Hausa yi means “do, make” in many contexts, but its most useful expressions are conventional partnerships: yi aiki “work,” yi magana “speak,” yi amfani da “use,” yi ƙoƙari “try,” and yi haƙuri “be patient / forgive.” The noun supplies much of the lexical meaning, while yi carries verbal grammar. English often translates the pair with one unrelated verb, so learners must store the whole Hausa frame rather than insert yi wherever English happens to say do or make.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). This page curates frequent collocations and their social use; it is not a dictionary list and does not claim that any noun can follow yi. The productive TAM syntax is developed under yi plus Action Noun.
A compact core inventory
The following collocations are high-value because they recur across everyday conversation. The English column gives an idiomatic translation, not a word-for-word equation.
| Hausa frame | Natural English | Important continuation |
|---|---|---|
| yi aiki | work | a wuri “at a place” |
| yi magana | speak, talk | da mutum; game da batu |
| yi amfani da | use | the thing follows da |
| yi ƙoƙari | try, make an effort | ƙoƙarin + verbal noun; or a following clause |
| yi barci | sleep | duration may follow |
| yi wasa | play | da mutum/abu; or name the game |
| yi tafiya | travel, make a journey | destination or journey description |
| yi wanka | bathe, take a shower | often no object |
| yi addu’a | pray | religious setting; yi wa mutum addu’a |
| yi haƙuri | be patient; forgive; sorry | da situation; mini/mana |
| yi shiru | become/remain quiet | social force matters in commands |
| yi hankali | be careful, pay attention | often directive or warning |
| yi sauri | hurry, act quickly | often directive |
| yi kuskure | make a mistake | often followed by wajen... “in...” |
The expressions range from transparent (yi aiki) to pragmatically specialized (yi haƙuri). Calling them all “collocations” captures the shared fact that speakers conventionally select yi, but it does not claim they all have identical syntax.
Core activity frames in dialogue
—Me kuka yi a ofis jiya? —Mun yi aiki da safe, sannan muka yi magana da manajan game da sabon shirin.
—What did you do at the office yesterday? —We worked in the morning, then spoke with the manager about the new plan. (core dialogue)
In yi magana da manajan game da sabon shirin, da introduces the person spoken with and game da introduces the topic. Those prepositions belong to the complete lexical frame; they are not random equivalents of English to and about.
Ma’aikatan suna aiki daga gida yau.
The employees are working from home today. (ordinary continuative without overt yin)
Shugabar ta yi magana da iyayen yara bayan taron.
The principal spoke with the children’s parents after the meeting.
Mun yi magana game da kasafin kuɗi, ba game da albashi ba.
We talked about the budget, not about salaries.
In the continuative, the action noun can often occur directly: suna aiki, yana magana. Explicit suna yin aiki and yana yin magana are also possible. Outside that environment, completed sun yi aiki retains yi; *sun aiki is not licensed.
yi amfani da and yi ƙoƙari
Yi amfani da + thing is the established equivalent of “use.” The final da is fixed before its complement.
Za mu yi amfani da tsohuwar na’urar har a kawo sabuwa.
We will use the old device until a new one is brought.
Kada ku yi amfani da wannan ruwan domin sha.
Do not use this water for drinking. (plural or respectful prohibition)
An yi amfani da hotunan a cikin rahoton.
The photographs were used in the report. (formal/impersonal)
Yi ƙoƙari packages effort. A linked noun can introduce an action, as in ƙoƙarin kammala, or a finite subordinate clause can name what someone strives to do. This variation is legitimate; it is not permission to delete the required morphology.
Amina ta yi ƙoƙarin kammala aikin kafin yamma.
Amina tried to finish the work before evening. (linked ƙoƙarin plus verbal noun)
Ka yi ƙoƙari ka dawo kafin a rufe ƙofar.
Try to return before the gate is closed. (to one man; yi ƙoƙari plus subjunctive clause)
Mun yi iya ƙoƙarinmu, amma ba mu sami mafita ba.
