Kama matunda yataharibika, tutapata hasara sokoni.

Kama means if in this sentence. It introduces the condition:

• Kama matunda yataharibika = If the fruits go bad / if the fruit spoils
• tutapata hasara sokoni = we will make a loss in the market

Just like in English, the if-clause can come first. In Swahili, it is very common to put the condition first, followed by the result.

Swahili verbs often pack several pieces of meaning into one word.

yataharibika can be broken down like this:

• ya- = subject prefix agreeing with matunda
• -ta- = future tense marker
• -haribika = go bad / become spoiled / get ruined

So yataharibika literally works like:

• they-will-go-bad

Because matunda is plural, the verb has to agree with it.

This is because of noun class agreement, which is a major feature of Swahili.

Matunda belongs to noun class 6, and class 6 nouns usually take the agreement marker ya- on verbs and other words that match them.

For example:

• tunda = one fruit
• matunda = fruits

Since matunda is class 6 plural, the verb uses ya-:

• matunda yataharibika

This agreement may feel unfamiliar to English speakers, because English does not have noun classes in the same way.

The singular is tunda.

So:

• tunda = fruit
• matunda = fruits

If the sentence were singular, the verb agreement would change too. For example:

• Kama tunda litaharibika...
• If the fruit goes bad...

Here li- is the subject marker that agrees with singular tunda.

Because Swahili usually shows tense inside the verb rather than with a separate helper word.

In this sentence:

• ya-ta-haribika = will go bad
• tu-ta-pata = we will get / incur

The part -ta- is the future marker. So instead of adding a separate word like English will, Swahili inserts -ta- into the verb.

Tutapata breaks down like this:

• tu- = we
• -ta- = future
• -pata = get / obtain / receive

So:

• tutapata = we will get

In this context, kupata hasara means to suffer a loss / incur a loss / make a loss.

They are related, but not the same.

• kuharibu = to spoil something / damage something / ruin something
• kuharibika = to become spoiled / get damaged / go bad

So:

• Mtu anaharibu matunda = Someone is spoiling the fruit
• Matunda yanaharibika = The fruit is going bad

In your sentence, yataharibika is used because the fruit itself is becoming spoiled, not directly acting on something else.

Swahili does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So hasara can mean:

• a loss
• the loss
• just loss

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, tutapata hasara is best understood as we will incur a loss or we will make a loss.

Sokoni means at the market, in the market, or sometimes to the market, depending on context.

It comes from:

• soko = market
• -ni = a locative ending

So:

• soko = market
• sokoni = at/in the market

This -ni ending is very common in Swahili for places.

Examples:

• nyumbani = at home
• shuleni = at school
• dukani = at the shop/store

The comma separates the condition from the result:

• Kama matunda yataharibika, = If the fruits go bad,
• tutapata hasara sokoni. = we will incur a loss at the market.

It works much like English punctuation in an if sentence. The comma helps show where the first clause ends.

Yes. Swahili can also put the result first and the condition second, just as English can.

For example:

• Tutapata hasara sokoni kama matunda yataharibika.

This still means the same thing:

• We will incur a loss in the market if the fruits go bad.

Putting the kama clause first is often a natural way to emphasize the condition.

Usually matunda is grammatically plural and means fruits or fruit in a collective sense.

In English, fruit can be uncountable or collective, but in Swahili the grammar still follows the noun class of matunda, so the verb agreement stays plural/class 6:

• matunda yataharibika

So even if English translates it as fruit, Swahili still treats matunda as a plural/class 6 noun.

Yes, but kama is one of the most common and straightforward ways to say if.

Another option is ikiwa, which can also mean if:

• Ikiwa matunda yataharibika, tutapata hasara sokoni.

This is also correct, but kama is often the simpler and more common choice for learners to start with.

Yes, literally it is something like we will get loss, but natural English would usually say:

• we will incur a loss
• we will suffer a loss
• we will make a loss

This is a good example of how a very common Swahili verb like kupata can have a broader range of meanings than the basic English verb get.