Wewe unapika samaki.

In Swahili the subject prefix u- in unapika already tells you the subject is you. The independent pronoun wewe is therefore optional. Speakers include wewe only to:

• add emphasis (“you and nobody else cooks fish”)
• clarify in long or complex sentences

You can simply say Unapika samaki and it’s perfectly correct.

Swahili -na- covers both habitual (“you cook [regularly]”) and progressive (“you are cooking [right now]”). Context tells you which:

• If you want to stress “now,” add sasa: Wewe sasa unapika samaki = “You are cooking fish now.”
• Without sasa, it can simply mean “you cook (as a habit).”

Samaki belongs to noun class 9/10, which uses the same form for singular and plural. To clarify quantity, you add number words or adjectives:

• samaki mmoja = one fish
• samaki wawili = two fish
• samaki wengi = many fish

Use the present-negative marker hu- plus a vowel change in the verb:
• Affirmative: Unapika samaki
• Negative: Hupiki samaki

Breakdown of hupiki:

• hu- = you + present-negative
• -pi- = root pika with vowel shifted from a → i
• no -na- in the negative present

You have two simple options:

1. Use intonation alone:
   Unapika samaki? (rising tone)
2. Add the question particle je at the start:
   Je, unapika samaki?

Either way, word order stays the same.

Swahili has no articles like the/a. To make “fish” definite you can use:

• Demonstratives:
  • samaki huyo = that fish
  • samaki hizi = these fish
• Context or prior mention often suffices: once you’ve said samaki, listeners know which fish you mean.