Learn Hardcore Hausa: Sau da yawa ni da ’yar uwata muna zaune a ƙarƙashin bishiya muna jin iska da kida a hankali. - Often my sister and I sit under a tree, feeling the wind and listening to music quietly.

if the context already makes it clear who “we” are. But when you actually mention both people, Hausa normally keeps the ni da X construction plus the plural verb form (muna).

What exactly does ’yar uwata mean, and how is it formed?

’Yar uwata = my sister.

Broken down:

’yar = daughter, girl (a reduced form of ’ya “daughter/female child”)
uwa = mother
uwata = my mother
- uwa (feminine noun) + -ta (1st person singular “my” for feminine nouns)

So literally ’yar uwata is “the daughter of my mother”, which is exactly how Hausa expresses “my sister.”

Other related forms:

’yar uwarka = your (m.sg) sister (literally “daughter of your mother [m.sg]”)
’yan uwana = my siblings / my relatives (plural)

Why is muna repeated? Could I say it only once?

In the sentence, we have two separate ongoing actions:

muna zaune a ƙarƙashin bishiya – we are sitting under a tree
muna jin iska da kida a hankali – we are (quietly) feeling the breeze and hearing music

Hausa typically repeats the progressive auxiliary muna for each new predicate:

…muna zaune…, muna jin…

If you drop the second muna:

✗ …muna zaune a ƙarƙashin bishiya jin iska da kida…

this sounds unnatural and incomplete; jin (“hearing/feeling”) would be left without its auxiliary. So in normal speech and writing you keep both muna forms.

What is the difference between muna zaune and something like muna zama?

Both are related to “sitting,” but they are used differently:

zama = to sit, to stay, to reside (basic verb)
zaune = in a sitting state (a kind of “verbal adjective” / stative form)

So:

muna zaune ≈ “we are (in a state of) sitting” → we are sitting / we are seated
muna zama a nan = we (usually) live / stay / sit here (more like an activity or habit)

For a physical, current posture (“we are sitting right now”), muna zaune is the most natural choice.

How does a ƙarƙashin bishiya express “under a tree”? Why both a and ƙarƙashin?

A ƙarƙashin bishiya literally breaks down like this:

a = in, at, on (general locative preposition)
ƙarƙashin = the underside / bottom side of
bishiya = tree

So a ƙarƙashin bishiya ≈ “at the underside of a tree” → under a tree.

The preposition a is very common before location words (on top of, under, inside, etc.):

a cikin gida – in the house
a kan tebur – on the table
a ƙarƙashin bishiya – under a tree

Why does bishiya translate as “a tree” and not “the tree”? How do you say “the tree” in Hausa?

Hausa does not have definite and indefinite articles like “the” and “a.”
A bare noun like bishiya can mean “a tree” or “the tree”, depending on context.

In your sentence:

a ƙarƙashin bishiya is naturally understood as “under a tree” (not a specific, known tree).

To make a tree more specific, Hausa uses other strategies, for example:

a ƙarƙashin wannan bishiyar – under this tree
a ƙarƙashin waccan bishiyar – under that tree (over there)
a ƙarƙashin bishiyar nan – under the tree here

There is no one-word article equivalent to English “the.”

What does iska mean here, and how does jin iska work?

Iska means air, wind, breeze.

The verb ji is very broad in Hausa. It can mean hear, feel, sense, experience.
So jin iska literally means “feeling the air/wind” or “experiencing the breeze.”

In this context:

muna jin iska = we are feeling the breeze / we are enjoying the fresh air.

So ji is not only about hearing; it covers physical and emotional sensation as well.

Does kida just mean “music,” or something more specific?

Kida broadly means music, but with a strong association to drumming / rhythmic music.

Common collocation:

jin kida = to listen to / enjoy music

So in the sentence:

muna jin … kida = we are listening to / enjoying (the) music.

The exact type of music (drums, instruments, recorded music) comes from context, but kida by itself is “music.”

How does iska da kida work? Is da just “and”? Could the order be kida da iska?

Yes, da here is simply “and.”

iska da kida = wind/air and music

You can switch the order:

kida da iska = music and wind

The basic meaning is the same. As in English, the first item can feel slightly more prominent, but there’s no grammatical difference. In your original sentence, the speaker just chose to mention iska before kida.

What does a hankali mean literally, and why is it used with muna jin?

A hankali is a very common adverbial expression. It can mean:

slowly
gently
quietly / softly
carefully

Literally:

a = in/with
hankali = sense, awareness, mind

So a hankali is like “with care / with attention.”

In your sentence:

muna jin iska da kida a hankali ≈ we are gently/quietly enjoying the breeze and music
→ The idea is that it’s calm, peaceful, not loud or rushed.

You’ll also hear it as an instruction: A hankali! = “Slowly! Be careful!”

How is the letter ƙ (in ƙarƙashin) pronounced, and is it different from k?

Yes, ƙ is a different consonant from k in Hausa.

k = a plain k sound (like English k in cat)
ƙ = an ejective k (made with a little glottal “pop”); it’s tenser and sharper

They can distinguish words:

karo – encounter
ƙaro – to add / increase

So ƙarƙashin has two ƙ sounds; pronouncing them like an ordinary English k won’t usually stop communication, but for good Hausa pronunciation it’s worth practicing the ejective ƙ.

What is the apostrophe doing in ’yar? Is that different from just writing yar?

The apostrophe in ’yar marks a glottal stop and reflects the word’s origin.

Base form: ’ya = daughter, female child
Before another word, ’ya often becomes ’yar (with an added -r) to link smoothly:
- ’yar uwa – daughter of (the) mother → sister
- ’yar gari – girl from town

The apostrophe shows there is a glottal stop at the beginning, especially after a vowel. Many texts in Hausa use this convention; you’ll also see yar in more casual writing, but ’yar is more careful/standard.

Pronunciation is roughly [ʔyar] – a little catch in the throat before the y sound.

Could I change the word order to Ni da ’yar uwata sau da yawa muna zaune…? Would that still be correct?

Yes, that is still correct.

All of these are acceptable, with slightly different rhythm/emphasis:

Sau da yawa ni da ’yar uwata muna zaune a ƙarƙashin bishiya…
→ “Often, my sister and I are sitting under a tree…” (frequency first)
Ni da ’yar uwata sau da yawa muna zaune a ƙarƙashin bishiya…
→ “My sister and I often sit under a tree…” (subject first, then frequency)

The meaning remains essentially the same; Hausa allows some flexibility in placing adverbs like sau da yawa, as long as the structure remains clear and the subject still agrees with the verb (muna).