Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yau darasi zai fara ƙarfe bakwai na safe. - Today the lesson will start at seven o'clock in the morning.

Zai is the future tense marker for he/it in Hausa. Historically it comes from za + ya (“will + he”), but it’s normally just treated as one word.

It tells you that the action will happen (future), so zai fara = he/it will start. Without zai, fara on its own is not marked as future, so the sentence would no longer clearly mean “will start.”

If zai already means “he/it will,” why do we still have darasi in the sentence?

Darasi is the subject (the thing doing the action): the lesson.
Zai contains the pronoun “he/it”, but Hausa typically still states the noun subject as well, just like English does:

Darasi zai fara… – The lesson will start…

You do not say something like *Zai fara ƙarfe bakwai if the subject is important and new in the conversation; you normally name it: Darasi zai fara…

Does zai only work with people, or can it also be used with things like darasi (lesson)?

It works with both. Zai is 3rd person singular masculine, and in Hausa the masculine form is also the default for many inanimate things.

So zai here refers back to darasi (the lesson) in the same way English might use it will.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “at” before ƙarfe bakwai, like in English “at seven o’clock”?

The function of “at” is built into the Hausa word ƙarfe.

ƙarfe bakwai literally means something like “the time of seven” or “seven o’clock”.

So you don’t need to add another word; ƙarfe + number already expresses “at [that clock time]”.

What does ƙarfe really mean, and how is it used?

Ƙarfe is used when telling clock time. You put it before a number:

ƙarfe biyu – two o’clock
ƙarfe huɗu – four o’clock
ƙarfe goma – ten o’clock

In sentences about time, it behaves like “o’clock / at the time of”. You almost always follow ƙarfe with a number; you don’t usually use it alone to mean just “time” in general.

What does na safe mean, and is it the same as saying “a.m.”?

Na means of, and safe means morning. Together na safe = of the morning, which corresponds to English a.m.

Other common time‑of‑day phrases:

na rana – of the daytime / midday
na yamma – of the evening (roughly p.m., late afternoon–evening)
na dare – of the night

So:

ƙarfe bakwai na safe – seven in the morning (7 a.m.)
ƙarfe bakwai na yamma – seven in the evening (7 p.m.)

Can I leave out na safe and just say ƙarfe bakwai?

Yes, if the context already makes it clear whether you mean morning or evening, speakers often just say ƙarfe bakwai.

Yau darasi zai fara ƙarfe bakwai. – Today the lesson will start at seven.

If it might be ambiguous (could be 7 a.m. or 7 p.m.), you add na safe / na yamma / na dare to clarify.

How would I change the sentence to say the lesson is in the evening instead of the morning?

You only need to change the last part:

Yau darasi zai fara ƙarfe bakwai na yamma. – Today the lesson will start at seven in the evening (7 p.m.).

Other examples:

…ƙarfe shida na safe – at six in the morning
…ƙarfe shida na dare – at six at night

What exactly does darasi mean, and does it have to be “lesson” or can it be “class”?

Darasi is a general word for lesson, class, or course (especially an instructional session). Depending on context, it can be translated as:

lesson – e.g. a unit of material
class – a period in the timetable (“English class”, “Maths class”)

In Yau darasi zai fara…, it’s natural English to say “Today the class will start…” or “Today the lesson will start…”.

Why doesn’t Hausa show “the” before lesson? How do I know it’s “the lesson” and not “a lesson”?

Hausa does not use a separate word like English the / a. The same noun darasi can mean “a lesson” or “the lesson”; definiteness is understood from context.

In a school context, everyone already knows which lesson is being talked about (the scheduled one), so English naturally translates it as “the lesson / the class”, even though Hausa just says darasi.

Can the word yau (today) go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Yau is a time word and is very flexible. Common patterns include:

Yau darasi zai fara ƙarfe bakwai na safe. (the original)
Darasi zai fara ƙarfe bakwai na safe yau.
Yau da safe darasi zai fara ƙarfe bakwai. – Today in the morning, the lesson will start at seven.

Putting yau at the beginning is very natural and common, especially when you want to set the time frame first.

How would I say “Today the lesson has started at seven in the morning” (not future, but already done)?

You would drop the future marker zai and use the perfect ya with fara:

Yau darasi ya fara ƙarfe bakwai na safe.

Here:

ya fara = it has started / it started
The meaning is that, today, the lesson either already started at seven or habitually starts then, depending on context.

How do I change the sentence to talk about tomorrow instead of today?

Replace yau (today) with gobe (tomorrow):

Gobe darasi zai fara ƙarfe bakwai na safe. – Tomorrow the lesson will start at seven in the morning.

How do I pronounce ƙarfe bakwai, especially the ƙ sound?

Some quick pronunciation tips:

ƙ in ƙarfe is a special Hausa consonant, an ejective k. You pronounce it with a tighter, more “popped” k sound than in English. It’s not the same as plain k in Hausa.
ƙarfe – roughly KAR-feh, with a short final -e (not like English “karf”).
bakwai – roughly BAK-wai, with both vowels short.

Hausa also has tones (high/low), but they are not written in standard spelling; learners usually pick them up from listening and practice.