Mimi ninapika samaki.

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Breakdown of Mimi ninapika samaki.

• kupika: to cook
• samaki: the fish

Questions & Answers about Mimi ninapika samaki.

What does Mimi mean here, and can I omit it?

Mimi is the personal pronoun for I. In Swahili the subject is already marked on the verb, so Mimi is optional and used only for emphasis or clarity. You can simply say Ninapika samaki and it will still mean “I am cooking fish.”

What is the structure of ninapika?

Ninapika breaks down into three parts:

• ni- (subject marker for “I”)
• -na- (present tense/aspect marker indicating an ongoing action)
• pika (verb root meaning “cook”)

So ni- + -na- + pika translates to “I am cooking.”

What’s the difference between pika and kupika?

• kupika is the infinitive form, “to cook,” where ku- is the infinitive prefix.
• pika is the bare verb root.

When conjugating, you drop ku- and add subject and tense markers: ni- + na- + pika → ninapika.

How do I say “I cooked fish” instead of “I am cooking fish”?