Breakdown of Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum domin in sami sakamako mai kyau.
Questions & Answers about Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum domin in sami sakamako mai kyau.
Yes, both are related to “I,” but they have different roles:
- Ni is the independent/emphatic pronoun = “I (myself)”.
- ina is a subject pronoun + tense/aspect marker meaning “I am … / I (habitually) …”.
So Ni ina yi ƙoƙari… is like saying:
“I, I (am) making an effort…” → more naturally: “I myself try / I personally try…”
You can say just Ina yi ƙoƙari… (without Ni) and it would still be correct. Adding Ni gives emphasis or contrast, like:
- Ni ina yi ƙoƙari, amma shi baya yi.
I’m trying, but he isn’t.
ina yi is a very common structure:
- ina = “I am / I (do)” in the present or habitual sense.
- yi = the verb “to do/make”.
Literally: “I am doing” or “I do”.
In Hausa, many actions are expressed as yi + verbal noun:
- yi ƙoƙari – “make an effort / try”
- yi magana – “speak” (literally “do talk”)
- yi aiki – “work / do work”
So ina yi ƙoƙari = I am doing effort → I am trying / I try.
You will normally include yi:
- Ina yi ƙoƙari is the natural, standard way to say “I try / I am making an effort.”
People might sometimes drop yi in fast speech, but the neutral, “textbook-correct” form is:
- (Ni) ina yi ƙoƙari…
ƙoƙari is a verbal noun:
- Basic meaning: “effort, attempt, trying”.
Combined with yi, it behaves like a verb phrase:
- yi ƙoƙari – “to make an effort / to try”.
So in ina yi ƙoƙari, grammatically you are “doing effort”, which functions like the English verb “try”.
kullum can mean both, depending on context:
- “always, all the time”
- “every day / daily”
In many everyday contexts, it overlaps with “every day”:
- Ina zuwa aiki kullum. – I go to work every day.
- Ina tunawa da kai kullum. – I always think of you.
In Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum…, both “I always try” and “I try every day” are natural translations. The idea is continuous, regular effort.
You have some flexibility. All of these are possible:
- Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum.
- Ni kullum ina yi ƙoƙari.
- Kullum ina yi ƙoƙari.
The most common in neutral speech would probably be:
- Kullum ina yi ƙoƙari… or
- Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum…
Putting kullum earlier in the sentence can emphasize the time/frequency (“every day / always”), while keeping it at the end sounds very natural and slightly less marked.
domin and don are basically the same word, just a full form and a short form:
- Core meanings: “because (of), for, for the sake of, in order to”.
- In your sentence it clearly has the purpose meaning: “so that / in order to”.
So:
- Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum domin in sami sakamako mai kyau.
I try every day in order to get a good result.
You could also hear or see:
- Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum don in sami sakamako mai kyau.
Same meaning; don is just shorter and very common in speech.
Good eye: in can indeed mean “if” in other sentences, but here it’s something different.
In domin in sami…:
- in is the 1st person singular subject pronoun for the subjunctive/purpose form = “that I (may)”.
- sami is the verb form “get / obtain” used after this kind of marker.
So domin in sami… = “so that I may get / in order that I get …”
Compare:
- In na sami kuɗi, zan sayi mota. – If I get money, I’ll buy a car. (here in = if)
- Don in sami kuɗi, ina aiki sosai. – In order that I get money, I work hard. (here in = I in a purpose clause)
Both are forms of the same verb:
- Dictionary form: samu – “to get, obtain, find”.
But Hausa verbs change form depending on tense/aspect and construction. After domin / don with a purpose clause, you often get a special verb form (often called a subjunctive or purpose form). For samu, that form is sami here:
- Na samu sakamako mai kyau. – I got a good result.
- Ina ƙoƙari domin in sami sakamako mai kyau. – I try in order to get a good result.
So you can think of sami as “the form of samu that is used in this ‘in order to’ / purpose construction.”
sakamako means:
- “result, outcome, consequence”, often in contexts like:
- exam results
- the outcome of efforts or actions
- the result of a process
Examples:
- Na sami sakamakon jarabawa. – I got the exam result.
- Sakamakon ƙoƙarinku zai bayyana. – The result of your efforts will appear.
In your sentence, it’s the result of the person’s continuous effort.
Hausa often forms adjectives with the structure “NOUN + mai + X” or “mai + X”.
- mai here literally means something like “one who has / possessing”.
- kyau is a noun meaning “beauty, goodness”.
So:
- mai kyau ≈ “(something) that has goodness/beauty” → “good”.
This pattern is very common:
- gida mai kyau – a good/beautiful house
- mutum mai ƙoƙari – a hard‑working person (person who has effort)
- abu mai amfani – something useful (thing that has use)
In your sentence:
- sakamako mai kyau – “a good result”.
Yes. In Hausa, descriptive words usually come after the noun they describe:
- sakamako mai kyau – result good (= good result)
- mace mai kyau – beautiful woman
- aiki mai wahala – difficult job
So the pattern is:
- NOUN + (adjective phrase)
Here, the “adjective phrase” is mai kyau.
ina + verb can cover both present continuous and habitual, and context tells you which.
Right now / around now:
Yanzu ina yi ƙoƙari. – I’m trying (now).Habitual / regular:
Ina zuwa aiki kullum. – I go to work every day.
Ina yi ƙoƙari kullum. – I try every day / I always try.
Because you also have kullum (“always / every day”), here the meaning is clearly habitual: regular, ongoing effort.
The sentence is neutral and standard. You can use it:
- in everyday conversation,
- in writing,
- in somewhat formal contexts (e.g., explaining your attitude toward work/study).
There’s nothing slangy or overly formal about:
- Ni ina yi ƙoƙari kullum domin in sami sakamako mai kyau.
It’s a very natural, general‑purpose way to express “I make an effort every day so that I get a good result.”