Learn Hardcore Hausa: Wasu yara suna kallon kwallon ƙafa a talabijin, wasu kuma suna yi a filin wasa. - Some children watch football on television, and others play it on the playground.

wasu yara = some children
duk yaran = all the children
kaɗan mutane would be wrong; you say mutane kaɗan for “few people,” but wasu behaves more like “some” and comes first.

So wasu + noun is the normal order: wasu yara.

What exactly does suna mean in “suna kallon kwallon ƙafa”?

Suna is a combination of:

su = they (3rd person plural pronoun)
na = aspect marker (here, often called the progressive / continuous marker)

Together, suna is roughly like English “they are”:

suna kallon = they are watching
suna yi = they are doing

Different persons use different forms:

ina = I am
kana / kina = you (m/f) are
yana / tana = he/she is
muna = we are
suna = they are

Why is it “kallon kwallon ƙafa” and not just “kallo kwallon ƙafa”?

Kallo is a verbal noun meaning “watching, looking”.
When it directly takes an object, it usually takes the genitive linker -n/-n to show “watching of something”:

kallo (watching, as a general activity)
kallo-n fim → the watching of a film
kallo-n talabijin → watching television
kallo-n kwallo-n ƙafa (often simplified in speech)
In your sentence: kallo-n kwallo-n ƙafa → written as kallon kwallon ƙafa

So kallon kwallon ƙafa is literally “the watching of the ball of foot (football)”, i.e. watching football.

What does kwallon ƙafa literally mean, and why does it mean “football (soccer)”?

Breakdown:

ƙwallo = ball
ƙafa = foot / leg
kwallo-n ƙafa = ball of (the) foot

So kwallon ƙafa literally means “ball of the foot”.
By extension, it is the standard Hausa term for football / soccer.

This is similar to how many languages use a literal phrase (like “ball-foot”) for the name of the sport.

What is the function of a in “a talabijin” and “a filin wasa”?

A is a common preposition meaning roughly “in, at, on”, depending on context.

a talabijin → on TV / on the television
a filin wasa → at the playground / on the playing field

It marks location, like English “at / in / on”. Which English preposition you choose depends on your language, not Hausa:

a gida → at home
a kasuwa → in/at the market
a tebur → on the table (context-dependent)

What does kuma add in “wasu kuma suna yi a filin wasa”?

Kuma is a connector that often means “and, and also, and in contrast, while”.

Here it has a contrastive sense:

Wasu yara suna kallon kwallon ƙafa a talabijin,
wasu kuma suna yi a filin wasa.

= Some children are watching football on TV, while others are doing it on the playing field.

So kuma signals a second group doing something different or contrasting.

Why does the second part say “suna yi” instead of repeating “suna buga kwallon ƙafa” or “suna wasa da kwallon ƙafa”?

In Hausa, yi is a very general verb meaning “do, make”, and it’s often used to avoid repetition when the action is already clear from context.

First clause: the activity (kwallon ƙafa – football) is introduced.
Second clause: instead of saying suna buga kwallon ƙafa (“they are playing football”) again, the sentence just says suna yi (“they are doing (it)”).

So suna yi here is understood as “they are playing it / doing that (same activity)”.

What does filin wasa mean literally?

Breakdown:

fili = open space, field, yard
wasa = play, game, playing

With the genitive linker:

fili-n wasa → field of play / playground / playing field

So a filin wasa means “at the playing field / on the playground.”

What is the singular of yara, and is the plural irregular?

Yes, it’s irregular.

yaro = child (boy, often used generically for “child”)
yara = children

The plural is not made by simply adding -i or -a in a predictable way; yaro → yara is a common irregular pair you just have to learn.

Other similar pairs:

mutum → mutane (person → people)
ɗa → ’ya’ya (child → children, offspring)

What tense or aspect does “suna kallon … / suna yi …” express?

Suna + verbal noun / yi typically expresses a progressive / continuous or habitual meaning, similar to English “they are …-ing” or “they (usually) …” depending on context.

In this sentence, the natural reading is present continuous:

suna kallon kwallon ƙafa → they are watching football
suna yi a filin wasa → they are doing (it) on the field

If the wider context talked about regular behavior, it could also be understood as habitual: Some children watch football on TV, while others (usually) do it on the field.

Could you say the same sentence with a more explicit verb for “play” instead of yi?

Yes. Two natural-sounding alternatives are:

Wasu yara suna kallon kwallon ƙafa a talabijin, wasu kuma suna buga ta a filin wasa.
- buga = to hit, kick, play (a ball game)
- ta = it (referring back to kwallon ƙafa)
Wasu yara suna kallon kwallon ƙafa a talabijin, wasu kuma suna wasa da ita a filin wasa.
- wasa (verb) = to play
- da ita = with it (again referring to the ball / football)

The original with suna yi is simply shorter and more colloquial, relying on context to fill in “play (football)”.