Learn Hardcore Swahili: Wale marafiki wanaokula samaki sokoni watafurahi. - Those friends who are eating fish at the market will be happy.

Swahili has different forms of “this/that” depending on noun class and distance (this/that/that over there). For class 2 (people, plural) you see:

hawa marafiki – these friends (near me)
hao marafiki – those friends (near you / just mentioned)
wale marafiki – those friends (far / more distant in space/time/discourse)

So wale is chosen because:

The noun is a plural “people” noun.
The speaker wants to refer to those (more distant) friends.

Can I also say marafiki wale instead of wale marafiki? Is there a difference?

Yes, both orders are possible:

wale marafiki
marafiki wale

They are both understood as those friends.

Very roughly:

wale marafiki – a bit more like “those friends (as a group)”; the demonstrative leads.
marafiki wale – can feel slightly more like “the friends, those ones (not the others)”, with a bit of contrast or clarification.

In everyday speech, the difference is usually subtle and both are acceptable. As a learner, you can safely use either.

Why is the plural marafiki and not something like warafiki?

Rafiki (friend) is irregular:

Singular: rafiki – a friend
Plural: marafiki – friends

Even though the plural form starts with ma-, in standard usage marafiki behaves like a people noun in the wa- (class 2) group for agreement:

wale marafiki (demonstrative with wa- class)
wanaokula (subject marker wa- “they”)
watafurahi (subject marker wa- “they”)

So you just memorize the pattern: > rafiki → marafiki, and it takes wa- agreement for verbs and pronouns.

What exactly is going on inside the verb wanaokula?

Wanaokula is a relative verb form. You can break it down as:

wa- – subject prefix for they (class 2 / people-plural)
-na- – present tense marker (roughly “are … -ing / do”)
-o- – relative marker (for “who / that” matching class 2)
kula – the verb to eat

So wanaokula literally encodes “they-present-who-eat” → “who are eating / who eat”.

In other words, instead of using a separate word for who, Swahili usually builds the “who/that” directly into the verb with this -o- element plus noun-class agreement.

Why is it wanaokula and not just wanakula?

wanakula = they are eating / they eat (simple main clause verb).
wanaokula = who are eating / who eat (verb inside a relative clause, “friends who are eating …”).

In the sentence:

Wale marafiki wanaokula samaki sokoni watafurahi.

wanaokula samaki sokoni is describing wale marafiki (which friends?), so Swahili uses the relative form wanaokula, not the plain wanakula.

If you said Wale marafiki wanakula samaki sokoni, you would be making a separate main statement “Those friends are eating fish at the market”, not “those friends who are eating fish …”.

Where is the word who in this sentence? I only see wanaokula, not a separate who.

Swahili usually does not use a separate word like English “who/that”. Instead, it builds the relative meaning into the verb with:

a relative marker (here -o-)
and matching noun-class agreement

So:

English: those friends who are eating fish …
Swahili: wale marafiki wanaokula samaki …

The “who” idea is embedded in wanaokula through the -o- and the class-2 subject wa-.

There is also an alternative style using ambao:

wale marafiki ambao wanakula samaki sokoni …

This is also correct and means the same thing, but wanaokula is more compact and very common.

Does wanaokula describe marafiki (friends) or samaki (fish)? How do I know?

It describes marafiki (friends).

You can tell from the agreement:

Head noun: marafiki – people, plural (class 2)
Relative verb: wanaokula
- wa- subject prefix = they (class 2)
- -o- relative marker for that same class

So it literally means “those friends who (they) are eating fish …”

If it were describing samaki, you’d see agreement appropriate to the class of samaki instead (class 9/10), and a different relative pattern. As written, the grammar ties the relative clause to marafiki.

What does sokoni mean, and how is it different from just soko?

soko = market
-ni is a locative suffix meaning roughly at / in / on.

So:

sokoni = at the market / in the market

Using -ni is a very common way in Swahili to express location without a separate preposition.

You could also say:

kwenye soko – at/in the market
sokoni – at/in the market

Both are fine; sokoni is shorter and very natural.

Does sokoni go with samaki (fish) or with the verb wanaokula (are eating)?

It can be understood both ways in English, but the most natural reading is as a place phrase attached to the action:

wanaokula samaki sokoni = who are eating fish at the market

So:

They are eating fish, and the place where they are doing it is at the market.

You could rearrange slightly (still correct) to make the grouping clearer:

wanaokula samaki huko sokoni – who are eating fish there at the market

What does watafurahi mean, and how is it formed?

Watafurahi means “they will be happy” / “they will rejoice”.

Breakdown:

wa- – subject prefix for they (same class 2 / people-plural)
-ta- – future tense marker
furahi – verb root meaning to be happy, rejoice

So the structure is:

wa- + -ta- + furahi → watafurahi = they will be happy / they will rejoice

It’s a normal verb, not a form of a separate word for “to be”. Swahili doesn’t need a separate “will be” + adjective here; furahi already means “to be happy”.

Is there a reason the first verb is present (wanaokula) but the second verb is future (watafurahi)?

Yes, and it’s quite natural in Swahili (and in English):

wanaokula – present: who are eating / who eat
watafurahi – future: will be happy

So the structure is:

Those friends who are eating fish at the market now / generally will be happy (later/as a result).

The present relative verb describes what characterizes those friends (their current or habitual action). The main clause verb gives the time of the main event (they will be happy).

If you changed the tense, you’d change the meaning:

waliokula samaki sokoni watafurahi – those friends who ate fish at the market will be happy.
watakaokula samaki sokoni watafurahi – those friends who will eat fish at the market will be happy.

Why is there no separate word for are or will be as in English “will be happy”?

Swahili often uses verbs where English uses “to be + adjective”.

furahi itself is a verb: to be happy / rejoice.
So watafurahi is already they will be happy; you don’t add anything like “will be” separately.

If you really want to use a structure closer to English be + noun, you could say:

watakuwa na furaha – they will have happiness

But watafurahi is shorter and completely natural.

Is samaki singular or plural here? The form doesn’t change.

Samaki is one of those words that has the same form for singular and plural:

samaki – fish / a fish / fish (plural)

You figure out if it’s singular or plural from context or other markers in the sentence. Here:

Subject: wale marafiki – those friends (plural)
Verb: wanaokula – they who are eating (plural)

So samaki here is most naturally read as fish (plural), because several friends are eating fish. But the form itself doesn’t tell you; only the context does.

Why do all the parts related to marafiki start with wa-?

They all agree with a plural people noun (class 2):

wale marafiki – wa- demonstrative for class 2
wanaokula – wa- subject prefix for class 2 (they who are eating)
watafurahi – wa- subject prefix for class 2 (they will be happy)

So the pattern is:

head noun (marafiki) → class 2 → everything that refers back to it uses wa-.

This is how noun class agreement works in Swahili: demonstratives, verbs, adjectives, and some other elements change form to match the noun class of the noun they are linked to.

Could I leave out wale and just say Marafiki wanaokula samaki sokoni watafurahi? What changes?

Yes, you can say:

Marafiki wanaokula samaki sokoni watafurahi.

This would mean something like “(The) friends who are eating fish at the market will be happy.”

The difference:

With wale: those friends – more specific, pointing to a particular group known in the context, often with a sense of “those ones (over there / we talked about earlier)”.
Without wale: the friends more generally, or simply friends in context.

So wale adds a deictic / pointing / specific flavor to the noun.