Ginin yana kusa da asibiti.

A simple breakdown is:

• ginin = the building / a specific building
• yana = the marker used here for a masculine singular subject in a statement about location or state
• kusa = near, close
• da = part of the expression kusa da, meaning near to
• asibiti = hospital

So the structure is basically:

subject + location/state marker + kusa da + place

Ginin is a form often used when the building is specific or identifiable. In many beginner-friendly translations, it comes out as the building.

A useful way to think about it is:

• gini = building
• ginin = the building / that specific building

But the match with English the is not always perfect, so it is better to think of ginin as a form that often points to a known or specific building.

In this sentence, yana is what makes the clause a full statement about where something is.

English uses is in sentences like The building is near the hospital. Hausa often uses forms like yana, tana, or suna instead, depending on the noun.

So here yana is roughly doing the job that is does in English, but the grammar is not exactly the same.

This is a very common question.

In Hausa, ne/ce are often used in identification sentences, like saying what something is. But for location or a current state like being near something, Hausa normally uses yana/tana/suna.

So:

• X ne = X is ... in an identifying sense
• X yana kusa da ... = X is near ... in a location sense

That is why yana is the natural choice here.

Because gini is grammatically masculine singular in Hausa.

Hausa has grammatical gender, and even non-human nouns can be masculine or feminine. The agreement word changes to match that gender and number.

Here:

• yana = masculine singular
• tana = feminine singular
• suna = plural

So because ginin is masculine singular, the sentence uses yana.

Kusa means near or close.

When Hausa says what something is near, it normally uses the pattern:

kusa da + noun

So:

• kusa da asibiti = near a hospital / near the hospital

It helps to learn kusa da as one chunk.

That is another very common learner question.

Yes, da can mean and or with in other contexts. But in this sentence it is part of the fixed expression kusa da, which means near or near to.

So here you should not translate da by itself. Translate the whole phrase:

• kusa da = near

Because Hausa does not use articles the same way English does.

English forces you to choose between:

• a hospital
• the hospital

Hausa often leaves that to context. So asibiti here can be understood as either a hospital or the hospital, depending on the situation.

That is normal Hausa grammar, not a missing word.

Usually, no—not if you want a normal full sentence.

Without yana, it sounds more like a noun phrase such as:

• the building near a hospital

rather than a complete statement:

• the building is near a hospital

So for a full sentence of this type, yana is normally needed.

A rough English-style guide is:

gi-NIN YA-naa KOO-sa da a-si-BI-ti

A few tips:

• keep the vowels clear
• do not reduce vowels too much like in English
• kusa da may sound quite smooth and connected in normal speech

A more important long-term point is that Hausa uses tone, but for a beginner, getting the words clear and separate is a good start.

The main thing that changes is the agreement word.

For example:

• Motar tana kusa da asibiti. = feminine singular noun, so tana
• Gine-ginen suna kusa da asibiti. = plural noun, so suna

So the pattern is the same, but the middle word changes to match the noun:

• masculine singular → yana
• feminine singular → tana
• plural → suna