Ɗauki mataki na gaba.

A rough pronunciation is:

• Ɗauki → DAU-kee
• mataki → ma-TA-kee
• na → na
• gaba → GA-ba

A few important notes:

• Ɗ/ɗ is not the same as ordinary D/d. It represents an implosive d sound, which does not exist in normal English pronunciation.
• au in ɗauki sounds roughly like ow in cow.
• Hausa spelling usually does not show tone in everyday writing, so learners normally just learn the pronunciation along with the word.

ɗauki is the command form meaning take!

It comes from the verb ɗauka, which can mean things like:

• to take
• to pick up
• to carry
• sometimes more abstractly, to take/adopt

So in this sentence, ɗauki is telling someone to take something.

Because this sentence is giving a command to one person.

In Hausa, verbs often have a special form when used as a direct command. Here, ɗauki is the imperative form used to tell someone take!

So:

• ɗauka = the basic verb form you will often see in dictionaries
• ɗauki = take! when speaking to one person

Because this is an imperative sentence, meaning a command.

Just like English often says:

• Come here.
• Sit down.
• Take the next step.

Hausa also commonly leaves out the subject in commands. The you is understood.

So Ɗauki mataki na gaba naturally means Take the next step without needing to say you.

mataki literally means step, but it can also mean:

• a physical step
• a stage
• a measure
• an action taken in a process

In this sentence, it most naturally means step in either a literal or figurative sense.

Here, na is a linking word joining mataki and gaba.

Very literally, the structure is something like:

• mataki na gaba = step of front/next

In natural English, that becomes:

• the next step

So na is not translating as one single English word every time. In this phrase, it helps connect the noun to what describes or specifies it.

Because Hausa normally puts this kind of modifier after the noun.

English says:

• the next step

Hausa says, more literally:

• step next
• or even more literally, step of what is ahead

So the noun mataki comes first, and the describing phrase na gaba comes after it.

gaba basically means front, ahead, or forward.

Depending on context, it can also give the idea of:

• next
• following
• coming up

So in mataki na gaba, gaba gives the sense of the step that is ahead, which is why the whole phrase means next step.

Yes, it is a very common and natural expression.

Learners can remember mataki na gaba as a useful chunk meaning:

• next step
• the step ahead
• the following stage

So even though you can analyze the grammar, it is also worth learning it as a ready-made phrase.

Yes.

It can be used:

• literally — for example, in instructions involving actual movement
• figuratively — for example, in advice, motivation, business, learning, or planning

So it can mean either:

• take the next physical step
• take the next action in a process

Both are natural.

There is no separate word here corresponding exactly to English the.

Hausa does not use a definite article in the same way English does. Very often, definiteness is understood from:

• context
• the structure of the phrase
• normal usage

So although English says the next step, Hausa can simply say mataki na gaba without needing a separate word for the.

To more than one person, you would normally add ku:

• Ku ɗauki mataki na gaba.

That means Take the next step when speaking to multiple people.

So:

• Ɗauki mataki na gaba. = said to one person
• Ku ɗauki mataki na gaba. = said to more than one person

The correct spelling is ɗauki with ɗ, and yes, it matters.

In Hausa:

• d and ɗ are different letters
• they represent different sounds
• changing them can change the word or make the spelling look nonstandard

In casual typing, some people may leave out the dot, especially if they do not have an easy keyboard setup, but learners should try to learn and write the correct form:

• ɗauki ✅
• dauki = often seen informally, but not the proper spelling