ɗan uwa na yana wasa da yara biyu a cikin gida.

My brother is playing with two children inside the house.

Breakdown of ɗan uwa na yana wasa da yara biyu a cikin gida.

• ne: to be
• gida: the house
• da: with
• yaro: the child
• ɗan uwa: the brother
• biyu: two
• wasa: to play
• a cikin: inside

Questions & Answers about ɗan uwa na yana wasa da yara biyu a cikin gida.

What does ɗan uwa actually mean? Is it just brother?

ɗan uwa literally means child of (the same) parent. In practice it is used for:

• brother (male sibling), and
• often for a male cousin as well (any close male relative of your own generation).

It does not mean son. My son would be ɗana, not ɗan uwa na.

Why is it ɗan uwa na (brother my) instead of na ɗan uwa (my brother) like in English?

In Hausa, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun they possess.

• ɗan uwa na = my brother (literally: brother my)
• ɗan uwa ka = your (m.) brother
• ɗan uwa ta = your (f.) brother
• ɗan uwa sa = his brother

So the normal order is: [possessed noun] + [possessor pronoun], not the other way round.

In writing you may also see it written together as ɗan uwana or ɗan’uwana, but the structure is the same.

How do you pronounce the letter ɗ in ɗan? How is it different from d?

ɗ is an implosive d-sound. To pronounce it:

• Put your tongue where you say English d (behind the upper teeth).
• Start with very slight inward movement of air (a kind of “gulped” sound) instead of a strong outward puff.
• Voice it (your vocal cords vibrate), like a normal d.

It’s not exactly the same as English d, but if you say a clear d a bit “softer” and shorter, most speakers will still understand you. It’s important mainly for distinguishing spelling and for more natural pronunciation.

What is yana doing in the sentence? Why not just ya?

yana marks the progressive / continuous aspect (“is doing, is V‑ing”).

• ya wasa = he played / he has played (perfective, completed action).
• yana wasa = he is playing / he plays (right now, or generally continuous).

Formally, yana is the 3rd person masculine singular progressive form. Other forms are:

• ina = I am …
• kana = you (m.) are …
• tana = she is …
• muna = we are …
• kuna = you (pl.) are …
• suna = they are …

So ɗan uwa na yana… = my brother is … (doing something now).

Why is there no separate word for is like in English “my brother is playing…”?

Hausa doesn’t use a separate verb “to be” in this kind of sentence. Instead:

• The progressive form (like yana) already includes the idea of “is”.
• yana wasa functions as one unit: is playing.

So you don’t say “ɗan uwa na *is yana wasa”; you just say *ɗan uwa na yana wasa.

Is wasa a noun or a verb here? Why don’t we see yi (to do)?

wasa is a verbal noun meaning play, playing, a game. The basic verb is yi wasa = to play (literally: do play).

In the progressive, Hausa allows two patterns:

• yana wasa
• yana yin wasa

Both are acceptable and both mean he is playing. In yana wasa, the yi part is simply omitted, which is very common in speech. yana yin wasa is a bit more explicit and you’ll see it often in writing and careful speech.

Why is it yara biyu and not biyu yara for “two children”?

In Hausa, cardinal numbers usually come after the noun they count.

• yaro ɗaya = one child / boy
• yara biyu = two children
• motoci uku = three cars

So the order is [noun] + [number], not [number] + [noun]. biyu yara is not the normal way to say it.

What is the singular of yara? Why not say yaro biyu?

• yaro = a (male) child, boy
• yara = children (plural of yaro, irregular)

To say two children, you need the plural form:

• yaro ɗaya = one child / boy
• yara biyu = two children

yaro biyu would sound like “two boy” (mixing singular + plural meaning), so it is not correct.

What does da mean in yana wasa da yara biyu? Is it like “and” or “with”?

Here da means with:

• yana wasa da yara biyu = he is playing with two children.

Hausa da is very flexible; it can mean:

• and: Ali da Musa = Ali and Musa
• with: na je da shi = I went with him
• by / using: na yanka da wuƙa = I cut (it) with a knife

In this sentence the natural meaning is with (the children).

What does a cikin gida mean exactly? How is it different from just a gida?

• a = at / in (general locative preposition)
• cikin = inside (the inside of something)
• gida = house, home

So:

• a gida = at home / at the house (general location)
• cikin gida = inside the house
• a cikin gida = in / inside the house (often a bit more explicit and natural)

Your sentence … a cikin gida emphasises that the action is inside the house, not outside or just “at” the house.

How would I say “with the two children” or “in the house” (with “the”) instead of just “two children / a house”?

Hausa often marks definiteness by adding -n / -r (or -n/-r with a linking vowel) to the noun.

• yara biyu = two children

• yaran biyu = the two children

• gida = a house / house in general
• gidan = the house

So you could say:

• … yana wasa da yaran biyu a cikin gidan.
  = He is playing with the two children in the house.

Your original yara biyu, gida are more like “two children, (a) house” without stressing definiteness.

How would the sentence change if I wanted to say my sister instead of my brother?

For sister, Hausa uses yar uwa (literally female‑child of (same) parent).

So you would say:

• yar uwa ta tana wasa da yara biyu a cikin gida.
  = My sister is playing with two children in the house.

Changes:

• ɗan uwa na (my brother) → yar uwa ta (my sister)
  
  • ɗan (male child) → yar (female child)
  • na (my, with masculine agreement here) → ta (my, agreeing with a feminine head noun)
• yana (he is) → tana (she is)

Everything else in the sentence stays the same.