Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yau ina da kuɗi a aljihuna, amma ban so su faɗi a hanya ba. - Today I have money in my pocket, but I don’t want it to fall on the way.

This is the most common everyday way to say “I have X” in Hausa.
You do not normally add an extra ni (ni ina da…) unless you want to emphasize I specifically (“I have money (not someone else)”).

Why is there the preposition a before aljihuna and hanya? Does a mean “in”, “at”, or “on”?

The preposition a is very general and can mean:

“in” → a aljihu = in the pocket
“at” → a gida = at home
“on / along → a hanya = on/along the road, on the way

Context decides the best English translation.
In this sentence:

a aljihuna = “in my pocket”
a hanya = “on the way / along the way”

What exactly does aljihuna mean? Is it “my pocket” or “my pockets”, and how is it formed?

Form:

aljihu = pocket
-na = my

So aljihu + na → aljihuna = “my pocket”.

Number:

Grammatically it’s singular: “my pocket”.
In natural speech, if the number isn’t important, people may still say a aljihuna where English would say “in my pocket(s)”, just meaning “in my pocket area/on me”.

If you needed to be very clear about plural “pockets”, you’d use an actual plural form of aljihu plus a possessive (e.g. “my pockets”), but for most purposes aljihuna in this sentence is fine as “in my pocket”.

Why is kuɗi treated like a plural noun, with su (“they”) referring to it?

In Hausa, kuɗi (“money”) behaves grammatically like a plural noun, even though in English “money” is non‑count.

kuɗi → treated as “they” in grammar
therefore you use su (“they”) to refer back to it: su faɗi = “they fall”.

So although English says “I don’t want it to fall”, Hausa says “I don’t want them to fall” because kuɗi is plural in the grammar.

What is the role of su in ban so su faɗi? Could I just say ban so faɗi?

su is the subject pronoun “they” for the verb faɗi (“fall”):

su faɗi = “they fall / for them to fall”

In Hausa, finite verbs normally need an explicit subject pronoun, even when it’s obvious from context.
So:

ban so su faɗi ≈ “I don’t want them to fall”
ban so faɗi is ungrammatical / incomplete; it lacks a subject for faɗi.

Why does the negative part have ba twice: ban so … ba?

Hausa often uses a “negative sandwich” pattern:

ba … ba

In this sentence:

ban (from ba ni) starts the negative
the final ba closes it: ban so su faɗi a hanya ba

So literally it’s like: “It is not (I want them to fall on the way) not.”
In practice it just means “I don’t want them to fall on the way.”

Dropping the final ba is common in casual speech, but the full ba … ba frame is standard.

What is ban here? Is it the same as ba ni or bana?

ban is a contraction of ba ni:

ba = negative particle
ni = “I / me”
ba ni → ban (in writing they’re often merged when followed by a verb)

So:

ban so … ba = ba ni so … ba = “I don’t want …”

You will also see bana so … (from ba na so, “I don’t want / don’t like …”).
For everyday learners’ purposes here, you can treat ban so … ba and bana so … ba as functionally similar “I don’t want …”, though there are finer grammatical nuances in more advanced descriptions.

Why is the verb sometimes written as so and sometimes as son, like in Ina son kuɗi?

The basic verb is so = “to want / to like”.

Before a noun object, Hausa inserts a linker -n / -na:
- Ina son kuɗi. = “I like/want money.”
  - so + n + kuɗi
Before a clause, there is no linker:
- ban so su faɗi = “I don’t want them to fall.”
  - here, what follows is the clause su faɗi, not a noun

So use:

son + [noun] → son kuɗi
so + [clause] → so su faɗi, so ya zo, etc.

What form of the verb is faɗi here, and why is it su faɗi instead of something like za su faɗi?

Here faɗi is a bare verb used in a subjunctive / irrealis-type clause after so:

su faɗi ≈ “(that) they fall / should fall / will fall”

After verbs of wanting (like so), Hausa typically uses:

[subject pronoun] + bare verb
→ ban so su faɗi = “I don’t want them to fall.”

If you say za su faɗi, that’s a normal future statement:

za su faɗi = “they will fall (will actually happen)”

So:

ban so su faɗi = “I don’t want them to fall”
ban so za su faɗi would be wrong; you don’t put za there in this structure.

Could you move yau to another position in the sentence, like at the end?

Yes, yau (“today”) is an adverb of time and is flexible in position.
All of these are possible, with slightly different emphasis:

Yau ina da kuɗi a aljihuna, amma ban so su faɗi a hanya ba.
(Neutral; “today” sets the time frame at the start.)
Ina da kuɗi a aljihuna yau, amma ban so su faɗi a hanya ba.
(Also fine; “today” feels more closely tied to having the money.)
Ina da kuɗi a aljihuna, amma yau ban so su faɗi a hanya ba.
(Emphasizes “today I don’t want them to fall on the way.”)

So placement is flexible, but sentence-initial Yau is very common and natural.

Is there any difference between saying a aljihuna and a cikin aljihuna?

Yes, there’s a nuance:

a aljihuna = “in my pocket / at my pocket area”
– general location
a cikin aljihuna = “inside my pocket”
– ciki(n) means “inside (of)”, so this stresses the interior

In many contexts, both can translate as “in my pocket,” but a cikin aljihuna more strongly emphasizes being inside the pocket.

How do you pronounce the letter ɗ in kuɗi?

The letter ɗ represents an implosive d sound in Hausa:

It’s similar to an English “d”, but produced with a slight inward airflow and a “swallowed” quality.
For learners, pronouncing it like a clear English “d” is usually acceptable at the beginning; native speakers will still understand kuɗi as “money.”