Learn Hardcore Hausa: Idan kina buƙatar abu, ki gaya min me kike so in kawo miki. - If you feminine need something, tell me what you want me to bring you.

kina – you (f.sg.) are
- This is the subject in the first clause and marks progressive aspect:
  - kina buƙatar abu – you are needing something / you need something
ki – imperative “you (f.sg.), do …”
- This is used for commands/requests addressed to a woman:
  - ki gaya – tell!
kike – you (f.sg.) are (again, progressive)
- Subject in the relative clause:
  - me kike so – what you are wanting
miki – to you (f.sg.)
- This is an indirect object pronoun:
  - kawo miki – bring (it) to you

So Hausa uses:

one form to mark subject + aspect (kina, kike),
another for imperative 2nd person (ki),
and another for indirect object “to you” (miki),

even though they all ultimately refer to the same person “you”.

Why is this sentence using feminine forms? How would it change if I’m talking to a man?

The sentence is addressed to a woman. Hausa distinguishes masculine and feminine in the 2nd person.

To a woman (as in the original):
> Idan kina buƙatar abu, ki gaya min me kike so in kawo miki.

Key feminine forms: kina, ki, kike, miki.

To a man, you would switch to masculine forms:

Idan kana buƙatar abu, ka gaya min me kake so in kawo maka.

Changes:

kina → kana (you (m.sg.) are)
ki → ka (masc. imperative “you, do …”)
kike → kake (you (m.sg.) are)
miki → maka (to you (m.sg.))

The rest stays the same.

What does Idan mean here? Is it “if” or “when”?

Idan can often be translated as either “if” or “when”, depending on context.

In this sentence:

Idan kina buƙatar abu…

it means roughly:

If you need something… (polite, conditional)
or
Whenever you need something… (repeated situation)

So you can think of Idan here as “if/whenever” introducing a condition.

What exactly does buƙatar abu mean, and why not just buƙata?

buƙata – a noun meaning “need, requirement”.
buƙatar – is the construct/genitive form: “need of …”
abu – a thing, something.

Together:

buƙatar abu – need of a thing → need something / a need for something.

So:

kuna buƙata can mean “you have a need”,
kuna buƙatar abu specifies “you need some thing (unspecified)”.

In everyday speech, kuna/kina buƙatar abu is a natural way to say “you need something / you are in need of something.”

How does ki gaya min work? Why min and not ni?

gaya – to tell (someone)
ki – feminine singular imperative: “you (fem.), do …”
min – to me (indirect object pronoun)

So ki gaya min literally is:

you (fem.), tell to-me → “tell me”.

Why min and not ni?

ni is the independent pronoun “I, me” (used mainly as a subject or for emphasis).
min is the clitic/short form of mani, meaning “to me”, used right after the verb as an object.

Examples:

Ka faɗa min gaskiya. – Tell me the truth.
Sun ba ni kuɗi. – They gave me money. (ni here is a direct object)

In this sentence you need an indirect object (“to me”), so min is correct.

What does me kike so literally mean, and how do I use this pattern to ask other questions?

me kike so breaks down as:

me – what (question word)
kike – you (f.sg.) are (progressive)
so – wanting/liking

Literally:

me kike so – what are you wanting? → “what do you want?”

It’s a very common pattern:

me + subject (with aspect) + verb

Other examples:

Me kake yi? – What are you (m.sg.) doing?
Me kuke faɗi? – What are you (pl.) saying?
Me suke so? – What do they want?

In the full sentence:

ki gaya min me kike so in kawo miki.
tell me what you want (me) to bring you.

me kike so is the object of gaya: “tell me what you want”.

Does so mean “want” or “like” in Hausa?

so covers several related meanings, depending on context:

to like / be fond of / love
- Ina son ki. – I love you (fem.) / I like you.
to want (especially with things you can get, take, or be given)
- Me kake so? – What do you want?
- Ina son ruwa. – I want water. (also “I like water” depending on context)

In me kike so in kawo miki, the natural English translation is “want”:

what you want me to bring you.

So: so ≈ “like / want / love”, and context tells you which English verb fits best.

What is the role of in in so in kawo miki?

Here in is a subjunctive marker for 1st person singular: it means roughly “that I (should)”.

kawo – bring
in kawo – that I bring / for me to bring

So:

me kike so in kawo miki

literally:

what you are wanting that I bring to you.

Compare:

Ina son in je. – I want to go. (literally: “I want that I go.”)
Su na so in taimaka musu. – They want me to help them.

So in here does not mean “if” in this clause; it links the verb so (“want”) to the action that is wanted, and encodes the subject “I”.

What’s the difference between miki and min, and where do these pronouns usually go?

Both are indirect object pronouns, meaning “to X”, but they refer to different persons:

min – to me (short form of mani)
miki – to you (feminine singular)

Position:

They usually come immediately after the verb (or verb phrase):
- gaya min – tell me
- kawo miki – bring (it) to you (fem.)
- ba su – give them
- ba ni – give me
- faɗa mata – tell her

In the sentence:

ki gaya min – tell me
in kawo miki – that I bring (it) to you (fem.)

So min = recipient “me”, miki = recipient “you (fem.)”, both placed right after their verbs.