Learn Hardcore Hausa: Na ji muryar Baba daga falo lokacin da yake magana da Musa. - I heard father's voice from the living room when he was talking with Musa.

Ina ji uses Ina (I am) with the imperfective/progressive aspect, so it means “I am hearing / I hear (generally, right now or habitually).”

So:

Na ji muryar Baba = I heard Baba’s voice (completed event in the past).
Ina jin muryar Baba = I can hear Baba’s voice (right now) / I hear Baba’s voice.

What exactly does ji mean in Hausa? Does it only mean “hear”?

ji is a very general verb that can mean:

hear:
- Na ji muryar Baba. = I heard Baba’s voice.
feel (physically or emotionally):
- Ina jin zafi. = I feel pain / It hurts.
- Na ji daɗi. = I felt pleased / I enjoyed it.
smell / taste in some expressions:
- Na ji ƙamshi. = I smelled a nice scent.

In your sentence, from context (muryar Baba = Baba’s voice), ji clearly means “to hear.”

Why is it muryar Baba and not just murya Baba?

murya = voice
When you want to say “X’s voice” (voice of X), Hausa usually uses a linker (called maƙala), which often appears as -r or -n / -m attached to the first noun.

murya
- -r
  - Baba → muryar Baba = Baba’s voice / the voice of Baba

Other examples:

motar Malam = the teacher’s car (motar = motor + r)
sunan Musa = Musa’s name

So muryar Baba literally is “voice-of Baba,” which is how Hausa expresses possession or close association.

Is Baba here a name or does it just mean “father”?

Baba in Hausa literally means “father / dad”, but it is also commonly used as a form of address or a proper name.

In context, muryar Baba can mean:

“my father’s voice” if the speaker’s father is called Baba, or they commonly call him that;
“Baba’s voice” where Baba is just a name (even if he isn’t the biological father).

Hausa often uses kinship terms (Baba, Mama, Yaya, etc.) almost like names when addressing or referring to close people.

What does daga mean in daga falo, and could I use a falo instead?

daga generally means “from” (indicating source or origin):

daga gida = from home
daga ƙofa = from the door

In your sentence:

daga falo = from the living room / from the sitting room

It tells you where the sound is coming from.

a usually means “in / at / on”:

a falo = in the living room

If you said Na ji muryar Baba a falo, that would suggest you were in the living room hearing his voice there.
Na ji muryar Baba daga falo suggests you were somewhere else, and the voice was coming from the living room.

What is the role of lokacin da in this sentence? Does da here mean “and”?

lokacin = the time / the moment
da in lokacin da does not mean “and” here. Instead, lokacin da together works like “when” in English.

lokacin da yake magana = (the time) when he was talking

So in the sentence:

... daga falo lokacin da yake magana da Musa.
= from the living room when he was talking with Musa.

This da is a kind of linker / relative marker, similar to “that / when” in English.

What does yake express in lokacin da yake magana? Why not yana magana?

yake is the 3rd person singular (he/she/it) form of “to be” in the imperfective aspect when used in certain types of clauses, especially relative or subordinate clauses like those introduced by lokacin da.

Yana magana. = He is speaking / He speaks. (main clause)
lokacin da yake magana = when he was speaking

After lokacin da (the time when), Hausa usually prefers yake instead of yana:

Lokacin da yake magana, na ji muryarsa.
= When he was speaking, I heard his voice.

Both yake magana and yana magana involve an ongoing action, but:

yana magana is more typical in a standalone main sentence.
yake magana is the form you normally see inside these “when/that” clauses.

So your sentence is following a very natural Hausa pattern.

In magana da Musa, what does da mean? Is it the same da as in lokacin da?

In magana da Musa, da means “with”:

magana = speech / talking
magana da Musa = talking with Musa / talking to Musa

So da here is a preposition meaning “with”.

In lokacin da, the da works more like a linker / relative word meaning roughly “that / when”.

So they are the same written word da, but they have different functions:

lokacin da → “the time that/when …”
magana da Musa → “talking with Musa”

Could I change the word order, for example say Na ji daga falo muryar Baba?

The most natural, neutral order is:

Na ji muryar Baba daga falo...

If you say Na ji daga falo muryar Baba, it is still understandable, but it sounds less natural and can feel a bit marked or stylistic. Hausa generally prefers:

Verb
Direct object (what you heard: muryar Baba)
Oblique/prepositional phrases (from where, when, etc.: daga falo lokacin da...)

So this order:

Na ji [muryar Baba] [daga falo] [lokacin da yake magana da Musa].

is the best pattern to copy.

Does the sentence change if the speaker is female?

No, the sentence stays exactly the same whether the speaker is male or female:

Na ji muryar Baba daga falo lokacin da yake magana da Musa.

The Na form for “I (perfective)” does not change with gender. Hausa pronouns do not distinguish gender in the first person (“I”, “we”).

How would I say “I often hear Baba’s voice from the living room when he is talking to Musa” (habitual), not just one time?

To express a habitual action, Hausa often uses na kan or ina yawan before the verb, or just the imperfective in the right context.

A natural way:

Ina yawan jin muryar Baba daga falo lokacin da yake magana da Musa.
= I often hear Baba’s voice from the living room when he is talking to Musa.

Or more simply:

Na kan ji muryar Baba daga falo lokacin da yake magana da Musa.
= I usually / often hear Baba’s voice from the living room when he is talking to Musa.

Here, Na kan ji or Ina yawan jin show that it’s something that happens regularly, not just once.