Questions & Answers about Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum.
Both relate to “I”, but they are different types of pronouns:
- ni = independent / emphatic pronoun (“me / I (in particular)”); it can stand alone.
- ina = subject pronoun used with the imperfective/progressive aspect (“I am …-ing / I (usually) …”).
In Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum, the ni adds emphasis, roughly:
- “Me, I try every day.”
- or “As for me, I do make an effort every day.”
Without emphasis, you can simply say:
- Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum. – “I try every day / I’m trying every day.”
So ina is grammatically necessary; ni is optional and emphatic.
ina is the 1st person singular imperfective subject pronoun. It marks:
- ongoing actions: “I am doing …”
- or habitual actions: “I (usually / generally) do …”
In this sentence, because of kullum (“every day”), it clearly has a habitual meaning:
- Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum. ≈ “I try / I make an effort every day.”
You can think of it functionally as combining “I + am/usually” with the main verb.
You can definitely drop ni:
- Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum. – perfectly natural.
Use ni mainly when you want extra emphasis on the subject:
- Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum. – “I (as opposed to someone else) make an effort every day.”
- It might answer a question like: “Who actually keeps trying?” – “Ni, ina yi ƙoƙari kullum.”
So:
- With ni → contrast/emphasis.
- Without ni → neutral statement.
yi is a very common verb in Hausa meaning roughly “to do / to make”.
The expression yi ƙoƙari is idiomatic:
- yi ƙoƙari = “to make an effort, to try, to strive.”
So in this sentence:
- yi = “do/make”
- ƙoƙari = “effort”
- Together: yi ƙoƙari = “to make an effort / to try.”
You almost always see ƙoƙari together with yi (or its forms), not on its own, when you mean “try”.
ƙoƙari is originally a noun meaning “effort, attempt”.
The combination yi ƙoƙari (“do/make effort”) functions like a verb phrase meaning “to try”, but grammatically:
- yi = verb
- ƙoƙari = its object (a noun: “effort”).
This “light verb + noun” pattern is very common in Hausa (and many other languages).
No, ƙ is different from k:
- k = a plain “k” sound (like English k in “kite”).
- ƙ = an implosive sound; you slightly pull air inward while pronouncing a “k‑like” sound.
If you find the implosive hard:
- At first, many learners just pronounce ƙ like a strong English k.
- Native speakers will usually still understand you, but k and ƙ can distinguish words, so it’s worth learning later.
So ƙoƙari is roughly “ko-kari”, but with that special implosive ƙ each time.
kullum most often means:
- “every day”, or
- “all the time / always”, depending on context.
In this sentence, with an action that people typically imagine as daily or regular, both readings are close:
- “I try every day.”
- “I always try.”
If you want to be very explicitly “every day” as in calendar days, you can also say:
- kowace rana or kowace rana nake yi ƙoƙari – “each day I make an effort,”
but kullum is usually enough and very natural.
It usually appears at the end, as in:
- Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum.
- Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum.
You can sometimes move it earlier for emphasis or style:
- Kullum ina yi ƙoƙari. – “Every day I try.”
Both are acceptable. The end position (… ƙoƙari kullum) is very common and sounds natural.
Both appear in real usage:
- yi ƙoƙari – using the bare verb yi (“do”).
- yin ƙoƙari – using the verbal noun form yin (“doing”) + its object.
Typical patterns you may hear:
- Ina yi ƙoƙari. – “I (am) make(ing) an effort.”
- Ina yin ƙoƙari. – literally “I am doing effort”; also “I am trying.”
The version in your sentence, Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum, is very common and correct.
Yin ƙoƙari shows up more clearly when used after another verb or preposition, e.g.:
- Ba ni da ƙarfin yin ƙoƙari. – “I don’t have the strength to make an effort.”
You’d switch from the imperfective subject pronoun (ina) to a perfective one (na for 1st person singular):
- Na yi ƙoƙari kullum.
Context then decides whether “kullum” means:
- “I always tried (whenever there was a chance).”
- “I used to try every day.”
If you want to emphasize a completed block of time in the past, you can add time words:
- A wancan lokaci na yi ƙoƙari kullum. – “At that time, I tried every single day.”
There are a couple of common negative patterns. Two natural options:
Using ba … ba around the independent pronoun:
- Ba ni yin ƙoƙari kullum ba.
Literally: “It is not I (who is) doing effort every day.”
- Ba ni yin ƙoƙari kullum ba.
Using ba … ba around the aspect pronoun:
- Ba na yin ƙoƙari kullum.
Literally: “I am not doing effort every day / I don’t usually try every day.”
- Ba na yin ƙoƙari kullum.
You’ll very often see yin ƙoƙari (verbal noun) in the negative. In casual speech, people may also say forms like Ba ina yi ƙoƙari kullum ba, but the ba na / ba ni yin … ba patterns are safer for learners.
ina (and the other imperfective forms) can cover both:
Progressive / ongoing:
- Ina ci. – “I’m eating (right now).”
Habitual / general:
- Ina cin abinci da safe. – “I (usually) eat in the morning.”
In your sentence, kullum forces a habitual reading:
- Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum. – “I try / I make an effort every day (as a habit).”
So ina is flexible; time adverbs and context tell you whether it’s “right now” or “usually”.
You may hear Ina ƙoƙari in speech, and many speakers will understand it as “I am trying.” However, the most typical and clear idiomatic form is:
- Ina yi ƙoƙari. or Ina yin ƙoƙari.
Because ƙoƙari is originally a noun (“effort”), yi ties it clearly into a verbal phrase (“do effort” → “make an effort, try”). For a learner, it’s safer and more idiomatic to keep the yi.
Yes, the structure is close to English:
- Ni / Ina – subject (“I”)
- yi – verb (“do / make”)
- ƙoƙari – object (“effort”)
- kullum – adverbial (“every day / always”)
So:
- [Ni] [ina yi] [ƙoƙari] [kullum].
≈ [I] [am doing] [effort] [every day].
This S–V–O–(Adverb) pattern is very common and a good default word order for simple Hausa sentences.