Learn Hardcore Hausa: Watakila ni da kai mu yi karatu a gida maimakon mu tafi aji. - Maybe you and I will study at home instead of going to class.

Yes, both ni da kai (“I and you”) and mu (“we”) refer to the same people, so it can feel redundant to an English speaker, but in Hausa this is perfectly normal.

ni da kai = I and you (explicit listing of the participants)
mu = we (1st person plural subject marker before the verb)

In Hausa, it is very common to:

First enumerate the people: ni da kai, su Musa da Amina, ni da su, etc.
Then use the appropriate subject pronoun before the verb: mu, su, muna, etc.

So Watakila ni da kai mu yi karatu… literally feels like:
“Maybe I and you, we should study…”

You could also say just Watakila mu yi karatu…, and it would still mean “Maybe we should study…”, but adding ni da kai makes it explicit that the “we” is specifically “you and I,” not some other group that includes the speaker.

What exactly does watakila mean, and does it change the verb form that follows it?

Watakila means “maybe / perhaps”. It expresses possibility or uncertainty.

Grammatically, it’s followed by the subjunctive form for planned or hypothetical actions. For 1st person plural, that is mu + verb:

Watakila mu yi karatu. – Maybe we should study.
Watakila mu tafi. – Maybe we should go.

So watakila doesn’t conjugate the verb by itself, but it tends to go with that “mu + bare verb” (subjunctive) pattern when you’re talking about what might be done.

What is the role of yi in mu yi karatu? Why not just say mu karatu?

In Hausa, yi is the verb “to do, to make”, and it is very often used with verbal nouns to create an action meaning.

karatu = “reading, study” (a noun)
yi karatu = “do reading/study” → to study / to read (for school)

So:

mu yi karatu = “let’s do study” → let’s study / we should study

You cannot normally say mu karatu by itself as a verb. You need yi to “activate” the noun karatu into the action “to study.”

Compare:

Aiki (work) → yi aiki (to work)
Tafiya (journey) → yi tafiya (to travel / go on a journey)

What’s the difference between yi karatu and karanta? Both seem related to “read / study.”

Both are related, but they’re used a bit differently:

karanta is a simple verb meaning “to read (something)”
- Na karanta littafi. – I read a book.
yi karatu uses yi
- the noun karatu (“reading, study”) to mean “to study, to do schoolwork, to engage in learning/reading.”
- Na yi karatu. – I studied / I did some reading (often school-related).

In this sentence, mu yi karatu suggests “let’s study / do our studies”, not just “let’s read (any random text).” It’s slightly more academic or school-focused in feel.

Why is it a gida and not just gida? What does a do here?

a is a preposition meaning roughly “in / at / on” (depending on context).

gida = house, home
a gida = at home / in the house

So:

mu yi karatu a gida = we should study at home

Without a, gida would just be “home/house” as a bare noun, not clearly showing location. You could drop a in some casual speech, but a gida is the standard and clear way to say “at home.”

What does maimakon mean exactly, and how does it work in the sentence?

maimakon means “instead of” or “rather than.”

Structure-wise, it’s followed by whatever you would have done but are choosing not to:

A maimakon B = A instead of B

In this sentence:

mu yi karatu a gida = we should study at home
maimakon mu tafi aji = instead of us going to class

So the full idea is:
“Maybe we (you and I) should study at home instead of (us) going to class.”

Notice that after maimakon you again use the subjunctive-type subject: mu tafi (we go / we should go).

Why is it mu tafi aji and not something like mu je aji? Are tafī and je different?

Both tafi and je can translate as “to go,” but they’re used differently:

tafi is the main, fully inflected verb “to go (away, depart).”
- Na tafi gida. – I went home.
je is more of a movement auxiliary/defective verb; it combines with another verb or complements it. You typically don’t say mu je aji alone to mean “we go to class” in the same direct way.

In standard usage, for a simple “go to X” meaning, tafi is the straightforward choice:

mu tafi aji – we (should) go to class
Sun tafi kasuwa. – They went to the market.

So mu tafi aji here is the expected form.

What does aji mean? Is it “class” as in a group of people, or “classroom” as a place?

aji in Hausa can mean both:

The class as a group of learners (e.g., “my class in school”), and
The class session / the classroom, depending on context.

In mu tafi aji, the most natural reading is “go to class” (the place/session where teaching happens). It’s very similar to English “go to class,” which can mean both going to the room and attending the lesson.

Why is the word order Watakila ni da kai mu yi karatu a gida maimakon mu tafi aji? Could I move watakila somewhere else?

The given word order is very natural:

Watakila – sets the mood: maybe/perhaps
ni da kai – specifies who is being talked about: you and I
mu yi karatu a gida – the main suggested action
maimakon mu tafi aji – the alternative that is being rejected

You can move watakila a bit, but it’s most common at or near the beginning:

Watakila mu yi karatu a gida… – Maybe we should study at home…
Mu yi karatu a gida watakila… – Sounds less typical and a bit marked; it can sound like you’re adding “maybe” as an afterthought.

So keeping watakila at the front is the most natural pattern.

Is this sentence about the future? There’s no word like “will.” How is tense being shown?

Hausa often uses context + verb form to express future or intended actions, rather than always using a separate “will.”

Here, mu yi and mu tafi are subjunctive forms (used for suggestions, intentions, hypotheticals):

mu yi karatu – (that) we do study → we should / let’s study
mu tafi aji – (that) we go to class → we should go to class

Because you’re talking about what you might do (not something happening right now or in the past), the meaning is future or prospective: “Maybe we should (later/now) study at home instead of going to class.”

If you wanted a more clearly future-looking form, you could say:

Watakila za mu yi karatu a gida maimakon mu tafi aji.
Here za mu explicitly marks future (“we will / we are going to”).

How strong is the suggestion in mu yi karatu? Is it like “let’s study,” “we should study,” or “we must study”?

mu + verb (subjunctive) in Hausa typically carries a suggestion / proposal meaning, often close to English “let’s …” or “we should …”.

Mu yi karatu. – Let’s study / We should study.
Mu tafi. – Let’s go / We should go.

It’s usually not as strong as “we must”; it’s more cooperative and inclusive, like inviting or suggesting a joint action. Adding watakila (“maybe”) makes it even softer and more tentative:

Watakila mu yi karatu… – Maybe we should study… (very gentle suggestion)

How would this sentence change if I wanted to say “Maybe they should study at home instead of going to class”?

You would change the subject from “I and you / we” to “they”:

Watakila su yi karatu a gida maimakon su tafi aji.

Breakdown:

su – they (3rd person plural subject)
su yi karatu – they should study
su tafi aji – they go to class

So the structure stays the same; only ni da kai / mu becomes su, and you use su both in the main clause and after maimakon.