We did our utmost, but we did not find a solution. (fixed intensified frame)
The last expression contains possessed ƙoƙarinmu “our effort” after iya. It should be learned as an established variant, not generated by replacing random pieces of yi ƙoƙari.
Daily routines: barci, wanka, wasa, and tafiya
These collocations often translate as simple English verbs. Their nouns can still receive duration or other nominal description.
Jaririn ya yi barci na tsawon awa uku da rana.
The baby slept for three hours during the day.
Bayan ta yi wanka, Maryam ta shirya zuwa makaranta.
After Maryam bathed, she got ready to go to school.
Yaran sun yi wasa da ƙwallo a harabar gidan.
The children played with a ball in the courtyard.
Mun yi tafiya mai nisa kafin muka sami gidan mai.
We travelled a long way before finding the fuel station.
Yi tafiya profiles a journey or travel activity. For a simple bounded “go/leave,” finite tafi is often more direct: sun tafi Kano jiya “they went to Kano yesterday.” This legitimate alternative changes event packaging; it does not prove that yi is optional inside the collocation.
Sun tafi Kano jiya, amma tafiyar ba ta daɗe ba.
They went to Kano yesterday, but the journey did not take long. (simple tafi plus separate journey noun)
Likewise, ta yi girki “she cooked/did the cooking” can describe the activity, while ta dafa shinkafa specifically says she cooked rice. The expressions overlap, but the more specific verb selects its own object.
Hauwa ta yi girki, sai Bello ya wanke kwanukan.
Hauwa did the cooking, then Bello washed the dishes.
Hauwa ta dafa shinkafa domin baƙin da za su zo.
Hauwa cooked rice for the guests who are coming. (specific food object)
Socially loaded directives
Yi haƙuri, yi shiru, yi hankali, and yi sauri often perform social actions rather than merely describe events. Their literal components are poor guides to their force.
Yi haƙuri, ban ji sunanka ba; za ka sake faɗa?
Sorry, I did not hear your name; will you say it again? (to one man)
Don Allah, ku yi haƙuri da jinkirin da aka samu.
Please be patient with the delay. (formal/respectful or plural)
Bare imperative yi haƙuri has no overt segment that identifies a male or female singular addressee. Explicit ka yi, ki yi, and ku yi can make gender, number, or deference visible.
Don Allah, a ɗan yi shiru domin mu ji sanarwar.
Please be quiet for a moment so that we can hear the announcement. (soft impersonal public request)
Ka yi hankali da ruwan zafin nan.
Be careful with this hot water. (warning to one man)
Ki yi sauri, motar ta kusa tashi.
Hurry; the vehicle is about to leave. (to one woman)
Bare yi shiru! can be brusque, especially to a senior or stranger. The impersonal a ɗan yi shiru plus a reason softens the directive. Yi hankali can express care or warning; yi sauri presses for speed and is inappropriate if haste would be unsafe.
Prayer and responsibility
Yi addu’a is (religious). It can be intransitive, name what is prayed for, or use yi wa + person + addu’a “pray for someone.”
Bayan sallar, suka yi addu’a domin zaman lafiya.
After the prayer, they prayed for peace. (religious)
Don Allah, ku yi wa marar lafiyar addu’a.
Please pray for the sick person. (religious; plural or respectful)
Yi kuskure assigns an error to the subject; it does not automatically apologize or repair the result.
Na yi kuskure wajen rubuta lambar; zan gyara ta yanzu.
I made a mistake in writing the number; I will correct it now. (responsibility plus repair)
Kwamitin ya yi kuskure, amma bai bayyana yadda zai gyara shi ba.
The committee made a mistake, but it did not explain how it would correct it. (formal/public)
English I’m sorry may be rendered by yi haƙuri when asking forgiveness, but na yi kuskure explicitly acknowledges fault. In a serious apology, the latter plus a repair commitment is often more informative than a formula alone.
yi is not universal “do/make”
Hausa conventional selection overrides English wording. Neutral “make a decision” is yanke shawara, “take action” is ɗauki mataki, and “take a photograph” is ɗauki hoto. Inserting yi creates a wrong or different expression.
