Wani lokaci ni da ’yar uwata muna zuwa kasuwa.

Sometimes my sister and I go to the market.

Breakdown of Wani lokaci ni da ’yar uwata muna zuwa kasuwa.

• ni: I
• ne: to be
• da: and
• kasuwa: the market

Questions & Answers about Wani lokaci ni da ’yar uwata muna zuwa kasuwa.

What does Wani lokaci literally mean, and is it the usual way to say sometimes?

Wani lokaci is made of:

• wani – a / some (one), an indefinite word
• lokaci – time

So literally it is some time or at some time(s), and together it works as sometimes.

Yes, Wani lokaci is a very common and natural way to say sometimes in Hausa, especially at the beginning of a sentence:

• Wani lokaci muna zuwa kasuwa. – Sometimes we go to the market.

Why does the sentence start with Wani lokaci? Could it go somewhere else?

Putting Wani lokaci at the beginning highlights the idea of sometimes:

• Wani lokaci ni da ’yar uwata muna zuwa kasuwa.
  Sometimes my sister and I go to the market. (emphasis on sometimes)

Hausa word order is flexible, so you can also say:

• Ni da ’yar uwata wani lokaci muna zuwa kasuwa.
• Ni da ’yar uwata muna zuwa kasuwa wani lokaci.

All of these are understandable. The meaning is basically the same, but putting Wani lokaci first is the most typical and sounds very smooth and natural.

How does ni da ’yar uwata express my sister and I? What is the role of da?