Learn Hardcore Hausa: Uwa tana wanke min gashi a bandaki da safiya. - Mother washes my hair for me in the bathroom in the morning.

ta = she (3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun)
na (when attached) = imperfective/progressive marker
Together as tana = she (is) doing / she (does) in the imperfective aspect.

The imperfective in Hausa covers:

Actions happening right now: “Mother is washing my hair.”
Repeated / habitual actions: “Mother washes my hair (in general).”

Context usually tells you whether it is “is washing” or “washes” in English.

Why do we need both Uwa and tana? Isn’t tana already “she”?

Yes, tana includes “she”, but in Hausa this subject pronoun is still required even if you already say Uwa.

Uwa = “mother” (a noun)
tana = “she is / she does” (pronoun + aspect)

Standard Hausa grammar normally wants:

Noun (or name) + subject pronoun + verb

So Uwa tana wanke… is normal and correct.
Leaving out tana (✗ Uwa wanke min gashi…) is not natural in standard Hausa.

What does min mean in wanke min gashi?

min here means “for me / to me”.

It is a short form of mini = “for me”. In this sentence:

wanke gashi = “wash hair”
wanke min gashi = “wash hair for me” → “wash my hair”

So min shows that the action is done for my benefit, like an indirect object:

Uwa tana dafa min abinci. = “Mother is cooking food for me.”
Uwa tana wanke min gashi. = “Mother is washing my hair (for me).”

Why is it min gashi and not something like gashina for “my hair”?

Both patterns are possible, but they differ slightly in feel:

min gashi = “hair for me” → focuses on who benefits
gashina = “my hair” → simple possession

You could say:

Uwa tana wanke gashina. = “Mother is washing my hair.”
Uwa tana wanke min gashi. = “Mother is washing hair for me / is doing my hair.”

min gashi often sounds more like a service being done for you, a bit like English “doing my hair” rather than just “washing my hair”.

Does Uwa here automatically mean “my mother”? Why not uwata?

In many real-life contexts, just saying Uwa can mean “(my) mother”, because:

Kinship terms (mother, father, elder brother, etc.) are often used without a possessive pronoun when context is clear.
If you are talking about your own family, people understand Uwa as “my mother”.

However, you can make it explicit:

uwata = “my mother”
- Uwa tana wanke min gashi…
- Uwata tana wanke min gashi…

Both are grammatically fine. Uwata is just more explicit that it is your mother.

What does gashi mean exactly? Is it only head hair?

gashi generally means “hair”, and often especially hair on the head.

It can also be used more broadly:

gashin kai = hair of the head
gashin jikinsa = his body hair
gashin kaji = chicken feathers (in some usages)

But in an everyday sentence like wanke min gashi, the default interpretation is “my hair (on my head)”, unless you specify otherwise.

What does a mean in a bandaki, and is it always “in”?

a is a very common preposition that usually corresponds to “in / at / on”, depending on context.

a bandaki = “in the bathroom / in the toilet”
a gida = “at home / in the house”
a kasuwa = “at the market”
a kan tebur = “on the table”

So a bandaki here is “in the bathroom”. The exact English preposition (“in” vs “at”) is decided by English style, but Hausa just uses a.

Does bandaki mean “bathroom” or “toilet”? Is there any difference?

bandaki (often written banɗaki in careful orthography) is used for:

Toilet / latrine / bathroom, depending on the setting.

In many Hausa-speaking environments, banɗaki historically referred to a toilet/latrine area, but in modern houses it can also refer to a bathroom with a shower, or a combined bathroom/toilet.

So a bandaki is best translated by context:

Here: “in the bathroom”
In another context: possibly “in the toilet / in the restroom”

How should I understand da safiya? Literally it looks like “with morning”.

Literally, da often means “and / with”, but in time expressions like da safiya it functions more like “in the / at”:

da safiya = “in the morning”
da rana = “in the afternoon / daytime”
da yamma = “in the evening”
da dare = “at night”

So here da safiya is a fixed time expression: “in the morning”. It’s not really “with morning” in meaning.

Can I move da safiya to another position in the sentence?

Yes. Hausa word order is fairly flexible for time and place phrases.

All of these are possible and natural, with slightly different emphasis:

Da safiya, Uwa tana wanke min gashi a bandaki.
Uwa tana wanke min gashi da safiya a bandaki.
Uwa tana wanke min gashi a bandaki da safiya. (your version)

The basic pattern often is:

[Time] [Subject] [Aspect/Pronoun] [Verb] [Object(s)] [Place] [Time]

But placing da safiya at the end, as in the given sentence, is very common and perfectly acceptable.

Is tana wanke specifically present continuous (“is washing now”), or can it also mean a routine?

tana wanke is Hausa imperfective, which can cover both:

Present ongoing:
- “Mother is washing my hair (right now).”
Habitual / regular:
- “Mother washes my hair (in the mornings).”

To make habitual meaning very clear, speakers might add adverbs like:

kullum = always / every day
a kai a kai = from time to time
yawan with the verb sometimes

But even without extra words, tana wanke min gashi da safiya can easily be understood as a repeated morning routine, especially with da safiya.