Breakdown of Idan muka yi abin da doka ta ce da haƙuri, ɗan sanda ba zai tsayar da mu ba.
Questions & Answers about Idan muka yi abin da doka ta ce da haƙuri, ɗan sanda ba zai tsayar da mu ba.
Idan most often means if or when and is used to introduce a condition or a time clause.
In this sentence, Idan introduces the condition:
- Idan muka yi… = If / When we do…
Context decides whether you translate it as if (conditional) or when/whenever (general habit). Here, both are possible in English:
- If we do what the law says…
- When(ever) we do what the law says…
Hausa has different forms of the subject pronouns depending on the structure of the clause.
- mun yi = we did / we have done (normal perfective)
- muka yi = we did / we do in a relative/focus/subordinate environment, like after Idan, lokacin da, wanda, etc.
Here, Idan creates a special kind of clause (a conditional / subordinate clause), so Hausa uses the relative perfective form muka instead of mun:
- Idan muka yi… (correct)
- ✗ Idan mun yi… (sounds wrong or at least very unusual)
Even though the Hausa form is perfective, English naturally uses a present tense in if-clauses:
- Idan muka yi… → If we do… (not if we did in this kind of general statement)
Abin da is literally the thing that, and it’s a very common way to express what (as a relative pronoun) in Hausa.
- abu = thing
- abin = the thing (with the definite -n)
- da = that / which (here, a relative marker)
So:
- abin da doka ta ce = the thing that the law says = what the law says
In everyday writing and speech you will also see:
- abinda (everything merged)
- abin da (separated; more clearly shows the components)
They mean the same thing in this kind of structure.
Breakdown:
- abin da = what / the thing that
- doka = law
- ta ce = it (feminine) said / says
So the structure is:
- [abin da] [doka] [ta ce]
- what
- law
- it (fem.) says
- law
The subject of ta ce is doka:
- doka ta ce = the law says
The whole phrase:
- abin da doka ta ce = what the law says
In Hausa, nouns have grammatical gender (masculine or feminine), and verbs agree with that gender through the subject pronoun:
- ya ce = he said / it (masc.) said
- ta ce = she said / it (fem.) said
The noun doka (law) is grammatically feminine, so you must use ta:
- doka ta ce = the law says
Using ya ce here would be grammatically wrong:
- ✗ doka ya ce (incorrect)
Literally:
- da = with
- haƙuri = patience; endurance; tolerance
So da haƙuri = with patience.
Hausa often forms an adverb-like meaning with da + noun:
- da sauri = with speed → quickly
- da hankali = with care → carefully
- da haƙuri = with patience → patiently
So here:
- Idan muka yi … da haƙuri = If we do … with patience / patiently
Yes, it’s the same basic da, which has several related uses:
And:
- Ali da Musa = Ali and Musa
With (comitative / instrument / manner):
- Ina tafiya da kai. = I’m going with you.
- da haƙuri = with patience → patiently
As a “have” verb when used with ina:
- Ina da kuɗi. = I have money. (literally: I am with money.)
In da haƙuri, it is the with / manner use.
Literally:
- ɗa / ɗan = son / child (masculine, often used as “guy/man of …”)
- sanda = stick, baton, rod
So ɗan sanda is something like “man of the stick”, i.e. the man with a baton → policeman.
Plural:
- ɗan sanda (sg.) = policeman
- 'yan sanda (pl.) = policemen / the police
Notice:
- The ɗ often drops in the plural spelling: ɗan → 'yan.
Standard Hausa sentence negation usually uses ba … ba (a pair):
- First ba comes before the verb phrase.
- Second ba closes the clause.
In the future tense:
- zai tsayar da mu = he will stop us
- ba zai tsayar da mu ba = he will not stop us
So in the full sentence:
- ɗan sanda = the policeman
- ba zai tsayar da mu ba = will not stop us
Together:
- ɗan sanda ba zai tsayar da mu ba. = The policeman will not stop us.
Dropping the second ba is non‑standard and sounds incomplete in careful speech.
Historically, zai comes from za ya:
- za (future marker) + ya (he / it masc.) → za ya → zai
In modern standard Hausa, the future with 3rd person masculine is usually written as a single word:
- zai tsayar da mu = he will stop us
Similarly:
- za ta → often written zata (she/it fem. will)
- za su → often written zasu (they will), though some prefer to keep them separate.
So zai here is the he/it will form of the future verb phrase.
tsaya = to stand / to stop (oneself) (intransitive)
- Motar ta tsaya. = The car stopped / stood still.
tsayar da = to make (someone/something) stop; to stop (someone) (causative / transitive)
- Ɗan sanda ya tsayar da mu. = The policeman stopped us (made us stop).
So:
- tsaya = stop/stand yourself.
- tsayar da = cause someone/something else to stop.
In the sentence:
- zai tsayar da mu = he will stop us (cause us to stop).
Both are 1st person plural (we/us), but they have different grammatical roles:
muka (in muka yi) = we as the subject in a relative/conditional clause.
- muka = mu (we) + relative perfective marker.
mu (in tsayar da mu) = us as the object of the verb.
- tsayar da mu = stop us
So:
- Idan muka yi … = If we do …
- ba zai tsayar da mu ba = he will not stop us
Yes. You can change wording while keeping the meaning that if we obey the law patiently, the police won’t stop us. For example:
- Idan muka bi doka da haƙuri, ɗan sanda ba zai tsayar da mu ba.
- bi doka = follow/obey the law
Or, to make it sound even more natural:
- Idan muka bi dokar da haƙuri, 'yan sanda ba za su tsayar da mu ba.
- dokar = the law (with the definite genitive ending)
- 'yan sanda = policemen / the police (plural)
- ba za su tsayar da mu ba = they will not stop us
All of these express essentially the same idea, with minor stylistic differences.