Log inSign up

Malami yana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.

Malami yana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
The teacher is teaching us Hausa in an easy way.

Breakdown of Malami yana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.

ne
to be
malami
the teacher
mu
us
Hausa
Hausa
koya
to teach
cikin sauƙi
easily
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Hausa grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Hausa now

Questions & Answers about Malami yana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.

What does yana mean here, and why do we need it?

Yana is an aspect marker plus pronoun that roughly corresponds to English “is … -ing”.

  • ya = he
  • na = (present/progressive aspect marker)
    These are usually written together as yana.

So yana koya ≈ “he is teaching / he teaches (right now / generally)”.

In Hausa, you normally must have this kind of pronoun+aspect marker before the main verb. You cannot just say Malami koya mana Hausa…; that would be ungrammatical. You need Malami yana koya… or some other aspect form (e.g. Malami zai koya…, Malami ya koya…, etc.).

What exactly does koya mana Hausa mean? What is the literal structure?

Breaking it down:

  • koya = to teach / to learn (see more below)
  • mana = to us / for us (indirect object)
  • Hausa = Hausa (language), direct object of the verb

So koya mana Hausa is literally:

  • “teach for-us Hausa” → “teach us Hausa”

Structure-wise:

  • Verb: koya
  • Indirect object pronoun (benefactive/dative): mana
  • Direct object noun: Hausa

This is why we translate the whole sentence as “The teacher is teaching us Hausa easily.”

What does mana mean, and how is it different from mu?

Both are related to “we / us”, but they have different grammatical roles:

  • mu = “we” as a subject pronoun

    • Mu muna karanta littafi. = We are reading a book.

  • mana = “to us / for us” as an indirect object pronoun (dative/benefactive)

    • Malami yana koya mana Hausa. = The teacher is teaching us Hausa.

Other similar forms:

  • mini = to/for me
  • maka / miki = to/for you (m./f.)
  • masa / mata = to/for him / her
  • muku = to/for you (plural)
  • musu = to/for them

So you use mana after a verb when something is being done to us / for us.

Can koya mean both “teach” and “learn”? How do I say “learn Hausa”?

Yes, koya is a bit tricky because it can mean “teach” or “learn”, depending on the construction.

  1. Teach (koya + something + to someone):

    • Malami yana koya mana Hausa.
      The teacher is teaching us Hausa.

  2. Learn (koya + to someone / from someone; or intransitively in some dialects):

    • Ina son in koya Hausa.
      I want to learn Hausa.
    • Yaro yana koya wurin Malami.
      The boy is learning with the teacher / from the teacher.

You’ll also see:

  • koyo = the verbal noun “learning”
    • koyo na Hausa = learning of Hausa / Hausa learning

Context usually makes it clear whether koya means teach or learn.

What does cikin sauƙi literally mean, and how does it function like “easily”?

Literally:

  • ciki = inside
  • cikin = “in/inside (the)” when linked to another noun
  • sauƙi = ease, relief, simplicity

So cikin sauƙi = “in ease / inside ease”.

Functionally, it acts like the English adverb “easily / in an easy way”:

  • Malami yana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
    = The teacher is teaching us Hausa easily / in an easy way.

Hausa often forms adverbial expressions using cikin + noun:

  • cikin sauri = in speed → quickly
  • cikin nutsuwa = in calmness → calmly
Could I say da sauƙi instead of cikin sauƙi?

Yes, you can, and it’s quite natural:

  • Malami yana koya mana Hausa da sauƙi.

da here roughly means “with / in a … way”, so da sauƙi also means “easily”.

Both:

  • cikin sauƙi
  • da sauƙi

are common and both translate well as “easily / in an easy way.” In everyday speech, many speakers might use da sauƙi more often just because it’s shorter.

Why isn’t there any word for “the” before Malami or Hausa?

Hausa does not use a separate word like English “the”. Definiteness is shown mainly by context, word order, or pronouns, not by an article.

In this sentence:

  • Malami = a teacher or the teacher, depending on context
  • Hausa = Hausa / the Hausa language

So the same Hausa sentence could be translated as:

  • A teacher is teaching us Hausa easily.
  • The teacher is teaching us Hausa easily.

If the conversation already knows which teacher you mean, Malami is understood as “the teacher” without needing a separate word.

Is Hausa the direct object here, and does it always get capitalized?

Yes:

  • Hausa is the direct object of the verb koya.
    The teacher is teaching what? → Hausa.

As for capitalization:

  • In English, we always capitalize Hausa (it’s a proper noun, like French, Arabic).
  • In Hausa writing, you will also usually see Hausa capitalized when it refers to the language or the people, especially in formal texts.

So writing Hausa with a capital H in this sentence is standard and correct.

What is the typical word order in this sentence? Is it like English?

The order here is:

  • Subject: Malami
  • Aspect/verb phrase: yana koya
  • Indirect object pronoun: mana
  • Direct object: Hausa
  • Adverbial phrase: cikin sauƙi

So structurally:

S – V – IO – DO – (Adverbial)

In English we might say:

The teacher is teaching us Hausa easily.

So:

  • Hausa and English both put the verb after the subject here.
  • The indirect object pronoun (mana / us) comes before the direct object (Hausa), just like in English “teach us Hausa.”

The main difference is that Hausa normally needs the aspect marker (yana) in addition to the verb koya.

How would I change this to the past or future tense?

Using other common aspect/tense forms:

  1. Past (completed):

    • Malami ya koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
      The teacher taught us Hausa easily.

    Here ya koya = he taught (completed action).

  2. Near future / intention (zai):

    • Malami zai koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
      The teacher will teach us Hausa easily.

  3. Habitual / general present (kan):

    • Malami kan koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
      The teacher usually teaches us Hausa easily.

So:

  • yana koya → ongoing / general present (is teaching / teaches)
  • ya koya → completed past (taught)
  • zai koya → future (will teach)
  • kan koya → habitual (usually teaches)
How do I say “the (female) teacher is teaching us Hausa easily”?

You mainly change the subject noun and agreement:

  • Malami (male teacher) → Malama (female teacher)
  • yana (he is) → tana (she is)

So:

  • Malama tana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
    The (female) teacher is teaching us Hausa easily.

For plural teachers:

  • Malamai suna koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
    The teachers are teaching us Hausa easily.

Note:

  • Malami → Malamai (plural)
  • yana (he is) → suna (they are)
Can I drop Malami and just say Yana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi?

Yes, if the context already makes it clear who you’re talking about.

  • Yana koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi.
    = He is teaching us Hausa easily.

Hausa, like English, often leaves out the noun if it is understood from context, but you still keep the subject pronoun + aspect (yana, tana, suna, etc.).

You cannot say only koya mana Hausa cikin sauƙi without yana / tana / suna…; the aspect+pronoun is required.

How should I pronounce cikin sauƙi and what is that special letter ƙ?

Pronunciation tips:

  • cikin → roughly like “chikin” in English (like chicken but with i in both syllables)
    • ci in Hausa is like “chee”
  • sauƙi → roughly “sau-ki”, where sau is like English sow and ƙ is not a normal k.

About ƙ:

  • ƙ is an ejective k sound – a tense, “popping” k made with a little glottal push.
  • It’s different from k in Hausa, and it can change the meaning of a word, so learners should at least hear the difference, even if they can’t produce it perfectly at first.

So sauƙi is not the same word as sauki in Hausa spelling; the ƙ is meaningful.