Asubuhi tuliona swala wawili karibu na chemchemi.

Asubuhi means morning, but in sentences like this it works as a time expression meaning in the morning or sometimes this morning, depending on context.

Swahili often uses time words without a preposition, so you do not need a separate word for in here.

Tuliona can be broken down like this:

• tu- = we
• -li- = past tense marker
• -on- = verb root see
• -a = final vowel

So tuliona literally means we saw.

In Swahili, the subject is usually built into the verb itself. Here, tu- already means we, so a separate pronoun is not necessary.

You could say sisi tuliona for emphasis, but normally just tuliona is enough.

Some Swahili nouns have the same form in both singular and plural, especially certain animal nouns. Swala is one of those nouns, so it can mean gazelle or gazelles depending on context.

In this sentence, the plural meaning is shown by wawili = two.

This is a very common learner question.

Swahili numbers from one to five usually agree with the noun. With animate nouns such as people and animals, the agreement often uses the wa- form:

• mmoja = one
• wawili = two
• watatu = three
• wanne = four
• watano = five

So swala wawili means two gazelles.

By contrast, mbili is used with many non-human, non-animate nouns.

In Swahili, modifiers usually come after the noun. That includes adjectives, numbers, and many other descriptive words.

So the normal order is:

• swala wawili = two gazelles
• mtoto mdogo = small child
• nyumba kubwa = big house

That is why swala wawili sounds natural.

Karibu na means near or close to.

Here:

• karibu = near / close
• na = part of the expression linking it to the following noun

So karibu na chemchemi means near the spring.

Important: the word na often means and or with, but in this expression it is just part of karibu na = near.

Swahili does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So chemchemi can mean:

• a spring
• the spring

The exact meaning depends on context. If you want to be more specific, Swahili often uses demonstratives such as hii (this) or ile (that).

Not completely. Swahili word order is somewhat flexible, especially with time expressions like asubuhi.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Asubuhi tuliona swala wawili karibu na chemchemi.

It starts by setting the scene in time: In the morning...

You could move asubuhi later in the sentence, but that changes the flow and emphasis. The original order is a good, normal way to say it.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• Asubuhi = ah-soo-BU-hee
• tuliona = too-lee-O-nah
• swala = SWA-lah
• wawili = wah-WEE-lee
• karibu = kah-ree-BOO
• chemchemi = chem-CHEM-mee

A useful rule in Swahili is that stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable. Also, vowels are usually pronounced clearly and consistently:

• a as in father
• e as in bed but cleaner
• i as in machine
• o as in told but without a glide
• u as in flute