Samaki ni mtamu sokoni.

Ni is the copula, the word that links the subject to a description. In English, this is often is or are.

So:

• Samaki ni mtamu = The fish is tasty / Fish is tasty

A useful point for learners: ni itself does not change for singular or plural.

• samaki ni mtamu = the fish is tasty
• samaki ni watamu = the fish are tasty

The basic adjective stem is -tamu, meaning sweet, pleasant-tasting, or tasty.

The m- in mtamu is an agreement prefix. It shows that the adjective is agreeing with a singular animate noun.

This can feel surprising because samaki does not look like a typical m-/wa- noun. But in Swahili, animal nouns often take animate agreement. So:

• samaki ni mtamu = the fish is tasty
• samaki ni watamu = the fish are tasty

So mtamu is not a different dictionary word; it is -tamu with the right agreement prefix added.

Samaki can be both singular and plural. The form usually stays the same.

That means context, or agreement elsewhere in the sentence, tells you which meaning is intended.

In this sentence, mtamu is singular animate, so the sentence is most naturally understood as singular, or sometimes as a generic statement about fish.

Compare:

• samaki ni mtamu = the fish is tasty
• samaki ni watamu = the fish are tasty

This is very common in Swahili: one noun form, with agreement helping you interpret number.

Soko means market.

When -ni is added, it makes a locative form, so sokoni means:

• at the market
• in the market
• sometimes to the market, depending on context

In this sentence, sokoni is most naturally at the market.

This -ni ending is very common in Swahili:

• nyumbani = at home
• shuleni = at school
• dukani = at the shop

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

So samaki can mean:

• a fish
• the fish
• fish in a general sense

The exact meaning comes from context.

That is why a short sentence like Samaki ni mtamu sokoni can sound a little broad in English unless the context is already clear.

It can mean both, depending on context.

With foods, -tamu often means:

• tasty
• delicious
• pleasant to eat

It can also mean sweet in the literal sugar sense.

So with samaki, mtamu is best understood as tasty, not sweet like candy.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• samaki ni mtamu = the fish is tasty
  This is a full sentence.

• samaki mtamu = tasty fish
  This is a noun phrase, not a full statement by itself.

So ni is what turns the idea into a complete sentence.

Yes. Swahili word order is somewhat flexible, especially with location words like sokoni.

The version you have:

• Samaki ni mtamu sokoni

is fine.

But you could also move sokoni for emphasis:

• Sokoni, samaki ni mtamu = At the market, the fish is tasty

The most neutral structure is still usually:

• subject + ni + description + location

So the given sentence is a normal learner-friendly pattern.

You would usually keep samaki the same and change the agreement:

• Samaki ni watamu sokoni = The fish are tasty at the market

Notice:

• samaki stays samaki
• mtamu changes to watamu

That is one of the key things learners need to get used to in Swahili: the noun may stay the same, but the agreement changes around it.

It normally describes the situation of the whole statement: where the fish is tasty, or where this description applies.

So the meaning is basically:

• The fish is tasty at the market

It is not usually read as if sokoni were directly part of the noun phrase market fish. If you wanted fish from the market or fish in the market as part of the noun phrase, you would normally build that idea differently.