Learn Hardcore Hausa: Kar ka manta ka rufe ƙofa idan ka fita. - Don’t forget to close the door when you masculine go out.

kar only works for prohibitions/commands, not for ordinary past or present negation.
- Command: Kar ka tafi. – “Don’t go.”
- Ordinary negation: Ba zan tafi ba. – “I won’t go.”
kar and kada are near‑synonyms here (see another question below for nuance).

So Kar ka manta... literally feels like: “Don’t you forget...” directed at one person (male).

Why is ka repeated several times (ka manta ka rufe ... idan ka fita)?

In Hausa, each finite verb normally needs a subject marker in front of it.
Here, ka is the 2nd person singular masculine subject marker (roughly “you”).

The verbs in the sentence are:

manta – “forget”
rufe – “close”
fita – “go out / exit”

Each one has its own ka:

ka manta – you forget
ka rufe – you close
ka fita – you go out

So the structure is:

Kar ka manta | ka rufe ƙofa | idan ka fita
“Don’t you forget | you close the door | when you go out.”

You can’t just say Kar manta rufe ƙofa and treat the verbs as bare infinitives the way English does. Hausa really likes that explicit subject marker before each verb (though in some cases one can be dropped; see another question).

Is the sentence addressed to a man, a woman, or more than one person? How would it change?

As written, it is addressed to one man.

ka = “you” (singular masculine)

To address one woman, you switch ka → ki in the relevant places:

Kar ki manta ki rufe ƙofa idan kin fita.
(One natural version; literally “Don’t you (fem.) forget, you close the door when you (have) gone out.”)

To address more than one person, use ku:

Kar ku manta ku rufe ƙofa idan kun fita.
“Don’t (you all) forget to close the door when you (all) go out.”

So the pattern is:

ka – you (sg. masc.)
ki – you (sg. fem.)
ku – you (plural)

Could you also say Kada ka manta... instead of Kar ka manta...? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say either:

Kar ka manta ka rufe ƙofa idan ka fita.
Kada ka manta ka rufe ƙofa idan ka fita.

They both mean essentially the same thing: “Don’t forget to close the door when you go out.”

Nuances:

kada is the “full” form; it sounds a bit more formal or careful, and it is common in writing.
kar is a shortened/contracted form, very common in everyday speech.
In rapid speech kar ka often sounds like “karka” (and you may even see it written that way: karka manta).

So you can safely treat kar and kada as interchangeable in this kind of sentence, with kada just a touch more formal.

What exactly does ka mean in kar ka manta, ka rufe, and ka fita? Is it a pronoun or a tense marker?

Functionally, ka does two jobs at once:

It marks the subject as “you (singular masculine)”.
It participates in the tense/aspect/mood pattern of the verb (perfective or subjunctive, depending on context).

For you as a learner, you can read it mainly as “you”:

ka manta – “you forget / you forgot”
ka rufe – “you close / you closed”
ka fita – “you go out / you went out”

Its exact time reference is set by the whole construction:

After kar/kada, ka is part of a negative command / subjunctive:
Kar ka manta ka rufe... – “Don’t forget to close...”
After idan, ka fita often means “when(ever) you go out / if you go out” (general condition).

So: think of ka as “you (masc. sg.)” that must appear in certain slots to make a correct Hausa verb phrase.

What does ƙofa mean, and how do you pronounce the letter ƙ?

ƙofa means “door”.

The interesting part is the letter ƙ (uppercase Ƙ, lowercase ƙ):

It represents an ejective k sound [k’], a kind of “sharp” k pronounced with a little burst from the glottis.
It is not the same as plain k in Hausa spelling.

A rough way to think of it:

k – plain “k” as in “kite”
ƙ – “k” said with extra pressure and a glottal “pop”

English doesn’t have this contrast, so most English speakers just say a strong “k” and are understood, but it’s good to recognize the letter, since ƙ changes the meaning in some words.

So:

ƙofa – “door”
Pronounced approximately like: KOH-fah, with a tight, popped k.

Why is it ka rufe ƙofa and not ka rufe da ƙofa (“close with the door”)?

In Hausa, rufe “to close/shut/cover” usually takes a direct object:

rufe ƙofa – close the door
rufe taga – close the window
rufe littafi – close the book

You only use da when you want “with” in the sense of using something as an instrument or cover, e.g.:

Ya rufe kwano da faranti. – “He covered the bowl with a plate.”

In this sentence you are just closing the door itself, so the normal pattern is:

rufe + [thing being closed]
→ rufe ƙofa

What does idan mean here – “when” or “if”? How does it work?

idan is a conjunction that can mean “when” or “if”, and often the English translation depends on context.

In idan ka fita:

It can be heard as “when you go out” (every time you go out, do this)
Or as “if you go out” (on the condition that you go out)

In this sentence, both readings are natural; it is a general condition:

Whenever/if you go out, don’t forget to close the door.

Typical pattern:

idan
- subject marker
  - verb
    → idan ka fita – when/if you go out
    → idan na gani – when/if I see
    → idan sun iso – when/if they arrive

Can I drop any of the ka’s, for example say Kar ka manta rufe ƙofa?

There are two different points here:

You cannot drop the first “ka” after kar/kada.
- ✗ Kar manta ka rufe ƙofa – incorrect
- ✓ Kar ka manta... – required
With the second verb, native speakers often do drop the extra ka in everyday speech:
- Kar ka manta ka rufe ƙofa. – very explicit: “Don’t forget, you close the door.”
- Kar ka manta rufe ƙofa. – also natural: “Don’t forget to close the door.”

In Kar ka manta rufe ƙofa, the phrase rufe ƙofa is treated more like “closing the door” (an action/infinitive) rather than a full clause with its own subject marker.

So:

The original sentence with all the ka’s is fully grammatical and a bit more explicit.
Kar ka manta rufe ƙofa idan ka fita is also a very natural variant you will hear.

Hausa doesn’t have a “to” like English “to close”. Why is it manta ka rufe ƙofa instead of some infinitive form?

Hausa typically uses a finite verb clause as the complement of verbs like manta (“forget”), instead of an infinitive with “to”:

English: “Don’t forget to close the door.”
Hausa: Kar ka manta ka rufe ƙofa.
Literally: “Don’t you forget you close the door.”

So the pattern is:

manta
- [clause with subject marker + verb]
  → manta ka rufe ƙofa – forget (that) you close the door

There is a verbal noun (rufewa) from rufe, but using it here would sound more like “Don’t forget the closing of the door”, which is not the usual everyday pattern. Native speakers generally prefer the finite clause: ka rufe ƙofa.

What does fita mean here, and how is it different from tafi?

fita means “to go out / exit / go outside”.

idan ka fita – “when/if you go out (of the house, room, etc.)”

tafi is a more general “go / leave / travel”:

idan ka tafi – “when/if you go (away) / when you leave”

The difference in this context:

idan ka fita focuses on the idea of going out (through the door / outside).
idan ka tafi would be more like “when you leave”, not necessarily emphasizing “out through the door”.

Since we’re talking about a door, fita is the most natural verb to use here.