Breakdown of Kar ka sa wayarka a aljihu na baya idan kana tafiya a kasuwa.
Questions & Answers about Kar ka sa wayarka a aljihu na baya idan kana tafiya a kasuwa.
Kar ka is a negative command addressed to one man. It means “don’t (you)…”.
- kar = negative prohibitive particle (don’t / let not)
- ka = you (masculine singular) as a subject pronoun
So Kar ka sa… literally: “Don’t you put…” said to a male listener.
You change the pronoun after kar (and the possessive ending on wayarka if you want to be very precise):
To one woman:
- Kar ki sa wayarki a aljihu na baya idan kina tafiya a kasuwa.
- ki = you (fem. sg.), wayarki = your (fem. sg.) phone, kina = you (fem.) are
To several people (mixed or all male/female):
- Kar ku sa wayoyinku a aljihu na baya idan kuna tafiya a kasuwa.
- ku = you (plural), wayoyinku = your (pl.) phones, kuna = you (pl.) are
Hausa often leaves the object in singular in casual speech (e.g. wayarku), but wayoyinku is the clear plural “your phones.”
Yes. In everyday writing and speech, kar ka is very often pronounced and written as karka.
- Kar ka sa wayarka… – more strictly segmented/classroom style
- Karka sa wayarka… – very common in informal and even many formal contexts
They mean exactly the same thing: “Don’t put your phone…”
Here sa means “to put, to place, to put on.”
Common uses of sa:
- sa wayarka a aljihu – put your phone in your pocket
- sa rigarka – put on / wear your shirt
- sa takalmi – put on shoes
You may also see saka used similarly. In many contexts sa and saka overlap, but sa is short and very common in speech. In this sentence, sa is perfectly natural.
Wayarka means “your (masculine singular) phone.” It is made of three pieces:
- waya = phone (literally “wire”, now used for phone)
- -r- = linking consonant that appears when adding certain endings to feminine nouns ending in -a
- -ka = your (masculine singular possessor)
So: waya + r + ka → wayarka = “your phone (you = a man).”
Other common possessive endings:
- -ki = your (feminine singular) → wayarki (a woman’s phone)
- -ku = your (plural) → wayarku (your phone, talking to several people)
- -sa / -shi = his → wayarsa / wayarshi
- -ta = her → wayarta
Breakdown:
- a = in / at / on (location preposition)
- aljihu = pocket
- na = linking word meaning “of / belonging to”
- baya = back / behind
So a aljihu na baya is literally “in the pocket of (the) back,” i.e. “in the back pocket.”
Hausa often uses X na Y to mean “Y X / X of Y”, so aljihu na baya = pocket of the back → “back pocket.”
You could say other things, but the meaning changes:
- a aljihu na baya – in the back pocket (the pocket that is at the back)
- a bayan aljihu – behind the pocket (physically behind it, not inside it)
For “back pocket” (as part of clothing), aljihu na baya is the natural phrase.
Some speakers also say aljihun baya, but aljihu na baya is very clear for learners.
Idan can mean both “if” and “when/whenever”, depending on context.
In this sentence, idan kana tafiya a kasuwa is best understood as:
- “when you are walking in the market” or
- “whenever you’re walking in the market”
So the whole sentence is more like a general rule, not a hypothetical “if” in the English sense. In more formal or explicit style you might also see lokacin da for “when”: lokacin da kake tafiya a kasuwa…
Kana tafiya is a progressive aspect form: “you are walking / you are going.”
- ka = you (masculine singular subject)
- na here is part of the progressive auxiliary (kana)
- kana
- verbal noun = you are doing X
- tafiyà (tafiyā) is the verbal noun from the verb tafi (to go, to leave, to travel)
So:
- Kana tafiya = you are going / you are walking (right now, or habitually)
Ka tafiya is grammatical but means something more like “you went / you have gone / you set off,” not the ongoing action. That would not fit the habitual warning in this sentence.
Tafiya is a verbal noun from the verb tafi (to go, to leave, to travel). Depending on context, it can mean:
- a journey / trip (noun)
- the act of going / walking / travelling (when used with auxiliaries like kana)
In kana tafiya a kasuwa, it is the act of going/walking:
“when you are walking / moving around in the market.”
Both a kasuwa and cikin kasuwa can translate as “in the market,” but they have slightly different nuances:
- a kasuwa: neutral “in/at the market” (general location)
- cikin kasuwa or a cikin kasuwa: more literally “inside the market,” emphasizing being inside the space of the market
In everyday speech, a kasuwa is perfectly natural for the idea of being in or at the market area. The sentence uses the simple, general locative a.
You can move the idan-clause to the front; both orders are natural:
- Kar ka sa wayarka a aljihu na baya idan kana tafiya a kasuwa.
- Idan kana tafiya a kasuwa, kar ka sa wayarka a aljihu na baya.
Hausa allows this kind of reordering of clauses, especially with idan (“if/when”). The meaning remains the same; putting Idan kana tafiya a kasuwa first may slightly emphasize the condition (“when you’re in the market, then don’t…”).
Kar ka sa… is a direct prohibition: clear and a bit strong, like English “Don’t put…” It’s not rude by itself, but it is very straightforward.
To soften it, people often add polite words before it:
- Don Allah, kar ka sa wayarka a aljihu na baya… – “Please (for God’s sake), don’t put your phone…”
- Da fatan, kada ka sa wayarka… – “Hopefully / I’d hope you don’t put your phone…”
Using kada ka instead of kar ka can also sound a bit more formal or softer in some varieties, though both express a prohibition.