Kai ba ka da kaza a nan?

Do you (masculine) have no chicken here?

Breakdown of Kai ba ka da kaza a nan?

• nan: here
• kai: you (masculine)
• kaza: the chicken

Questions & Answers about Kai ba ka da kaza a nan?

Why is Kai used here instead of Ke or Ku?

In Hausa, Kai is the masculine singular form of the second-person pronoun (i.e., addressing one person who is male). Ke is used for a singular female addressee, and Ku for plural. So this sentence specifically addresses one male speaker/listener.

How does the negative structure "ba ka da" work in this sentence?

Hausa uses "ba ... da" to express the idea of "not having" or "there is no [something]." In this case, "Kai ba ka da kaza" translates roughly to "You do not have a chicken," and the "ba" and "da" work together to create the negative possession construction.

Why does the sentence end with "a nan"?

"a nan" simply means "here". Adding "a nan" clarifies the location where the person is assumed to have (or not have) a chicken, so the full sense is "You don't have a chicken here?"

Can the word order change?

Although Hausa word order can sometimes be flexible, this negative possession structure is standard as "Kai ba ka da kaza a nan?" You would generally keep "Kai" (the subject pronoun) at the start, then the negative marker "ba," followed by "ka (the pronoun again in agreement with ‘Kai’) + da" plus the object "kaza" and then "a nan". Changing the order might sound unnatural or alter the meaning.