Learn Hardcore Hausa: Mu jira a nan da haƙuri.

Mu jira… means “Let’s wait…” (the speaker includes themself in the action).
Jira a nan da haƙuri. (without mu) is a 2nd‑person singular command:
“Wait here patiently.” (talking to you – one person).

So mu changes it from a direct order to you into a hortative: a suggestion or inclusive command “Let’s (you and I / we all)…”.

What grammatical form is jira here? Is it a tense like past or present?

In this sentence jira is in the subjunctive / bare verb form, not a specific tense like past or present.

Hausa uses independent pronoun + bare verb for “let’s”:
- Mu tafi. – Let’s go.
- Mu je. – Let’s go (there).
- Mu jira. – Let’s wait.

So mu + jira together express “let’s wait”. It’s not a statement (we wait / we are waiting); it’s an inclusive command or suggestion.

Could Mu jira a nan da haƙuri also mean “We are waiting here patiently” as a statement?

No, not in normal usage.

Mu jira… by itself is understood as hortative: “let’s wait…”.
To say “We are waiting here” as a plain statement, you’d typically use an aspect marker like:
- Muna jira a nan. – We are waiting here.
- Muna jiran motar a nan. – We are waiting for the car here.

So Mu jira a nan da haƙuri is understood as “Let’s wait here patiently.”, not “We are (currently) waiting here patiently.”

What is the purpose of a in a nan? Isn’t nan already “here”?

Nan means “here/this place”, but in a nan, the a is a normal preposition meaning at / in / on.

a nan literally: “at here”, which is how Hausa commonly says “here (in this place)”.
You usually say:
- a nan – here (at this place)
- a can – over there / there (at that place)

So while English doesn’t say “at here”, Hausa does: a nan = here in location expressions like this sentence.

Is there any difference between a nan and just nan?

Yes, they’re used a bit differently.

a nan – “here (in this place)”, used as a full locative phrase:
- Mu zauna a nan. – Let’s sit here.
- Ku jira a nan. – Wait here.
nan by itself often attaches to a noun to mean “this X here”:
- mutumin nan – this man (here)
- gidansu nan – their house here

You can sometimes say just nan in very short answers (“Where are you?” – Nan ne. “(I’m) here”), but in a full sentence like this, a nan is the natural choice.

What does da mean in da haƙuri? Is it always just “with”?

In this sentence, da means “with” in the sense of “in a … manner”:

da haƙuri – “with patience” → “patiently”

More generally, da is very common and can mean:

with (together with / in possession of)
- Ina da kudi. – I have money. (literally: I am with money.)
and
- Ali da Musa – Ali and Musa

Here it’s the “with” that forms a manner phrase: da + noun gives something close to an adverb.

Is haƙuri a noun or an adverb? How does da haƙuri end up meaning “patiently”?

Haƙuri is basically a noun meaning “patience, endurance”.

Hausa often makes adverb‑like phrases with da + noun:

da sauri – with speed → quickly
da hankali – with sense → carefully / sensibly
da ƙarfi – with strength → strongly / loudly
da haƙuri – with patience → patiently / calmly

So the structure is literally:

Mu jira [a nan] [da haƙuri].
Let’s wait [here] [with patience]. → “Let’s wait here patiently.”

Does haƙuri have other common uses that affect the feeling of this sentence?

Yes. Haƙuri and the verb phrase yi haƙuri are extremely common:

Yi haƙuri. – Be patient / Please / Sorry / Excuse me.
Don Allah, yi haƙuri. – Please, be patient / Please forgive me.

Because of this, da haƙuri doesn’t just mean “with patience” in a neutral way; it often carries a nuance of “don’t complain, accept it calmly, be tolerant.”

So Mu jira a nan da haƙuri can feel like:

“Let’s wait here patiently and not get upset.”

How do you pronounce haƙuri, and what is the difference between ƙ and k?

Haƙuri has three syllables: ha‑ƙu‑ri.

ha – like “ha” in hard
ƙu – ƙ is an ejective k‑sound. It’s tighter and “poppier” than plain k.
ri – like “ree”

Difference:

k – plain [k], as in English k in kit.
ƙ – an ejective k’; pronounced with a glottal “push”. Hausa treats k and ƙ as different consonants, and they distinguish meaning (e.g. baki vs baƙi are different words).

If you can’t yet produce ƙ perfectly, most people will still understand, but it’s good to learn the contrast.

Is Mu jira a nan da haƙuri polite or strong? How would you make it softer or more forceful?

By itself, Mu jira a nan da haƙuri is fairly neutral and cooperative:

It’s “Let’s wait here patiently,” not “You must wait here.”

To adjust the tone:

Softer / more polite:
- Don Allah, mu jira a nan da haƙuri. – Please, let’s wait here patiently.
- Mu dai jira a nan da haƙuri. – Let’s just wait here patiently.
More forceful (to others, not including yourself):
- Ku jira a nan da haƙuri. – (You all) wait here patiently.
- Ka jira a nan da haƙuri. – (You, singular) wait here patiently.

So mu keeps it inclusive and relatively soft; ka/ku give direct orders.

Does the form change if I’m speaking to one person vs a group?

The meaning “let’s wait…” with mu stays the same whether you’re talking to one person or many; mu always includes “we” (speaker + at least one other).

What changes is when you are commanding others only:

To one person:
- Ka jira a nan da haƙuri. – You (sg.) wait here patiently.
To several people:
- Ku jira a nan da haƙuri. – You (pl.) wait here patiently.
Including yourself (let’s…), regardless of how many listeners:
- Mu jira a nan da haƙuri. – Let’s wait here patiently.

Hausa doesn’t distinguish inclusive vs exclusive “we”; mu covers both, and context tells you who is included.

Can I move da haƙuri to another place, like Mu da haƙuri jira a nan?

No, that would sound wrong.

The normal word order is:

[Subject] [Verb] [Place] [Manner]
Mu (subject) jira (verb) a nan (place) da haƙuri (manner)

So:

✅ Mu jira a nan da haƙuri.
❌ Mu da haƙuri jira a nan.
❌ Mu a nan da haƙuri jira.

Keep da haƙuri after the main verb phrase (and usually after the place phrase) to sound natural.