Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ƙauyen inda iyayena suke yana da lambu babba a kusa da gida. - The village where my parents are has a big garden near the house.

Definiteness / “the”
- Hausa has no separate word for “the”, so it often uses a linking / genitive suffix:
  - ƙauye + n → ƙauyen
- This often corresponds to English “the village (of / that …)”.
Link to what follows
- The -n / -en also works as a linker to the following phrase inda iyayena suke.
- So ƙauyen inda iyayena suke is literally like “the village where my parents are”.

So ƙauyen here is “the village” and is tightly connected to the following clause by that -en ending.

What does inda mean in this sentence, and how is it used?

inda is a relative word that usually means “where” (sometimes “in which / at which”).

In the sentence:

ƙauyen inda iyayena suke
= the village *where my parents are (live)*

Grammar points:

inda introduces a relative clause: inda iyayena suke = where my parents are.
It connects back to ƙauyen (the village).
You can think of it like English relative “where / that” used for places.

So structurally:
Ƙauyen [inda iyayena suke] …
= The village [where my parents are] …

How is iyayena formed, and why does it mean “my parents”?

The base noun is:

iyaye = parents

Then a possessive suffix is attached:

-na = my

When you join them, the vowels contract:

iyaye + na → iyayena = my parents

So:

iyaye = parents
iyalina = my family (different word)
iyayena = my parents

That -na ending (appearing as -na / -ta / -nsa / -nta, etc.) is the normal possessive suffix system in Hausa.

Why is it suke and not suna in inda iyayena suke?

Both suna and suke are built from su (they), but they have different uses:

suna = they are / they are doing (ordinary progressive / present)
suke = they are (who …), used in relative / focused clauses

In a relative clause introduced by inda, Hausa normally uses -ke, not -na:

Iyayena suna nan. = My parents are here. (simple statement)
Iyayena da suke nan… = My parents who are here… (relative clause)
inda iyayena suke = where my parents are

Because inda iyayena suke is a relative clause (where my parents are), it correctly uses suke, not suna.

What does yana da mean here? Is yana the verb “to have”?

Hausa does not usually have a simple verb meaning “to have.” Instead, it uses a structure literally meaning “it is with”:

yāna da / yana da = he/it has (literally: he/it is with)

In your sentence:

ƙauyen … yana da lambu babba
= the village has a big garden

Breakdown:

ya- = “he/it” (3rd person masculine singular)
-na = progressive / incomplete aspect marker
da = “with”

So yana da X is the standard way to say “(he/it) has X”.

Why is it yana da and not tana da? What is yana agreeing with?

yana agrees with the gender and number of the subject:

ya- = he / it (masculine singular)
ta- = she / it (feminine singular)

The subject here is ƙauyen (the village). In Hausa, ƙauye is grammatically masculine, so we must use ya-:

Ƙauyen … yana da lambu babba…
= The village has a big garden…

If the subject were feminine, you’d see tana:

Mota tana da matsala.
= The car has a problem. (car = feminine noun)

So yana is masculine singular, matching ƙauyen.

Why does the adjective come after the noun in lambu babba?

In Hausa, adjectives normally follow the noun, unlike English:

lambu babba = big garden
gida tsawo = tall house
mutum mai kyau = good-looking person

So the order is:

[Noun] + [Adjective]

Compare to English:

Hausa: lambu babba
English: big garden

That is why you don’t say babban lambu here for a simple “a big garden” description in this structure (see the next question for that nuance).

What is the difference between lambu babba and babbàn lambu?

Both involve babba (“big”), but the structure and nuance differ:

lambu babba
- Simple noun + adjective.
- Often corresponds to “a big garden” in a descriptive way.
- Focus is more on describing the garden’s size.
babbàn lambu
- Here babba takes the linker -n → babbàn.
- Literally: “the big (one) of gardens,” so more like “the big garden”, a specific, definite big one among some set of gardens.
- Used more in construct / genitive-like contexts or where definiteness is stronger.

In your sentence yana da lambu babba, we’re just saying “(it) has a big garden” in a general descriptive sense, so lambu babba works well.

How does a kusa da gida work? Why do we need both a and da?

The phrase a kusa da gida literally breaks down as:

a = at / in / on
kusa = nearness / closeness
da = with / to
gida = house / home

Combined, a kusa da gida means “near the house” / “close to the house”.

a tells you this is a location phrase (at / in the state of).
kusa da X = near X is a common pattern:
- kusa da kasuwa = near the market
- kusa da hanya = near the road

Often you will also see kusa da gida without a; speakers vary.
a kusa da gida is a full prepositional phrase, emphasising location: at a nearness to the house → near the house.

Why does gida here translate as “the house” even though there’s no word for “the”?

Hausa generally does not have separate words for “the” or “a/an”. Definiteness is shown by:

context
sometimes linker endings (-n, -r, etc.)
or demonstratives (nan, wancan, etc.)

In a kusa da gida, the bare noun gida just means “house / home.”
Whether we translate it as “a house” or “the house” in English depends on context.

In this sentence, we’re talking about the garden near the house that belongs to that village, so in natural English we say “near the house”.

So:

Hausa: gida
English: “a house” / “the house” — decided by context, not by a specific word in Hausa.

Can the word order inside inda iyayena suke be changed, like inda suke iyayena?

No, inda suke iyayena is not normal word order.

In Hausa clauses, the usual order is:

Subject + (Aspect marker / verb) + other elements

In inda iyayena suke:

iyayena = subject (“my parents”)
suke = “are” in the relative/imperfective form

So the correct order is:

iyayena suke = “my parents are”

Because inda … introduces a relative clause, we keep that standard subject–verb order after inda:

inda iyayena suke = where my parents are

Reversing it to inda suke iyayena would sound wrong to native speakers.

What is the sound of the letter Ƙ / ƙ in ƙauyen, and is it different from k?

Yes, ƙ is different from plain k in Hausa.

k = a normal voiceless velar stop [k], like English k in “kite”.
ƙ = an implosive or glottalised k, often written phonetically as [k’].
- The tongue position is similar to [k], but the airflow and glottal action are different.
- It has a “swallowed” or “sucked in” feel compared with plain k.

In writing:

Uppercase: Ƙ
Lowercase: ƙ

They can distinguish meaning in Hausa, so it’s important to notice which one is used.

Can you summarise the structure of the whole sentence piece by piece?

Yes. The sentence:

Ƙauyen inda iyayena suke yana da lambu babba a kusa da gida.

Breaks down as:

Ƙauyen
- “the village (that/the one which)…”
- ƙauye + -n (definite + linker)
inda iyayena suke
- inda = where
- iyayena = my parents
- suke = (they) are [relative form]
  → where my parents are (live)
yana da lambu babba
- yana da = (it) has
- lambu babba = a big garden
a kusa da gida
- a kusa da = near
- gida = the house / home (by context)

Putting it all together:

“The village where my parents are has a big garden near the house.”