Learn Hardcore Hausa: Tunda na koma birni daga ƙauye, ban sami shiru sosai da dare ba. - Since I returned to the city from the village, I have not had much quiet at night.

You will also see it written as tun da (two words). In everyday speech they are effectively the same in this use; both introduce a clause meaning since (the time when)…. Spelling as tunda (one word) is very common in modern writing.

What is the function of na in na koma? Is it a pronoun or a tense marker?

In na koma, the na does two jobs at once:

It marks the subject: I
It marks perfect aspect / completed action: I have returned / I returned

So na koma literally means I (perfect) returned.

Other persons follow the same pattern:

ka koma – you (m.sg) returned / have returned
ya koma – he returned / has returned
mun koma – we returned / have returned

So here na is both a subject pronoun and a perfect-aspect marker fused together.

Why is it koma and not something like dawo? What nuance does koma have?

Both koma and dawo can involve returning, but:

koma focuses on going back to a former place or state.
- na koma birni – I went back / moved back to the city.
dawo is more general come back / return (here), often from the point of view of where the speaker is.

In this sentence the speaker is talking about moving back (relocating) to the city after being in the village, so koma is the natural choice.

Why is birni used without a preposition? Why not a birni or zuwa birni?

Hausa often has motion verbs + bare place noun without a preposition. With koma, that’s very common:

na koma birni – I returned to the city.
sun koma gida – they went back home.

You can say zuwa birni (to the city) with other verbs like tashi zuwa birni (travel to the city), but with koma, the destination is usually just a bare noun.

What does daga do in daga ƙauye?

Daga means from in this context:

daga ƙauye – from the village
daga Kano – from Kano

So na koma birni daga ƙauye literally is I returned (to) the city from the village.

What is the difference between ƙauye and ƙauyuka?

ƙauye – village (singular)
ƙauyuka – villages (plural)

So daga ƙauye means from a/the village (one village). If you wanted from the villages, you would say daga ƙauyuka.

Why is the negative part ban sami … ba split into two pieces? What does ban come from?

The negative in Hausa often forms a sandwich around the verb phrase:

ba … ba – not

In the first-person perfect, ba + ni (I) typically contracts to ban at the beginning:

ba ni sami … ba → ban sami … ba – I did not get / I have not obtained…

So:

ban sami shiru sosai da dare ba
≈ ba ni sami shiru sosai da dare ba
= I have not had much quiet at night.

The two ba elements are required for this standard negative perfect pattern.

What is the difference between sami and samu? Why is it sami here?

Both come from the same root samu (to get, to obtain), but the final vowel changes with aspect/tense and sometimes style:

samu – common in many contexts, especially non-perfect or in citation form.
sami – often used with the perfect aspect + object, especially in writing and more formal speech.

In the perfect negative here, ban sami shiru… ba sounds very natural and is widely used. In real speech you may also hear ban samu shiru… ba; both are understood. The -i form just fits a common perfect pattern.

What does shiru literally mean, and why is it used with sami?

Shiru literally means silence or quietness.

The verb sami (to get / obtain) combined with shiru gives:

sami shiru – get/experience quiet, have peace and quiet

So ban sami shiru sosai da dare ba means I haven’t had much peace and quiet at night. It’s a common way in Hausa to use a verb like sami with an abstract noun to express to have / to experience X.

What does sosai add to the meaning of shiru?

Sosai is an intensifier: very, much, really.

shiru sosai – a lot of quiet, very quiet, really quiet

So ban sami shiru sosai da dare ba is I haven’t had much quiet at night (or: I haven’t had really good quiet at night). Without sosai, it would just be I haven’t had quiet at night, a bit less specific about how much.

Why is it da dare and not a dare? What’s the function of da here?

In this expression, da is used as a kind of time marker meaning at or during:

da dare – at night, during the night
da safe – in the morning
da rana – in the daytime

So ban sami shiru sosai da dare ba = I haven’t had much quiet at night.

You will also see a dare (at night), but da dare is a very common fixed expression for the time of day.

Is the whole sentence in the past tense or present perfect? How should I feel the time reference?

The perfect in Hausa (na koma, ban sami … ba) often covers what English expresses with both simple past and present perfect, depending on context.

Here the meaning is like English present perfect continuing from the past up to now:

Tunda na koma birni daga ƙauye, ban sami shiru sosai da dare ba.
≈ Ever since I moved back to the city from the village, I haven’t had much quiet at night.

So the moving back happened in the past, but its consequences continue into the present (still no quiet nights).

Could I say Tun da na koma birni daga ƙauye, ban sami shiru sosai da dare ba instead?

Yes. Tunda and tun da are both acceptable in this sentence and would be understood the same: since / ever since I moved back to the city from the village…

Stylistically:

tunda (one word) – very common, slightly more compact.
tun da (two words) – also correct, and some writers prefer to keep tun and da separate.

In everyday conversation, you will hear both.