Kobe mdogo anatembea polepole sana.

to walk

Breakdown of Kobe mdogo anatembea polepole sana.

• sana: very
• mdogo: small
• polepole: slowly

Questions & Answers about Kobe mdogo anatembea polepole sana.

Why is mdogo after kobe?

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• kobe mdogo = small tortoise/turtle

That is the normal order, unlike English, where we say small tortoise.

Why is it mdogo and not just dogo?

The basic adjective stem is -dogo, meaning small. Swahili adds a prefix to match the noun’s class.

Here, the adjective appears as mdogo. That m- is the agreement part.

So:

• -dogo = the adjective stem
• mdogo = small in the form that agrees with kobe here

Why does kobe use mdogo and anatembea with a-, even though kobe does not start with m-?

Because many words for animals in Swahili take animate agreement, the same kind of agreement often used for people.

That is why you get:

• kobe mdogo
• kobe anatembea

So even though the noun itself is kobe, the grammar treats it like a singular living being for agreement purposes.