Kafin mu ci abinci, uwa tana wanke hannuwa na yara.

to be

Breakdown of Kafin mu ci abinci, uwa tana wanke hannuwa na yara.

• abinci: the food
• yaro: the child
• ci: to eat

Questions & Answers about Kafin mu ci abinci, uwa tana wanke hannuwa na yara.

What does Kafin mean, and why does the sentence start with it?

Kafin means before and introduces a time clause.

• Kafin mu ci abinci = Before we eat food
• It tells you when the main action happens: the mother washing the children’s hands.

In Hausa, it is very common to start a sentence with a time expression or time clause like Kafin…, Bayan… (after), Lokacin da… (when), etc. So the order
Kafin mu ci abinci, uwa tana wanke hannuwa na yara
is completely natural:
Before we eat, mother is washing the children’s hands.

Why is it mu ci and not something like muna ci?

Mu ci here is a kind of subjunctive / irrealis verb form, often used:

• after words like kafin (before), sai (until/then), dole ne (must), etc.
• to talk about actions that are not happening yet, but are expected, planned, or hypothetical.

Compare:

• Mu ci abinci. – Let’s eat food. (subjunctive, suggestion / command)
• Muna cin abinci. – We are eating food. (progressive, happening now)

In Kafin mu ci abinci, the eating has not happened yet; it is something that will happen after the hand‑washing, so the subjunctive ci is used with mu instead of muna ci.

What is the role of mu in mu ci abinci?