Learn Hardcore Hausa: Bayan mun gama cin abinci, yara za su huta. - After we finish eating, the children will rest.

It introduces a time clause: Bayan mun gama cin abinci = After we finished eating.
It normally comes at the beginning of the clause it introduces, just like “after” in English when used as a conjunction.

You can also flip the clauses in Hausa, just like in English:

Bayan mun gama cin abinci, yara za su huta.
After we finish eating, the children will rest.
Yara za su huta bayan mun gama cin abinci.
The children will rest after we finish eating.

Both orders are natural.

What exactly does mun mean, and how is it different from mu?

Mu is the independent pronoun “we”.

Mun is a combined form: it’s the subject pronoun “we” + perfective marker (often written together), roughly “we have / we did”.

So in:

Mun gama cin abinci.
We have finished eating / We finished eating.

mun marks:

subject: we
aspect: completed action (perfective)

You cannot say *mu gama cin abinci in this context; you must use the perfective form mun with the verb.

What is the role of gama in mun gama cin abinci?

Gama is a verb meaning “to finish, to complete”.

mun gama cin abinci literally: “we have finished the eating of food”
functionally: “we have finished eating (the meal)”

So the structure is:

mun = we (perfective)
gama = finished
cin abinci = eating food / the meal

Together: mun gama cin abinci = “we’ve finished eating”.

Why is it cin abinci and not just ci abinci?

Ci is the basic verb “to eat”.
Cin is its verbal noun / gerund form, i.e. “eating”.

In Hausa:

Verb: ci = to eat
Verbal noun: cin = eating

The verb gama (finish) normally takes a verbal noun after it:

gama cin abinci = finish eating food
gama yin aiki = finish doing work (from yi → yin)

So cin abinci functions like English “the eating (of) food” → “eating (food)”.

Does abinci mean “food” in general or a specific “meal”?

Abinci literally means “food”, but in everyday speech it very often refers to a meal (“our food” = “our meal”):

cin abinci: eating food / having a meal
Lokacin abinci. = Mealtime.

So in this sentence, mun gama cin abinci is best understood as “we have finished our meal / we have finished eating”, not just “we have finished food” in a literal sense.

Who is included in mun (“we”) here? Is it the same “we” as the children?

Grammatically, mun simply means “we”, and yara means “children”.

The sentence only tells us:

we have finished eating
the children will rest afterward

It does not specify:

whether “we” includes the children or not
whether “we” are the parents/adults, or a larger group that includes everyone

Context would decide that. Grammatically, they are two different subjects:

mun (we) → in the first clause
yara (children) → in the second clause

What does yara mean exactly, and is it singular or plural?

Yara means “children” and is plural.

Singular: yaro = boy / child (male)
Singular: yarinya = girl (female)
Plural: yara = children (boys and/or girls)

In this sentence, yara clearly refers to more than one child.

What does za su mean, and why is it two words?

Za su marks the future tense for third person plural (“they will”).

Breakdown:

za = future marker (“will / shall / going to”)
su = “they” (3rd person plural subject pronoun)

So:

yara za su huta: the children will rest (“children they-will rest”)

Other forms for comparison:

zan je = I will go (za + ni → zan)
za ka je = you (m.sg) will go
za ta je = she will go
za su je = they will go

With su, it usually stays as two words: za su.

What does huta mean, and does it always mean “sleep”?

Huta means “to rest”, “to relax”, “to take a break”.

It does not necessarily mean “to sleep”, though sleep might be part of resting. It’s closer to:

yara za su huta = the children will rest / take a break / relax

If you specifically want “sleep”, you’d more likely use something like “barci” (sleep) or a verb built from it, depending on the construction.

What tenses/aspects are being used in each part of the sentence?

There are two main parts:

Bayan mun gama cin abinci
- mun gama = perfective aspect (completed action) → “we have finished / we finished”
- So this is a completed action in the (near) past or just before another action.
yara za su huta
- za su = future tense marker for “they”
- huta = rest
- Together: they will rest → future action

So the structure is:

Completed action first: “after we have finished eating”
Future action second: “the children will rest”

Is the comma between the two clauses required in Hausa?

In actual spoken Hausa, there is of course no comma, just a pause.

In written Hausa:

You will often see a comma between a subordinate time clause and the main clause, just like in English:
Bayan mun gama cin abinci, yara za su huta.
However, Hausa punctuation is somewhat flexible; some texts may omit the comma:
Bayan mun gama cin abinci yara za su huta.

Using the comma is good practice, especially for learners, because it clearly separates:

time clause: Bayan mun gama cin abinci
main clause: yara za su huta