Mwalimu anaeleza muundo.

A natural approximate pronunciation is:

mwa-LEE-moo a-na-e-LE-za moo-UN-do

A few helpful points:

• mw in mwalimu is said together, almost like the beginning of mwah
• Swahili vowels are usually pronounced clearly:
  • a as in father
  • e as in bed but often a bit purer
  • i as in machine
  • o as in go but shorter
  • u as in flute
• Stress in Swahili usually falls on the second-to-last syllable, so:
  • mwaLImu
  • anaeLEza
  • muUNdo

Mwalimu means teacher.

It is a noun referring to a person, and it belongs to the Swahili noun class for many human beings. In context, it can mean:

• the teacher
• a teacher

Swahili usually does not use separate words for a or the, so the exact meaning depends on context.

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

So:

• mwalimu can mean a teacher or the teacher
• muundo can mean a structure or the structure

Context tells you which one is meant. This is very common in Swahili and is something English speakers often need time to get used to.

Anaeleza can be broken down like this:

a- + -na- + eleza

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense / ongoing action
• eleza = explain

So anaeleza means:

• he/she explains
• he/she is explaining

Because mwalimu is singular and refers to a person, the verb uses the a- subject prefix.

It can mean either, depending on context.

The Swahili tense marker -na- often covers both:

• simple present: explains
• present continuous: is explaining

So Mwalimu anaeleza muundo could mean:

• The teacher explains the structure
• The teacher is explaining the structure

In real use, context tells you which is more natural.

Muundo means structure, arrangement, or organization, depending on context.

Yes, it belongs to a noun class. Specifically, it is in the m-/mi- class:

• singular: muundo
• plural: miundo

So if you wanted to say structures, you would say miundo.

Because Swahili does not require an object marker when the object is stated explicitly after the verb.

Here, the full object muundo is already present:

• Mwalimu anaeleza muundo

That is perfectly normal.

An object marker is more likely when the object is already known or being referred to as it/him/her/them, for example in a sentence like Mwalimu anaueleza, meaning something like The teacher is explaining it, where the object marker refers back to muundo.

Yes. The basic word order here is:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Mwalimu = subject
• anaeleza = verb
• muundo = object

This is the most straightforward and common order in Swahili, and it matches English quite well in simple sentences like this one.

Yes, if the subject is already understood from context.

Because the verb already contains the subject prefix a- for he/she, anaeleza muundo means:

• He/she explains the structure
• He/she is explaining the structure

So mwalimu can be left out when it is obvious who is being talked about.

If you want to say The teachers explain the structure, you would change the subject and the subject prefix:

Walimu wanaeleza muundo.

Breakdown:

• walimu = teachers
• wa- = they
• -na- = present tense
• eleza = explain

If you also want the object to be plural, you could say:

Walimu wanaeleza miundo.
= The teachers explain structures.

A common negative form is:

Mwalimu haelezi muundo.
= The teacher does not explain / is not explaining the structure.

Breakdown:

• ha- = negative subject marker for he/she
• -elezi = negative present form of the verb

So the positive and negative compare like this:

• anaeleza = he/she explains, is explaining
• haelezi = he/she does not explain, is not explaining

Yes. Eleza is the basic verb stem or dictionary form, meaning explain.

In actual sentences, Swahili verbs usually take prefixes before the stem, such as:

• subject markers
• tense markers
• sometimes object markers

So:

• eleza = explain
• anaeleza = he/she explains / is explaining
• wanaeleza = they explain / are explaining
• haelezi = he/she does not explain

Learning to spot the stem is very useful in Swahili.

Probably this: Swahili packs a lot of grammar into the verb.

In anaeleza, one word already tells you:

• the subject: he/she
• the tense/aspect: present / ongoing
• the action: explain

So instead of separate English words like she is explaining, Swahili often expresses that information inside one verb form.

That makes verbs especially important when learning Swahili sentence structure.