Learn Hardcore Hausa: Don Allah kar ka dame ni yanzu, domin ina karatu. - Please don’t bother me now, because I am studying.

However, it’s a bit stronger and more emotionally loaded than a neutral English please; it feels closer to “for God’s sake, please…” in tone, though in everyday Hausa it’s completely normal and polite, not dramatic or rude.

How does the negative command kar ka dame ni work? What does kar ka mean?

Kar ka is a way to say “don’t (you)…!” when speaking to a singular male.

Breakdown:

kar – a negative imperative/command marker, like “don’t”
ka – 2nd person singular masculine subject pronoun (“you” – male)

So:

kar ka dame ni ≈ “don’t you disturb me”

The pattern is:

kar ka … – “don’t (you, m.singular) …”
kar ki … – “don’t (you, f.singular) …”
kar ku … – “don’t (you, plural) …”

Example:

Kar ka tafi. – “Don’t go.” (to a man)
Kar ki tafi. – “Don’t go.” (to a woman)
Kar ku tafi. – “Don’t go.” (to more than one person)

Could we say kada ka dame ni instead of kar ka dame ni? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can. Both are correct:

Don Allah kar ka dame ni yanzu
Don Allah kada ka dame ni yanzu

They both mean roughly “Please don’t disturb me now.”

Subtlety:

kar is shorter and very common in everyday speech.
kada is slightly more formal or more common in written/standard style, but you also hear it in speech.

Functionally, in this kind of sentence, kar ka and kada ka are interchangeable.

What does dame ni mean exactly, and why do we need ni?

dame is a verb meaning “to disturb / bother / annoy.”
ni is the 1st person singular object pronoun, meaning “me.”

So:

dame ni = “disturb me” / “bother me”

You need ni because in Hausa the object pronoun is usually expressed explicitly:

dame shi – disturb him
dame ta – disturb her
dame su – disturb them
dame ni – disturb me

So kar ka dame ni = “don’t (you) disturb me.”

Why is there ni in dame ni, but no ni in ina karatu?

This is about objects vs. subjects:

dame ni:
- dame = verb “disturb”
- ni = object “me”
  You need ni because it’s the object of the verb.
ina karatu:
- ina already includes the subject “I” (it’s an “I am”–type form)
- karatu literally “reading/study”

So:

ina karatu ≈ “I am reading/studying.”

You don’t say ni ina karatu in this simple sentence, because ina already tells you it’s “I.”

What exactly does ina karatu mean? Is it “I read” or “I am reading”?

Ina karatu is progressive/ongoing:

Closest in English: “I am studying” / “I am reading” (right now / these days).

Details:

ina – “I (am)” in a continuous/aspectual sense
karatu – “reading” or “study/schooling”

So:

Ina karatu yanzu. – “I am studying now.”
Ina karatu a jami’a. – “I am in school at the university / I study at the university.”

For simple past, you’d change the verb form:

Na yi karatu. – “I studied / I have studied.”

Does karatu always mean “study,” or can it also mean just “reading a book”?

Karatu covers both:

Reading in the literal sense:
- Ina karatu. – “I’m reading.” (commonly understood as “I’m reading something.”)
- Ina yin karatun littafi. – “I am reading a book.”
Studying / education / schoolwork:
- Ina karatu a makaranta. – “I study at school / I’m in school.”
- Na gama karatu. – “I’ve finished my studies / schooling.”

In your sentence, domin ina karatu is naturally understood as “because I’m studying (now)”, but context could also mean “because I’m reading.”

What does domin mean here, and how is it different from saboda?

Domin in this sentence means “because”:

… domin ina karatu. – “…because I am studying.”

Common meanings of domin:

because
for / for the sake of
in order to

Difference from saboda:

saboda also means “because / due to / because of.”
domin is often a bit more formal or can carry an idea of purpose (“for the sake of / in order to”), depending on context.

In this sentence you could say:

… domin ina karatu.
… saboda ina karatu.

Both are fine and would be understood as “because I’m studying.”

Why is yanzu placed where it is? Can I move it around in the sentence?

In your sentence:

Don Allah kar ka dame ni yanzu, domin ina karatu.
– “… don’t disturb me now, because I’m studying.”

Yanzu = “now.” It can move somewhat freely for emphasis:

Don Allah kar ka dame ni yanzu, domin ina karatu.
– natural; neutral emphasis.
Yanzu, don Allah kar ka dame ni, domin ina karatu.
– starts with “Now,” for a more contrastive or emphatic feel (“Right now, please don’t disturb me…”).
Don Allah kar ka dame ni, domin ina karatu yanzu.
– shifts the focus to when you are studying (“…because I am studying now.”)

All are grammatically acceptable; you just slightly change which part is emphasized.

Is this sentence polite, or does it sound rude in Hausa?

It is polite and normal, especially because of:

Don Allah – “please / for God’s sake”
The clear explanation domin ina karatu – “because I’m studying”

However, like in English, tone of voice and context matter. Shouted, it can feel sharp, just as “For God’s sake, don’t bother me, I’m studying!” could feel sharp.

To make it even softer, speakers might add more polite elements:

Don Allah, kar ka dame ni yanzu kadan, domin ina karatu.
(“Please don’t disturb me for a little while now, because I’m studying.”)

Why is it kar ka (masculine)? What would I say to a woman or to more than one person?

Hausa changes the pronoun according to gender and number:

kar ka – “don’t (you, singular male)…”
kar ki – “don’t (you, singular female)…”
kar ku – “don’t (you, plural)… or polite plural”

So you get:

To a man:
Don Allah kar ka dame ni yanzu, domin ina karatu.
To a woman:
Don Allah kar ki dame ni yanzu, domin ina karatu.
To several people:
Don Allah kar ku dame ni yanzu, domin ina karatu.

What is the word order in this sentence from a grammatical point of view?

The structure is:

Don Allah – politeness/request phrase (“please / for God’s sake”)
kar ka dame ni yanzu – main clause, negative command
- kar ka – “don’t (you, m.sg.)”
- dame – “disturb”
- ni – “me”
- yanzu – “now”
domin ina karatu – reason clause (“because I am studying”)
- domin – “because”
- ina – “I am” (progressive)
- karatu – “studying / reading”

So overall:

[Polite marker] + [Don’t you disturb me now] + [because I’m studying].

Could this sentence ever mean “Please don’t bother God now, because I’m studying” or something weird like that?

No. Native speakers will not interpret it that way.

Don Allah is a fixed expression meaning “please / for God’s sake.”
It does not normally mean “for God” as a real object of “disturb.”

So the only natural reading is:

“Please don’t disturb me now, because I’m studying.”