Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni ina jin yunwa amma ban jin ƙishirwa ba. - I am feeling hungry but I am not feeling thirsty.

Ni = an independent (emphatic) pronoun, used for emphasis or contrast.
ina = a subject pronoun + aspect marker (“I” in the continuous/progressive).

So:

Ina jin yunwa = I am hungry.
Ni ina jin yunwa = I am hungry (with extra emphasis on “I”, e.g. Me, I’m hungry).

You can omit Ni and just say Ina jin yunwa in normal speech. Ni is there to emphasize or contrast, for example if others are not hungry.

What exactly does ina mean in this sentence?

Ina is a combination of:

na = 1st person singular subject marker “I”
in- = continuous/progressive marker (in many descriptions, this is treated together as the continuous form)

Functionally, ina is the “I” in present continuous:

Ina jin yunwa → I am (currently) feeling hunger / I am hungry.
Ina jin ƙishirwa → I am thirsty.

Other persons follow a similar pattern:

kana jin yunwa – you (m.sg) are hungry
yana jin yunwa – he is hungry, etc.

What does jin mean, and why don’t we just have a verb “to be hungry” in Hausa?

Ji is a verb meaning to feel, hear, sense.
Jin is its verbal noun / gerund: “feeling” / “sensing”.

Hausa expresses “to be hungry” as “to feel hunger”:

ji (to feel) + yunwa (hunger) → jin yunwa = “feeling hunger”.

So Ina jin yunwa literally is:
“I (am) feeling hunger.” → idiomatically, “I am hungry.”

Similarly:

ƙishirwa = thirst → jin ƙishirwa = “feeling thirst” → “to be thirsty.”

Hausa often uses “feel + noun” for bodily states, instead of a dedicated verb like English “to be hungry”.

Why is it jin yunwa and not just ji yunwa? What is the role of the -n?

When the verbal noun ji is followed by a noun (like yunwa, ƙishirwa, etc.), it usually takes a linking consonant:

ji + yunwa → jin yunwa
ji + ƙishirwa → jin ƙishirwa

That -n is often called the genitive/linker, showing a close relationship between the two words (feeling-of hunger).

So:

jin yunwa = “the feeling of hunger / feeling hunger”
jin ƙishirwa = “the feeling of thirst / feeling thirst”.

Could I say “Ina yunwa” or “Ina ƙishirwa” instead of “Ina jin yunwa” and “ban jin ƙishirwa ba”?

You might hear things like ina yunwa or ina ƙishirwa in casual speech or some dialects, but the standard, natural way to say it is with jin:

✅ Ina jin yunwa – I am hungry.
✅ Ina jin ƙishirwa – I am thirsty.

If you want to be on the safe side (especially in writing or formal speech), always include jin with yunwa/ƙishirwa.

How does the negation ban jin ƙishirwa ba work? Why are there two ba parts?

The negative pattern you see is a very common ba … ba construction:

ba (before the verb phrase)
ba (at the end of the clause)

With a 1st person singular subject, ba + ni contracts in speech and writing:

ba ni jin ƙishirwa ba → ban jin ƙishirwa ba

So:

ba (negation) + ni (I) + jin ƙishirwa (feeling thirst) + ba (closing negation)
= ban jin ƙishirwa ba
= I am not feeling thirst / I am not thirsty.

Key points:

You need ba before the verb phrase and ba at the end.
With ni, ba ni usually surfaces as ban.

Why is the positive half “ina jin yunwa” but the negative is “ban jin ƙishirwa ba” without ina?

Two slightly different negative strategies are available in Hausa.

Parallel to the positive, you can make a continuous-style negative:

Bana jin ƙishirwa – “I am not thirsty.”

Here bana is the negative continuous form corresponding to ina:

ina jin … → I am (currently) feeling …
bana jin … → I am not (currently) feeling …

In the sentence you gave, we have instead:

ban jin ƙishirwa ba – also “I am not thirsty” (more like a simple not feel statement).

So, both are possible:

Ni ina jin yunwa amma bana jin ƙishirwa.
Ni ina jin yunwa amma ban jin ƙishirwa ba.

Your sentence simply uses another very common negative pattern; it’s still natural.

Can I drop Ni and just say Ina jin yunwa amma ban jin ƙishirwa ba?

Yes.

Ni ina jin yunwa… – emphasizes I (maybe others are not hungry).
Ina jin yunwa… – neutral “I am hungry.”

Both are grammatically correct. In most everyday contexts, people would normally just say:

Ina jin yunwa amma ban jin ƙishirwa ba.

What does amma mean and where does it go in the sentence?

Amma means “but” / “however”.

Placement is straightforward: it normally comes at the start of the contrast clause, just like English “but”:

Ina jin yunwa amma ban jin ƙishirwa ba.
→ I am hungry but I am not thirsty.

You cannot move amma to the end; it must stand before the clause it introduces.

What is the difference between k and ƙ in Hausa, and how should I pronounce ƙishirwa?

Hausa distinguishes between:

k – a regular velar [k] (like English k in skate).
ƙ – an implosive / ejective-like sound, often described as a glottalized k.

For ƙishirwa:

The ƙ is produced with a sort of “gulped” or “inward” quality in many dialects.
If you can’t produce it perfectly yet, a strong k is usually understood, but it’s good to learn the difference because k and ƙ can distinguish words.

So ƙishirwa is roughly: [k’ishírwa] – “thirst.”