Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama.

Yanzu – now
ruwan sama – rain (literally water of the sky)
- ruwa – water
- -n – linker/possessive marker (roughly “of”)
- sama – sky / above / up
yana – he/it is (progressive marker for a masculine subject)
sauka – to descend / to come down
daga – from
sama – sky / above / up (again)

So a very literal gloss would be:
Now the water-of-sky is-descending from (the) sky.

Why do people say ruwan sama for “rain” instead of just ruwa?

Ruwa by itself just means water and can refer to:

drinking water
river water
any generic water

Ruwan sama is a compound noun:

ruwa (water) + -n (linker) + sama (sky)
literally: water of the sky

This phrase is a standard way to say rain in a more descriptive or explicit way.

In everyday speech you will also hear:

ruwan sama – rain (more literal)
ruwa (with the right context) – can mean “rain” (e.g. Ana ruwa = It’s raining / There is rain)

So ruwan sama makes it very clear we are talking specifically about rain, not just any water.

What is the function of yanzu in this sentence? Is it necessary?

Yanzu means now / at this moment.

With yanzu: Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama
→ Now the rain is falling from the sky (emphasis on “right now”).
Without yanzu: Ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama
→ The rain is falling from the sky.
It still usually refers to the present, but without the strong “right now” emphasis.

So yanzu is not grammatically required, but it adds a clear time reference to “now” and makes the sentence sound natural when you want to stress that the action is happening at this moment.

What exactly does yana mean here, and why not just say ruwan sama ya sauka daga sama?

Yana here is:

ya – he / it (masculine 3rd person singular pronoun)
na – progressive aspect marker (often fused: yana)

Together, yana works like “he/it is (doing)”, marking an ongoing or continuous action.

So:

Ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama.
→ The rain is falling from the sky (right now / continuously).

If you say:

Ruwan sama ya sauka daga sama.
→ This usually sounds perfective / completed:
The rain (has) come down from the sky.
It can sound like the descending is already done.

So yana is used here to show present continuous – the rain is in the process of falling.

Why is it yana sauka and not something like yana faɗi? What does sauka imply?

Both verbs can involve moving downward, but they are used differently:

sauka – to descend, to come down (often in a controlled or neutral way)
- people getting off a vehicle (sauka daga mota – get off a car)
- a plane descending (jirgi ya sauka – the plane landed)
- rain coming down (ruwan sama yana sauka)
faɗi – to fall, usually with the idea of dropping, tumbling, or collapsing
- ya faɗi – he fell down
- itace ta faɗi – the tree fell

For rain, Hausa naturally prefers sauka, because rain is understood as descending / coming down, not “falling over” like a person or a tree. That is why yana sauka is the normal verb choice here.

What does daga sama add to the sentence? Can I just say Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka?

Daga sama literally means from the sky / from above.

It specifies the source of the descending.
It matches the meaning of sauka (come down from somewhere).

If you say:

Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama.
→ Now the rain is falling from the sky.

You can also say:

Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka.
→ Now the rain is falling.

This shorter version is grammatically correct and natural.
Often the source (daga sama) is obvious from context (we know where rain comes from), so speakers may drop it in casual speech. Including daga sama is more explicit and a bit more “textbook” in style.

Why is it yana (masculine) and not tana (feminine)? Does ruwa have gender?

In Hausa, nouns are divided into two grammatical genders, usually called masculine and feminine.

Ruwa / ruwan sama is treated as masculine.
Therefore, it takes the masculine progressive form yana:
- Ruwan sama yana sauka. – The rain is falling.

If the subject were feminine, you would use tana:

Mota tana tafiya. – The car is moving.
Giya tana zuba. – The beer is pouring.

So yes, you can think of ruwa / ruwan sama as grammatically masculine, which is why yana is used.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Yanzu yana sauka ruwan sama daga sama?

The normal and natural word order in this kind of sentence is:

[Time] + [Subject] + [Progressive marker + Verb] + [Other phrases]

So:

Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama.

Reordering it to:

Yanzu yana sauka ruwan sama daga sama

is not natural Hausa. In Hausa:

The subject (ruwan sama) normally comes right before the verb phrase (yana sauka).
You do not usually insert the subject after the verb in simple declarative sentences.

So keep:

Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama. ✅
Avoid: Yanzu yana sauka ruwan sama daga sama. ❌ (ungrammatical / very odd)

How would I change this sentence to say “It rained earlier” or “It will rain”?

Using ruwan sama as the subject:

It rained earlier / the rain fell earlier.
- A da / dazu ruwan sama ya sauka daga sama.
  - a da / dazu – earlier / before / a short while ago
  - ya sauka – it (masc.) descended (perfective)
It will rain.
To talk about the future, you typically add za before the pronoun:
- Gobe ruwan sama zai sauka daga sama.
  - gobe – tomorrow
  - zai sauka – it will descend

You can also drop daga sama if context is clear:

A da ruwan sama ya sauka. – It rained earlier.
Gobe ruwan sama zai sauka. – It will rain tomorrow.

Is Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama the most common everyday way to say “It’s raining now”?

It is correct and clear, but in everyday speech Hausa speakers often use shorter, more idiomatic expressions.

Common options include:

Yanzu ana ruwa.
– Literally: Now there is rain / now rain is being done.
– Very common way to say It’s raining now.
Yanzu ruwa yake. (regional/colloquial)
– Also used to mean It’s raining now.
Ruwa yana yi. / Ana ruwa sosai.
– It’s raining / It’s really raining.

So:

Yanzu ruwan sama yana sauka daga sama – grammatically good, a bit more explicit and “textbook”.
Yanzu ana ruwa – very natural everyday speech.