarrel
• na = with
• dada yangu = my sister

So the structure is basically:

I-don’t-like + to-argue + with + my sister

Because Swahili packs a lot of information into the verb itself.

In sipendi:

• si- marks 1st person singular negative: I do not
• -pend- is the verb root meaning like / love
• -i is the final vowel used in this negative form

So sipendi means I do not like.

A useful comparison is:

• napenda = I like
• sipendi = I do not like

Because Swahili usually puts the subject inside the verb.

In sipendi, the si- already tells you the subject is I and that the verb is negative.

So you do not need to say mimi unless you want emphasis.

For example:

• Sipendi kugombana na dada yangu. = I don’t like arguing with my sister.
• Mimi sipendi kugombana na dada yangu. = I don’t like arguing with my sister.
  This sounds more emphatic.

This is a very common learner question.

In the present/general tense, Swahili negative forms often work differently from the affirmative:

• napenda = I like
• sipendi = I do not like

Two things happen:

1. The negative subject marker si- is used.
2. The final -a of the verb changes to -i.

So the negative is not made by just adding a separate word for not. The whole verb form changes.

ku- makes the verb into an infinitive, like English to + verb.

So:

• gombana = argue / quarrel
• kugombana = to argue / to quarrel

After penda or sipendi, using an infinitive is very normal:

• Napenda kusoma. = I like to read.
• Sipendi kuchelewa. = I don’t like being late.
• Sipendi kugombana na dada yangu. = I don’t like arguing with my sister.

The ending -ana often gives a reciprocal idea, meaning something like each other or one another.

So gombana suggests a two-sided action:

• not just one person doing something,
• but people quarreling with each other

That is why kugombana na dada yangu makes sense as to argue with my sister.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Here, after kugombana, it means with:

• kugombana na dada yangu = to argue with my sister

But in another sentence, na can mean and:

• Juma na Asha = Juma and Asha

So learners have to use context to decide which meaning is intended.

Because in Swahili, possessives usually come after the noun.

So the normal order is:

• dada yangu = my sister
• rafiki yangu = my friend
• kitabu changu = my book

This is different from English, where my comes before the noun.

So literally, dada yangu is closer to sister my, but the natural English translation is my sister.

Swahili possessives change form depending on the noun they go with.

The basic idea of yangu is my/mine, but it appears in different agreeing forms with different nouns. In this sentence, yangu is the correct form used with dada.

So you should learn dada yangu as the normal phrase for my sister.

Usually it means to quarrel, to argue, or to have a conflict. It often suggests a disagreement or dispute, not necessarily a physical fight.

If you want to talk specifically about physically fighting, Swahili may use other verbs depending on the situation, such as kupigana.

So in this sentence, kugombana is best understood as arguing/quarreling.

Not exactly as a literal grammar match.

Sipendi kugombana na dada yangu most directly means:

• I don’t like arguing with my sister
• or I don’t like to argue with my sister

In natural English, that may sometimes sound close to I don’t want to argue with my sister, but if you specifically mean I do not want to, Swahili more directly uses:

• Sitaki kugombana na dada yangu. = I don’t want to argue with my sister.

So:

• sipendi = I don’t like
• sitaki = I don’t want