Ninyi mnapika samaki sokoni.

to cook

Breakdown of Ninyi mnapika samaki sokoni.

• samaki: the fish
• kwenye: at
• soko: the market
• ninyi: you all

Questions & Answers about Ninyi mnapika samaki sokoni.

Why do we use Ninyi in this sentence instead of just mnapika?

In Swahili, the subject marker in mnapika (the mna- part) already indicates that the subject is “you (plural)”. However, Ninyi can be added at the beginning for emphasis or clarity. Often in everyday speech, people just say Mnapika samaki sokoni without Ninyi because the meaning “you all” is already clear from the verb form.

What does the mna- prefix in mnapika mean specifically?

Mna- is the second-person plural subject marker in the present tense. It shows that the subject is “you (plural)” currently doing the action. So mnapika translates roughly to “you all are cooking”.

Why is samaki used without any plural form?

In Swahili, certain nouns like samaki can be used for both singular and plural forms. Context usually clarifies whether we are talking about one fish or multiple fish. So samaki can mean “fish” (singular) or “fish” (plural).

What exactly does sokoni mean?

Sokoni literally means “at the market” or “to the market.” The ending -ni in Swahili often indicates a location. In this case, sokoni means the action (cooking) is happening or directed at the market.

Is it common to cook fish at the market in Swahili-speaking regions?

It can be, depending on the local customs. In some areas, people might cook or prepare fish right where it is sold, especially if the market has food stalls or eating places nearby. The sentence itself simply demonstrates the grammatical structure; it’s also something that can happen in real life in certain communities.