’Yar uwa ta ta fi ɗan uwa na girma.

Literally:

• ’yar = female child / daughter
• uwa = mother
• ɗan = male child / son

So:

• ’yar uwa literally means child (female) of the (same) mother. In practice it means sister / female sibling or close female relative of the same generation.
• ɗan uwa literally means child (male) of the (same) mother, and it is used for brother / male sibling or close male relative of the same generation.

In everyday speech, ’yar uwa ≈ sister, ɗan uwa ≈ brother, but they can also cover cousins and other close same-generation relatives, depending on context.

It is not a mistake; the two ta have different functions:

1. ’yar uwa ta

   • Here ta is a possessive pronoun meaning her.
   • So ’yar uwa ta = her sister.

2. The second ta (right after that) is the subject pronoun she.

   • It marks the subject of the verb fi.
   • So ta fi = she is more than / she surpasses.

Putting it together:

• ’Yar uwa ta = her sister
• ta fi ɗan uwa na girma = she is older than my brother

Hausa very often allows a full noun phrase subject followed by a pronoun repeating it:

• Maryamu ta tafi. = Maryam, she left.
• ’Yar uwa ta ta fi ɗan uwa na girma. = Her sister, she is older than my brother.

Fi is a verb meaning to surpass, to be more than. It is the normal way to form comparatives such as bigger than, older than, more expensive than, etc.

The pattern is:

• X (subject) + pronoun + fi + Y (the thing/person compared with) + quality noun

In this sentence:

• ’yar uwa ta ta fi ɗan uwa na girma
  • ’yar uwa ta = her sister (subject)
  • ta fi = she surpasses / is more than
  • ɗan uwa na = my brother (the one she is compared with)
  • girma = in bigness / seniority (here: in age)

So structurally it means Her sister surpasses my brother in bigness, which is understood as Her sister is older than my brother.

Girma is a noun, not an adjective. Its basic meanings include:

• bigness, largeness
• greatness, seniority, high status
• by extension, age / being older (especially among people)

With fi, Hausa often uses abstract nouns like this:

• ya fi shi tsawo = he surpasses him in height → he is taller than him
• ta fi shi ƙarfi = she surpasses him in strength → she is stronger than him
• ta fi shi girma = she surpasses him in bigness/seniority → she is older / senior to him

So here girma carries the idea of being older / senior in age or status, and with siblings it is normally understood as older in age.

Both na and ta are possessive pronouns (enclitic forms) that attach to noun phrases:

• na here = my
• ta here = her

So:

• ɗan uwa na = my brother (literally: brother my)
• ’yar uwa ta = her sister (literally: sister her)

Very roughly:

• na = my
• ta = her / its (feminine)

In many contexts these pronouns are written attached to the noun, e.g.:

• ɗan uwana = my brother
• ’yar uwarta = her sister

In your sentence they are written as separate words, but the function is the same.

You can sometimes drop the quality after fi if it is very clear from context, for example:

• Waccan rigar ta fi. = That dress is better (than the other one).

In a neutral sentence teaching a structure, though, it is clearer and more natural to keep the quality:

• ’Yar uwa ta ta fi ɗan uwa na girma.

If someone had just been talking about age, you might hear ta fi shi where girma is understood, but the full version with girma is the safest and clearest, especially for learners.

That sentence would mean the opposite:

• ɗan uwa na = my brother (new subject)
• ya fi ’yar uwa ta girma = he is older than her sister

So:

• ’Yar uwa ta ta fi ɗan uwa na girma.
  → Her sister is older than my brother.

• Ɗan uwa na ya fi ’yar uwa ta girma.
  → My brother is older than her sister.

Hausa comparative sentences with fi are very sensitive to word order:

• First noun phrase + fi = the thing that is more.
• Noun phrase after fi = the thing that is less (with respect to that quality).

Two main points:

1. ’y in ’yar

   • The initial ’ marks a glottal stop (like the catch in the throat between uh-oh).
   • y is roughly like English y in yes.
   • So ’yar starts with a little glottal catch, then yar: [ʔjar].
     Many learners approximate it as yar, but native speakers have that brief glottal stop.

2. ɗ in ɗan

   • ɗ is an implosive d (voiced alveolar implosive).
   • You make it at the same place as English d, but you pull slightly in with the tongue as you voice it, instead of pushing air out strongly.
   • To approximate, you can use a soft d sound at first.
     So ɗan will sound close to dan, but with a special quality on the consonant.

Pronouncing these correctly comes with practice; understanding that they are distinct sounds from plain d and plain initial vowels is already a useful step.

In Hausa family terminology, ’yar uwa and ɗan uwa are often wider than strict English sister and brother.

They can refer to:

• full siblings
• half‑siblings
• first cousins (especially on the father’s or mother’s side)
• sometimes other close same‑generation relatives, depending on the family network

Context usually makes it clear. If necessary, speakers can add extra words to be explicit, but in everyday conversation ’yar uwa and ɗan uwa commonly cover both siblings and cousins.