Learn Hardcore Hausa: Malamar Hausa doguwa ce, amma wata daliba aji ɗaya gajera ce. - The female Hausa teacher is tall, but a certain female student in the same class is short.

Malamar Hausa doguwa ce
Literally: “The Hausa teacher tall is (she is tall).”
… wata daliba aji ɗaya gajera ce
Literally: “… a certain student in the (same) class short is (she is short).”

Because both malama(r) (teacher, fem.) and daliba (female student) are grammatically feminine, Hausa uses ce, not ne.
If the subject were masculine, you would use ne instead.

Why is there no separate word for “is” before doguwa and gajera?

Hausa does not usually use a separate verb for “to be” in simple descriptive sentences like this. Instead, it uses:

A noun/pronoun
Then an adjective or descriptive phrase
And often the copula ne/ce at the end (especially in careful or written Hausa).

So:

Malamar Hausa doguwa ce = The Hausa teacher is tall.
… wata daliba aji ɗaya gajera ce = … but a (certain) student in the (same) class is short.

There is no direct equivalent of English “is” before doguwa or gajera; the structure itself plus ce carries that meaning.

Why are the adjectives doguwa and gajera in these forms, and not dogo or gajere?

Hausa adjectives agree with the gender (and often number) of the noun they describe.

dogo = tall (masculine)
doguwa = tall (feminine)
gajere = short (masculine)
gajera = short (feminine)

Here the nouns are feminine:

Malamar Hausa – the r at the end shows feminine possessed form of malama (female teacher).
daliba – specifically a female student.

So the adjectives must also be feminine:

Malamar Hausa doguwa ce (not dogo)
wata daliba … gajera ce (not gajere)

Why is it Malamar Hausa and not just Malama Hausa?

Malama means “female teacher.”
Malamar Hausa literally means “the teacher of Hausa.”

Hausa marks possession or close association by adding -r / -n to the first noun:

malama + r + Hausa → Malamar Hausa
= the Hausa teacher / the teacher of Hausa (the language).

So Malamar Hausa is more specific than just Malama.
If you said only Malama, you’d mean “(a/the) female teacher” without specifying the subject she teaches.

What exactly does Malamar Hausa mean – a Hausa person who is a teacher, or a teacher of the Hausa language?

In this form, Malamar Hausa most naturally means “teacher of Hausa (the language)”, i.e. a Hausa-language teacher.

If you want to be very clear that she is ethnically Hausa, you could say something like:

Malama ‘yar Hausa ce – She is a Hausa woman (ethnically) teacher.

The bare form Malamar Hausa is normally understood as Hausa (language) teacher, especially in school contexts.

What does wata mean in amma wata daliba aji ɗaya gajera ce?

Wata is the feminine form of wani / wata, which means “a certain / one / some” and also functions as an indefinite article-like word.

wani dalibi – a certain (male) student / a student
wata daliba – a certain (female) student / a student

So wata daliba is not “the student” but “a (certain) female student”.
It contrasts with Malamar Hausa, which is specific and definite (that particular teacher).

What does aji ɗaya mean here, and why is there no preposition like in?

Aji means “class, grade, classroom group.”
ɗaya means “one”, and in context it can also mean “the same (one)” when something has already been mentioned.

In this sentence:

aji ɗaya suggests “(in) the same class”, i.e. the class that the Hausa teacher teaches.

Hausa often omits a preposition that English would require. You could more explicitly say:

a aji ɗaya – in the same class
cikin aji ɗaya – inside / in the same class

But in many contexts, aji ɗaya after a person can be understood as “(who is) in that same class.”

What is the function of amma, and is the comma needed?

Amma means “but / however.”
It introduces a contrast, just like English “but”:

Malamar Hausa doguwa ce, amma wata daliba aji ɗaya gajera ce.
= The Hausa teacher is tall, but a (certain) student in the same class is short.

The comma before amma is a writing convention to separate the two clauses. In speech, there is just a slight pause; you don’t say the comma, only amma.

Can I put the adjective before the noun, like doguwar Malamar Hausa?

The default and most common word order in Hausa is:

noun + adjective

So:

Malamar Hausa doguwa ce – correct, natural.

However, Hausa sometimes places an adjective before the noun for stylistic or emphatic purposes, but it’s more restricted and can sound literary or marked, and the forms may change slightly. For everyday learner Hausa, you should keep to:

NOUN + ADJECTIVE: malama doguwa, daliba gajera, etc.

So don’t say doguwar Malamar Hausa at this level; use Malamar Hausa doguwa ce.

Why is it daliba here, and what is the masculine form?

Hausa marks gender on many human nouns.

dalibi – student (male)
daliba – student (female)

In the sentence, the student is clearly feminine:

wata daliba … gajera ce

That’s why both the noun (daliba) and the adjective (gajera) and the copula (ce) are all in feminine agreement.
If it were a male student, you’d say:

wani dalibi aji ɗaya gajere ne – a (certain) male student in the same class is short.

How would the whole sentence change if the teacher and student were male?

You would have to change:

the teacher noun to masculine (Malamin),
the student noun to masculine (dalibi),
the adjectives to masculine forms (dogo, gajere),
the copula to masculine ne.

Result:

Malamin Hausa dogo ne, amma wani dalibi aji ɗaya gajere ne.
= The Hausa (male) teacher is tall, but a (certain) male student in the same class is short.

This nicely shows how Hausa marks gender agreement across the noun, adjective, and copula.

What is the sound of ɗ in aji ɗaya, and is it different from d?

Yes, ɗ is different from d in Hausa.

d is a regular voiced d sound, similar to English d in “dog.”
ɗ is an implosive d. You pronounce it with a slight inward movement of air and a “swallowed” quality. There is no direct English equivalent, but Hausa speakers clearly distinguish it.

ɗaya means “one” (and in context “the same one”).
If you wrote daya with plain d, it would either be wrong or at least non-standard in Hausa orthography.

Can ce be dropped in speech, or is it always required?

In careful or standard Hausa (especially in writing and in teaching materials), ne/ce is normally included in sentences like this:

Malamar Hausa doguwa ce.

In everyday colloquial speech, people sometimes drop it when the meaning is clear from context, especially in very short sentences. You might hear:

Malamar Hausa doguwa.
Wata daliba aji ɗaya gajera.

However, as a learner, it is safer and more correct to keep ne/ce in such descriptive sentences, especially in writing or formal situations.