Mun yanke shawarar ɗage taron zuwa gobe.
We decided to postpone the meeting until tomorrow. (not a mechanical yi collocation)
Hukumar ta ɗauki mataki bayan ta karɓi rahoton.
The authority took action after receiving the report. (formal)
Bello ya ɗauki hoton iyalinsa a bakin kogi.
Bello took a photograph of his family by the river.
The tempting substitution *yi shawara does occur with meanings connected to consultation or deliberation in some contexts, but it should not be taught as the neutral compositional equivalent of English “make a decision.” Yanke shawara is the dependable decision frame.
❌ Mun yi shawara cewa za mu rufe ofishin.
Not the neutral learned frame for ‘We decided to close the office’; it risks a consultation/deliberation reading.
✅ Mun yanke shawarar rufe ofishin da wuri.
We decided to close the office early.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping da from yi amfani da
❌ Na yi amfani sabuwar kwamfutar.
Incorrect—the established collocation requires da before the thing used.
✅ Na yi amfani da sabuwar kwamfutar wajen shirya rahoton.
I used the new computer to prepare the report.
2. Omitting yi in a completed activity clause
❌ Ma’aikatan sun aiki a ofis har dare.
Incorrect—aiki does not stand as the bare completed verb here.
✅ Ma’aikatan sun yi aiki har ƙarfe tara na dare.
The employees worked until nine at night.
3. Keeping finite yi after a continuative marker
❌ Musa yana yi barci a ɗakin gaba.
Incorrect standard continuative shape for this action-noun construction.
✅ Musa yana barci a ɗakin gaba.
Musa is sleeping in the front room.
4. Calquing English ‘make a decision’
❌ Shugabanni sun yi shawara ta ƙarshe.
Wrong for the intended neutral ‘made a final decision’; yi shawara does not mechanically equal English make a decision.
✅ Shugabanni sun yanke shawara ta ƙarshe bayan taron.
The leaders made a final decision after the meeting.
5. Using a blunt command in a delicate setting
❌ Yallaɓai, yi shiru!
Grammatically interpretable but socially blunt when ordering a respected man to be quiet.
✅ Yallaɓai, don Allah, a ɗan yi shiru mu ji bayanin.
Sir, please, let us have a little quiet so that we can hear the explanation. (deferential)
Key Takeaways
- Store yi + noun as an established collocation, together with its complements and social use.
- High-value frames include yi aiki, yi magana, yi amfani da, yi ƙoƙari, yi barci, yi haƙuri, yi hankali, and yi kuskure.
- English often uses one verb where Hausa uses two words; natural translation follows the whole expression, not literal yi.
- Complement marking is lexical: yi amfani da abu, yi magana da mutum, and yi wa mutum addu’a.
- The continuative may omit overt yin with action nouns, but completed clauses retain yi.
- Do not extend yi by English analogy: learn yanke shawara, ɗauki mataki, and ɗauki hoto as their own collocations.
Now practice Hausa
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- yi plus Action NounB1 — Use yi as a light verb with Hausa action nouns, and track how TAM, nominal complements, focus, and the continuative shape the construction.
- Verb–Noun Lexical CompoundsB1 — Use Hausa lexical verb–noun predicates such as yi aiki and yanke shawara without treating their nouns as ordinary free objects.
- Action Nouns versus Verbal NounsB1 — Distinguish lexical action nouns such as aiki and magana from verb-linked verbal nouns such as tafiya and ci, and use each in aspectual and ordinary noun syntax.
- Continuative with Non--wa Verbal NounsA2 — Build the Hausa continuative with strong verbal nouns such as gani, ci, sha, saye, and tambaya, including their noun- and pronoun-object patterns.
- Apologies and AcceptanceA1 — Apologize and respond in Hausa by matching yi haƙuri, explicit responsibility, forgiveness, and repair to the seriousness of the offense.
- Polite Requests and Command SofteningA2 — Shape Hausa directives as appropriate requests through don Allah, minimizers, questions, reasons, address choices, and considerate sequencing.