Wewe unapika samaki.

You cook fish.

Breakdown of Wewe unapika samaki.

• wewe: you
• kupika: to cook
• samaki: the fish

Questions & Answers about Wewe unapika samaki.

Why do we say wewe if unapika already shows “you”?

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.

What exactly does the prefix una- in unapika stand for?

una- breaks down into two parts:
• u- = second-person singular subject (you)
• -na- = present tense/aspect marker (habitual or ongoing)
So u-na-pika literally means “you are cooking” or “you cook” depending on context.

Is unapika more like English “you cook” or “you are cooking”?

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).”

What about samaki—is it one fish or more?

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

How do I say “You are not cooking 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

How can I turn Wewe unapika samaki. into a question?

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.

Why do Swahili verbs usually end in -a, and why does it become -i in the negative?

The final -a is the basic verb-class ending (the infinitive form ends in -a too). In affirmative tenses it remains -a (e.g. unapika, nilipika). In the present negative, the ending vowel shifts from -a to -i to mark negation (e.g. hupiki, hanipiki).

If I want to specify “the fish,” how do I do that in Swahili?

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.