Dillali yana nuna silifa yayin da muke duba takalmi.

Yana is the masculine singular continuous/imperfective marker, so yana nuna means he is showing or he shows depending on context.

Breakdown:

• ya- = he
• -na = continuous/imperfective marker
• nuna = show, point out, indicate

So Dillali yana nuna... literally means The salesman is showing...

Nuna commonly means:

• to show
• to point out
• to indicate

In a shop context, show is the best fit: the salesman is presenting or pointing out the slippers.

Yayin da means while, as, or sometimes when, depending on context.

In this sentence, it introduces a time clause:

• Dillali yana nuna silifa = the salesman is showing slippers
• yayin da muke duba takalmi = while we are looking at shoes

So it links two actions happening at the same time.

This is a very common learner question.

Muna duba is the normal independent form for we are looking.

But after expressions like yayin da, Hausa often uses a subordinate/relative form, so muna becomes muke.

So:

• Muna duba takalmi. = We are looking at shoes.
• ...yayin da muke duba takalmi. = ...while we are looking at shoes.

So muke is not a different meaning from muna here; it is the form Hausa prefers in this kind of subordinate clause.

It is built into muke.

You can think of muke as containing:

• mu = we
• plus the subordinate continuous marking

So Hausa does not need a separate standalone word for we before muke. The subject is already included in the verb phrase.

Because Hausa often uses a direct object where English uses a verb plus preposition.

In English, we say:

• look at shoes

In Hausa, duba can take the thing being looked at directly:

• duba takalmi

So duba takalmi naturally means look at/examine shoes. The missing at is not a problem; that is just how the verb works in Hausa.

Hausa does not use articles like English the and a/an in the same regular way.

So a noun like dillali, silifa, or takalmi can be understood from context as:

• a salesman
• the salesman
• slippers
• the slippers
• shoes
• the shoes

English usually forces you to choose an article, but Hausa often leaves that to context.

In many Hausa sentences, number is not always made as explicit as it is in English, especially when the context already makes the meaning clear or when the noun is being used in a general shopping sense.

So depending on the translation shown to the learner, silifa and takalmi may be understood as referring to the item type rather than stressing exact number.

The important beginner point is this: Hausa and English do not always match one-for-one in how clearly they mark singular and plural in every sentence.

The basic structure is:

Subject + continuous marker + verb + object + time clause

So:

• Dillali = subject
• yana = continuous marker for he
• nuna = verb
• silifa = object
• yayin da muke duba takalmi = subordinate time clause

A rough map of the whole sentence is:

The salesman + is showing + slippers + while + we are looking at + shoes

Because the sentence only states what he is showing, not necessarily to whom.

In English, The salesman is showing slippers can already make sense from context. Hausa works the same way here.

If you specifically wanted to say showing us slippers, Hausa would normally add an indirect object, such as mana:

• Dillali yana nuna mana silifa. = The salesman is showing us slippers.

So the original sentence is perfectly natural even without explicitly saying to us.

Yes. Depending on context, small variations are possible, for example:

• The salesman is showing slippers while we look at shoes.
• The salesman is showing us slippers while we are examining shoes.
• The dealer is pointing out slippers while we are checking shoes.

The core grammar stays the same. The exact English wording depends on how naturally you want it to sound in context.