Learn Hardcore Swahili: Yeye anapika samaki.

In Swahili, yeye is a gender-neutral pronoun used for a single third-person subject. It can refer to either a man or a woman (or a person whose gender isn’t specified), so you rely on context to know which one is meant.

What does the prefix ana- in anapika indicate?

In modern standard Swahili, -na- is the marker for the simple present tense. So anapika means "he/she is cooking" or "he/she cooks" in the present tense. The a- part indicates a third-person singular subject.

Is samaki always spelled the same for both singular and plural?

Yes, the word samaki can be used for one fish or many fish. The context or a number in front (like samaki mmoja for "one fish") will clarify how many are meant.

Can we drop the subject yeye in the sentence?

Yes. Swahili typically allows dropping the subject pronoun if the meaning is already clear. The verb prefix still shows who is doing the action, so anapika samaki would be understood as "He/She is cooking fish".

What is the difference between "he/she" and "they" in Swahili, and how would we say "They are cooking fish"?

For "they," Swahili uses the wa- subject prefix in the present tense, giving wanapika as the verb form. So to say "They are cooking fish" you would say Wao wanapika samaki (or just wanapika samaki if the context is clear).