Learn Hardcore Hausa: Likita ya ce dole ne ta sha magani sau uku a rana. - The doctor said she must take medicine three times a day.

Likita ya ce – ya refers back to Likita (the doctor), assumed to be grammatically masculine here.
dole ne ta sha magani – ta refers to a different person, a female patient: she must take medicine.

So:

ya = he = the doctor (speaker)
ta = she = the person who must take the medicine

Could it be Likita ta ce instead of Likita ya ce?

Yes, if you specifically mean a female doctor, you can say:

Likita ta ce dole ne ta sha magani sau uku a rana.
The (female) doctor said she must take medicine three times a day.

The subject pronoun agrees in gender with the noun:

Likita ya ce … → doctor (masc.) said…
Likita ta ce … → doctor (fem.) said…

In everyday speech, ya is also often used generically if the doctor’s gender is not important or not specified.

What exactly does dole ne mean, and can I say just dole?

dole expresses strong necessity or obligation: must, have to, be obliged to.

dole ne literally is like saying it is obligatory that…
- dole – necessity
- ne – copular particle (roughly like is)

In modern Hausa speech you will often hear both:

Dole ne ta sha magani.
Dole ta sha magani.

Both are understood as She must take medicine. Using ne can sound a bit more “careful” or “explicit”, but dropping it is very common and still correct in many contexts.

What is the role of ne in dole ne? Is it the same as saying “is” in English?

ne is a copular particle. It often links a predicate (like dole) to what it is talking about.

In dole ne ta sha magani:

dole – obligation
ne – links dole with the clause ta sha magani

It does not translate neatly as a stand‑alone is in English, but functionally you can think of the structure as:

It is a must that she take medicine.

With certain words (like dole, wajibi, etc.), ne is very common, though in casual speech it may be omitted.

If sha means “to drink”, why do we say ta sha magani for “she takes medicine”?

In Hausa, sha means to drink, but it is also the standard verb used with magani (medicine):

sha ruwa – to drink water
sha madara – to drink milk
sha magani – to take medicine (literally “drink medicine”)

Even if the medicine is a pill, Hausa still usually uses sha magani. So ta sha magani = she took medicine, and with dole ne it becomes she must take medicine.

Why is it sau uku a rana and not something like lokaci uku a rana?

Both sau and lokaci can mean time/occasion, but in this frequency pattern, Hausa strongly prefers sau:

sau uku a rana – three times a day
sau biyu a mako – twice a week
sau ɗaya a shekara – once a year

lokaci is more like “time” in the sense of a period or moment (e.g. a wannan lokaci – at this time), while sau + number is the usual way to say “X times” (frequency).

What does a rana add? Could we say just sau uku?

sau uku = three times (without saying how often per what)
a rana = in a day / per day

Together:

sau uku a rana – three times a day

If the context has already made “per day” obvious, you may sometimes hear just sau uku, but sau uku a rana is the full, clear form, especially for instructions (like a doctor’s order).

Where exactly does the “must” meaning come from in the second part of the sentence?

The “must” meaning comes from dole (ne):

ta sha magani by itself: she took medicine / she has taken medicine (depending on context)
dole ne ta sha magani: she must take medicine

So the structure is:

dole (ne) → expresses obligation (must / have to)
ta sha magani → the action (her taking medicine)

Together: it is necessary that she take medicine → she must take medicine.

Can I add cewa after ya ce? For example: Likita ya ce cewa dole ne ta sha magani…?

Yes, you can say:

Likita ya ce cewa dole ne ta sha magani sau uku a rana.

cewa works like a complementizer, similar to English that in “He said that…”.

Both forms are common:

Likita ya ce dole ne ta sha magani…
Likita ya ce cewa dole ne ta sha magani…

The version without cewa is a bit shorter and very natural in speech. Adding cewa is often slightly more explicit or formal, but the meaning is the same.

What is the difference between Likita ya ce ta sha magani sau uku a rana and Likita ya ce dole ne ta sha magani sau uku a rana?

Likita ya ce ta sha magani sau uku a rana.
- Literally: The doctor said she took medicine three times a day.
- In some contexts it can be understood as “he said she should take medicine”, but grammatically it is just a reported statement about her action.
Likita ya ce dole ne ta sha magani sau uku a rana.
- Clearly: The doctor said she must take medicine three times a day.
- dole ne adds explicit obligation.

So the second sentence removes ambiguity: it is clearly a prescription / order, not just a statement about what she did.

How would I say “The doctor said she doesn’t have to take medicine three times a day”?

You can negate the obligation part:

Likita ya ce ba dole ba ne ta sha magani sau uku a rana.

Breakdown:

ba … ba ne around dole – is not obligatory
Whole clause: The doctor said it is not necessary that she take medicine three times a day.

You could also say:

Likita ya ce ba lallai ba ne ta sha magani sau uku a rana.
(ba lallai ba ne = it is not really necessary / not essential)

What is the plural of magani, and would it change anything here?

The plural of magani is magunguna (medicines, drugs, remedies).

magani – medicine (as a general mass noun, or one type)
magunguna – medicines, multiple different drugs / types

In your sentence, magani is fine and natural because the focus is on the treatment in general, not on counting the number of different drugs. If you wanted to stress that she has several different medicines, you might say:

Likita ya ce dole ne ta sha magunguna sau uku a rana.
The doctor said she must take the medicines three times a day.