Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mke anapika chakula kitamu nyumbani. - The wife cooks delicious food at home.

a- = subject prefix for he/she (3rd person singular, people/animals, noun class 1).
-na- = present tense marker (roughly is/are …ing).
pika = verb root cook.

So anapika literally has:

a- (she) + -na- (present) + pika (cook) → she is cooking / she cooks.

Swahili does not use a separate verb to be in the present tense like English is. Instead, the tense marker -na- inside the verb does that job.

Why is it anapika and not kupika?

Kupika is the infinitive form, to cook.

In a sentence with a subject, Swahili generally uses a conjugated verb, not the infinitive. So:

Mke anapika chakula… = The wife is cooking food…
Kupika chakula = To cook food (used as a noun-like form: after some verbs, in dictionaries, etc.).

You only use kupika when you mean to cook in general, not when you are describing what the subject is doing right now.

Why do we still need the a- in anapika when we already have mke as the subject?

In Swahili, the subject must be marked twice in a normal verb sentence:

As a full noun (here: mke = wife).
As a subject prefix on the verb (here: a- in anapika).

So:

Mke anapika…
- mke = the wife
- a- = she (agreeing with mke)

You cannot say ✗ Mke napika or ✗ Mke pika. The subject prefix on the verb is required in standard Swahili.

Can anapika mean both she is cooking and she cooks (generally)?

Yes. The -na- tense is often called the present or present progressive, and it covers:

She is cooking (right now)
She cooks (regularly / in general)

Context usually tells you which meaning is intended. If you need a clearly habitual meaning, you can also use adverbs like kila siku (every day):
Mke anapika chakula kila siku. = The wife cooks food every day.

Why is it chakula kitamu instead of kitamu chakula, like tasty food in English?

In Swahili, adjectives normally come after the noun, not before it.

English: tasty food
Swahili: chakula kitamu
- chakula = food
- kitamu = tasty

So the pattern is:
noun + adjective → chakula kitamu, mtoto mzuri, safari ndefu, etc.

Why is the adjective kitamu and not just tamu after chakula?

Most Swahili adjectives agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

chakula is in noun class 7 (ki-/vi- class).
The adjective from the root -tamu (sweet/tasty) takes a ki- prefix to match class 7.

So:

chakula kitamu = tasty food
vitabu vitamu = tasty books (nonsense, but grammatically correct!)

For other classes, the prefix changes:

mtoto mtamu (class 1) – a sweet child
matunda matamu (class 6) – sweet fruits

You will often see chakula kitamu as the standard form.

Does nyumbani mean at home, in the house, or to home?

Nyumbani can cover several English prepositions, depending on context:

at home – Mke anapika nyumbani. = The wife is cooking at home.
in the house – when you mean inside the home.
home / to home – with motion verbs: Ninarudi nyumbani. = I’m going back home.

The ending -ni on nyumba gives it a locative meaning (place). English then chooses at, in, or to depending on the sentence.

Why isn’t there a separate word for at before nyumbani?

Swahili often uses the suffix -ni instead of a separate preposition like at, in, or to.

nyumba = house
nyumbani = at/in/to the house, at home

So nyumbani already includes the idea of at (or in/to), so no extra preposition is needed:

Mke anapika nyumbani. = The wife is cooking at home.
not ✗ Mke anapika kwa nyumbani (wrong in this sense).

What is the difference between nyumba and nyumbani?

nyumba = house / home (basic noun, no locative sense)
- Nyumba ni kubwa. = The house is big.
nyumbani = at home / in the house / to the house, with a locative meaning because of -ni
- Yuko nyumbani. = He/She is at home.
- Anaenda nyumbani. = He/She is going home.

Think of -ni as turning a place noun into a location.

Does mke mean wife or woman? How is it different from mwanamke?

mke most commonly means wife (a married woman).
mwanamke means woman (female person, not necessarily married).

So:

Mke anapika chakula… → The wife is cooking food…
Mwanamke anapika chakula… → The woman is cooking food…

In everyday speech you might hear some overlap, but it’s good to keep the distinction in mind.

How do you say My wife is cooking delicious food at home?

Add the possessive -angu (my) agreeing with mke:

Mke wangu anapika chakula kitamu nyumbani.

Breakdown:

mke wangu = my wife
anapika = is cooking
chakula kitamu = delicious food
nyumbani = at home

How would the sentence change if we talk about wives (plural) instead of wife?

Plural of mke is wake (wives), and the verb and adjective must agree in plural:

Wake wanapika chakula kitamu nyumbani.

Changes:

mke → wake (wives)
a- → wa- in wanapika (they are cooking)

The object chakula kitamu stays the same, because chakula is already a singular mass noun in class 7.

Can the word order change? For example, can we say Mke anapika nyumbani chakula kitamu?

Swahili word order is fairly flexible, but there is a natural/neutral order:

Subject – Verb – Object – Place
→ Mke anapika chakula kitamu nyumbani.

You can move the place phrase nyumbani for emphasis:

Nyumbani, mke anapika chakula kitamu. (Emphasis on at home)

Mke anapika nyumbani chakula kitamu is understandable but sounds less natural. It’s better to keep chakula kitamu together as a unit (noun + adjective) and keep the place phrase (nyumbani) at the end or at the very beginning for emphasis.