Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ke da ni za mu tafi gari da mota mu dawo gida da babur. - You feminine and I will go to town by car and come back home by motorbike.

ke – you (singular, feminine)
da – and / with
ni – I / me
→ ke da ni = you and I
za – future marker (will / going to)
mu – we (subject pronoun)
→ za mu = we will
tafi – go / travel
→ za mu tafi = we will go
gari – town / city (also “market town” in many contexts)
da – with / by (instrument)
mota – car
→ tafi gari da mota = go to town by car
mu – we (again, subject pronoun)
dawo – return / come back
→ mu dawo = (and then) we return
gida – home / house
da – with / by
babur – motorbike / motorcycle
→ dawo gida da babur = return home by motorcycle

All together: You and I will go to town by car and (then) come back home by motorcycle.

Why is it “ke da ni” and not just “mu” if it already means “we”?

Mu on its own just means “we”, without saying who is included.

By saying ke da ni (you and I), the speaker:

Makes it explicit who is in the group: specifically you (feminine) + me.
Then uses za mu (we will) to refer back to that group.

So it’s a bit like saying in English:
“You and I, we will go…”
The first part identifies the people; the second part then uses the pronoun “we” for them.

Can I say “ni da ke” instead of “ke da ni”? Does the order matter?

Yes, you can say either:

ke da ni – you and I (feminine “you”)
ni da ke – I and you (feminine “you”)

The meaning is the same. The order is flexible with da when listing people. In practice:

Many speakers slightly prefer ni da kai/ke (“I and you”) as a neutral pattern.
But ke da ni is also perfectly acceptable and understood as “you and I”.

There is no grammatical difference in this sentence; it’s mainly a stylistic choice.

Why does it use “za mu” (we) after ke da ni and not “za ke” (you) or something else?

Ke da ni refers to two people together: “you and I”. In Hausa, when you join people like that with da, the verb usually agrees with the combined group:

ke da ni za mu… – you and I will… → use mu (we), because together you form a “we”.

If it were just you alone, it would be:

ke za ki tafi – you (fem.) will go.

But with you + me, the correct agreement is:

ke da ni za mu tafi – you and I will go.

What exactly is “za mu”? Is it one word or two?

Grammatically, it’s two elements:

za – future marker (will / going to)
mu – first person plural subject pronoun (we)

Together: za mu = we will / we are going to.

In informal writing you may see it written as zamu, but in careful / standard writing it’s better to keep them separate: za mu.

Why is it “tafi gari” and not “tafi zuwa gari” for “go to town”?

With verbs of motion like tafi (go), Hausa often uses a bare place noun (no preposition) to mean “go to X”:

tafi gari – go (to) town
tafi kasuwa – go (to) the market
tafi gida – go (back) home

You can say tafi zuwa gari (go to town), and it’s correct, but:

tafi gari is shorter and very natural in everyday speech.
The meaning “to” is understood from the combination of tafi + place.

What does “da mota” mean exactly? Is it “with a car” or “in a car” or “by car”?

da here is instrumental – “by means of, using”.

So:

da mota = by car / using a car.

In English you might translate it as:

“go to town by car”
“go to town in the car”

All of these are good translations of tafi gari da mota. The main idea is the car is the means of transport.

Could I use “a mota” instead of “da mota” here?

You might hear both in different contexts, but they are not identical:

da mota – emphasizes the means of transport (by car).
a mota – literally “in the car”, focusing more on location.

In tafi gari da mota, the natural choice is da, because you are saying how you will travel. a mota would sound more like “go while being in the car”, which is possible but less idiomatic in this pattern.

For a learner, stick with:

tafi gari da mota – go to town by car.

Why does the second part say “mu dawo” and not “za mu dawo”? Isn’t it also in the future?

Both actions are in the future, but Hausa often structures sequences of actions like this:

First, use za + pronoun + verb for the main future action:
- za mu tafi – we will go
Then, for the next action in the sequence, just use the subject pronoun + verb in the subjunctive/“consecutive” sense:
- mu dawo – (and) we (will) return / (and then) we return

So:

ke da ni za mu tafi gari da mota, mu dawo gida da babur
≈ you and I will go to town by car and (then) come back home by motorcycle.

You could say za mu dawo again, and it is grammatically possible, but the original form … mu dawo … is very natural Hausa to show “and then we (will) return” without repeating za.

Is “mu dawo” here like “let’s return” (a suggestion), or is it just part of the future plan?

mu dawo can indeed be used as:

hortative / suggestion: let’s return.

But in this sentence, after za mu tafi, it functions more as a consecutive future action:

za mu tafi gari da mota, mu dawo gida da babur
→ we will go to town by car and then return home by motorcycle.

Context decides whether mu + verb is:

a proposal (let’s do X), or
a second action linked to a previous one (we will do X, then (we) do Y).

Here it’s the second case.

Why is it “dawo gida” and not “dawo zuwa gida”?

With dawo (come back, return), Hausa commonly uses gida (home) directly, without a preposition:

dawo gida – return home
zan dawo gida – I will come back home.

You could say dawo zuwa gida, but it sounds heavier and is not needed. Just like tafi gari for go to town, dawo gida is the most natural everyday form for return home.

What does “gida” mean here exactly – “home” or “house”?

gida literally means house, but:

In combinations with motion verbs (like tafi gida, dawo gida), it usually corresponds to “home” in English.

So in this sentence, gida is best understood as “home”:

mu dawo gida da babur – we (will) come back home by motorbike.

What is “babur”? Is it different from a car (mota)?

Yes, they are different:

mota – car (also used generically for vehicles, but mainly “car”)
babur – motorbike / motorcycle

So the sentence contrasts the two means of transport:

go to town by car (da mota)
return home by motorbike (da babur).