Yara biyu dogaye ne, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne.

Two of the children are tall, but their brother is short.

Breakdown of Yara biyu dogaye ne, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne.

• ne: to be
• yaro: the child
• amma: but
• ɗan uwa: the brother
• biyu: two
• dogo: tall
• gajere: short

Questions & Answers about Yara biyu dogaye ne, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne.

Why is yara used here instead of the singular yaro?

Yaro means a boy / a child (singular, usually masculine).
Yara means children (plural, and can be mixed or unspecified gender).

In the sentence, you are talking about two children, so Hausa uses the plural noun:

• yaro = one child (boy)
• yara = children

Therefore Yara biyu = two children.

Why does the number biyu come after yara instead of before, like in English?

In Hausa, numbers that modify nouns normally come after the noun:

• yaro biyu = two boys / two children
• motoci uku = three cars
• littattafai huɗu = four books

So the basic pattern is: noun + number, not number + noun as in English.
That is why we say Yara biyu, not biyu yara.

What is the difference between dogo and dogaye, and why is dogaye used here?

The base adjective is dogo = tall (masculine singular).

Adjectives in Hausa often change form to agree in number with the noun:

• dogo = tall (singular, usually masculine)
• doguwa = tall (singular, feminine)
• dogaye = tall (plural)

Since yara is plural (children), the adjective also has to be plural:

• yaro dogo = a tall boy
• yarinya doguwa = a tall girl
• yara dogaye = tall children

So in the sentence, yara biyu dogaye ne means two children are tall, with dogaye agreeing with plural yara.

Why is gajere singular here? Shouldn’t it be plural like gajeru?

The second clause is talking about their sibling (one person), not the two children:

• ɗan’uwansu = their sibling / their brother (singular)

Because the subject is singular, the adjective must also be singular:

• gajere = short (singular, masculine)
• gajeru = short (plural)

So:

• Yara biyu dogaye ne = Two children are tall (plural subject → plural adjective)
• amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne = but their sibling is short (singular subject → singular adjective)

What does the particle ne do at the end of each clause?

Ne is a kind of copula / focus particle. In simple terms, it plays a role similar to English “is/are” and also adds a bit of emphasis or focus.

In this sentence:

• Yara biyu dogaye ne
• … ɗan’uwansu gajere ne

You can think of it roughly as:

• The two children *are tall*
• … but their sibling *is short*

In Hausa:

• ne is used with masculine and plural subjects (and in some neutral cases)
• ce is used with feminine singular subjects

Very roughly:

• shi ne = he is
• ita ce = she is
• su ne = they are

Over time, ne/ce have also developed a strong focus function (emphasising what comes before them), but for a learner at this stage, you can safely think of ne here as “is/are” plus a bit of emphasis.

Can we omit ne and just say Yara biyu dogaye, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere?

Yes, in informal spoken Hausa people often drop ne/ce when the meaning is clear:

• Yara biyu dogaye, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere.

This would still be understood as Two children are tall, but their sibling is short.

However:

• Including ne is more standard and complete, especially in careful speech and writing.
• Ne/ce can also carry focus and emphasis, so leaving them out can make the sentence feel a bit less “finished” or less emphatic.

So the sentence in the book form is:

• Yara biyu dogaye ne, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne.

How is ɗan’uwansu formed, and what does each part mean?

ɗan’uwansu is a combination of several pieces:

1. ɗa = child / son
2. ɗan uwa (literally “child of mother”) = sibling / cousin (on the mother’s side originally), often used more broadly as “sibling / relative”
3. When spoken quickly, ɗan uwa often contracts to ɗan’uwa (written with an apostrophe).
4. -nsu is a possessive pronoun suffix meaning their.
   
   • -na = my
   • -nka / -nki = your (m/f)
   • -nsa / -nta = his / her
   • -nmu = our
   • -nsu = their

So:

• ɗan’uwa = (a) sibling
• ɗan’uwansu = their sibling / brother

Literally: the child-of-mother-of-them → their sibling.

Does ɗan’uwansu mean specifically “their brother”, or could it also mean “their sister”?

Grammatically, ɗan’uwa is masculine, so it most naturally means brother (especially “brother on the mother’s side” in a strict traditional sense).

However, in colloquial modern usage, people may sometimes use ɗan’uwa and related forms more loosely for “sibling / relative”, especially when gender isn’t crucial from context.

If you want to be clearly gender-specific:

• ɗan’uwansu = their brother
• yar’uwansu = their sister

So in careful translation, ɗan’uwansu is best taken as their brother.

What does amma mean, and is it the usual word for “but”?

Amma means “but” / “however” and is very commonly used, just like English but:

• Ina son shayi, amma ban son kofi.
  = I like tea, but I don’t like coffee.

In this sentence:

• … dogaye ne, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne.
  = … are tall, but their brother is short.

Other words can also express contrast, like sai dai, but amma is the most straightforward, neutral translation of “but”.

Is the word order in Hausa always noun + adjective, like yara dogaye?

Yes, in Hausa, adjectives normally come after the noun they modify:

• yaro dogo = a tall boy
• yarinya gajera = a short girl
• yara dogaye = tall children
• mota ja = a red car
• littafi sabo = a new book

So the pattern is:

• noun + adjective

This is different from English, where the adjective usually comes before the noun (tall boy, red car).

How do you pronounce the special consonant ɗ in ɗan’uwansu?

The letter ɗ represents an implosive “d” sound in Hausa. Some tips:

• Place your tongue as if you were going to say English d in dog.
• Instead of pushing air out, you slightly pull air inward while voicing the sound.
• There’s also a small “gulping” or inward feel in the throat.

For many learners, it’s acceptable at first to pronounce ɗ close to a normal d, but native speakers clearly distinguish d from ɗ, and the difference can change meaning in some words.