Ko da yake ƙololuwa tana kusa, mun kawo taimakon farko.

Although the summit is near, we brought first aid.

Breakdown of Ko da yake ƙololuwa tana kusa, mun kawo taimakon farko.

• kusa: near
• mu: we
• kawo: to bring
• ko da yake: even though

Questions & Answers about Ko da yake ƙololuwa tana kusa, mun kawo taimakon farko.

What does ko da yake mean here, and is it a fixed expression?

Yes. Ko da yake is a very common fixed expression meaning although, even though, or though.

In this sentence, it introduces the concessive clause:

Ko da yake ƙololuwa tana kusa = Although the summit is near

A useful point for learners: treat ko da yake as one chunk. You usually do not need to analyze each word separately when you are first learning it.

It is also worth noticing that this expression stays the same; you do not change it to match the noun that comes after it.

Why is tana used with ƙololuwa? Does that mean ƙololuwa is feminine?

Yes, tana is the 3rd person singular feminine subject marker in this kind of sentence.

So:

• yana kusa = he/it is near for a masculine noun
• tana kusa = she/it is near for a feminine noun

Here, ƙololuwa is treated as a feminine noun, so Hausa uses tana.

This does not mean the summit is biologically female. It is just grammatical gender, which is a normal part of Hausa grammar. English speakers often find this surprising because English usually does not assign grammatical gender to inanimate things.

Does tana kusa literally mean she is near?