Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya.

Breakdown of Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya.

ne
to be
ke
you (feminine)
so
to like
ni
me
a hankali
slowly
waya
the phone
ta
by
Hausa
Hausa
yadda
how
koyar da
to teach
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Questions & Answers about Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya.

What is the overall structure of Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya?

The sentence breaks down like this:

  • Ina sonI like / I love
  • yaddahow / the way that
  • kikeyou (fem.) are (in a relative/embedded clause)
  • koyar da niteach me
    • koyar dato teach (someone something)
    • nime
  • HausaHausa (language)
  • a hankalislowly / gently
  • ta wayaby phone / over the phone

So the whole thing means: I like the way you are teaching me Hausa slowly over the phone.

Why is it Ina son and not Ina so at the start?

Both Ina so and Ina son are correct, but they’re used differently:

  • Ina so is followed directly by a verb or noun you want/like.

    • Ina so in koyi Hausa.I want to learn Hausa.
  • Ina son is so + -n, the possessive/ linker, used before a clause or a longer noun phrase, often meaning I like the way / the fact that…

    • Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa.I like the way you are teaching me Hausa.

So here, son links so to the whole clause yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa…

What does yadda do in this sentence?

Yadda means how / the way that and introduces a clause that describes how something is done.

  • Ina son yadda…I like how / the way that…

The clause after yadda (kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya) describes how you are teaching me. It’s similar to English:

  • I like *how you teach me.*
  • I like *the way that you teach me.*
Why is it kike here and not kina?

This is a very natural question for learners.

  • As a main sentence, you would say:

    • Kina koyar da ni Hausa.You (fem.) are teaching me Hausa.
  • But after yadda, Hausa switches to a relative-like form:

    • yadda kike koyar da ni Hausahow you are teaching me Hausa / the way you teach me Hausa

So:

  • kina – used in a main clause:

    • Yanzu kina koyar da ni Hausa.Right now you are teaching me Hausa.
  • kike – used in embedded/relative clauses, such as after yadda, lokacin da (when), etc.:

    • Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa.I like the way you are teaching me Hausa.

The same pattern applies to the masculine form: kana (main clause) vs kake (after yadda).

How would the sentence change if I am talking to a man, not a woman?

You only need to change the feminine kike to the masculine kake:

  • Ina son yadda kake koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya.
    I like the way you (male) are teaching me Hausa slowly over the phone.

Everything else stays the same.

What exactly does koyar da ni mean, and how is it different from just koya?
  • koya on its own can mean to learn or to teach, depending on context:

    • Ina son in koyi Hausa.I want to learn Hausa.
    • Zan koya maka.I will teach you.
  • koyar da is a causative / explicitly teaching form: to teach (someone something).
    In koyar da ni:

    • koyar dato teach
    • nime
      So koyar da ni = to teach me.

You could also hear variants like:

  • koya min Hausateach me Hausa (using min = to me)
    But in your sentence, koyar da ni Hausa is a very standard and clear way to say teach me Hausa.
Why is Hausa placed after koyar da ni? Could it be somewhere else?

The pattern koyar da [person] [subject] is very common:

  • koyar da ni Hausateach me Hausa
  • koyar da yara lissafiteach the children math

You can move Hausa a bit without changing the meaning much, for example:

  • kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankali
  • kike koyar da ni Hausa ta waya

But typically you keep koyar da ni Hausa together as a unit.
Forms like koyar da ni da Hausa are not standard for teach me Hausa in this sense.

What does a hankali mean exactly? Is it only slowly?

a hankali literally is in calmness / with care, but in practice it means:

  • slowly
  • gently
  • carefully / patiently (depending on context)

In your sentence:

  • kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankaliyou are teaching me Hausa slowly / gently / patiently

So it suggests you are not rushing; you are going step by step, in a considerate way.

What is the function of ta in ta waya? Is it the same as she?

In ta waya, ta is not the pronoun she; here it is a preposition-like form meaning by / via / through.

  • ta wayaby phone / via the phone
  • ta motaby car
  • ta jirgiby plane

So:

  • ta waya = by phone
  • ta ita (in another context) = by her (using ta as a pronoun)

In your sentence, it clearly means via the phone / over the phone.

Could I say a waya instead of ta waya?

Both are heard, but there is a nuance:

  • ta waya – emphasizes the means/method: by phone, via the phone
  • a waya – literally on/at the phone; can also be used, but ta waya is very standard and natural for by phone in this type of sentence.

So ta waya is the safer, more idiomatic choice for over the phone here.

Is Ina son closer to I like or I love in English?

The verb so covers both like and love, depending on context and intensity:

  • For people / romance, so often leans toward love / be in love with.
  • For activities, ways of doing things, objects, etc., so is often just like / enjoy.

In Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa…, the most natural English equivalent is:

  • I like the way you’re teaching me Hausa…
    or
  • I really like the way you’re teaching me Hausa…

Translating it as I love the way… is also possible if you want stronger emotion, but like is the default.

Does this sentence sound habitual (in general) or only about right now?

kike can cover both present continuous and habitual in this kind of structure. With Ina son yadda…, it normally sounds general/habitual:

  • I like the way you (usually) teach me Hausa (over the phone, slowly).

It can also include the present situation, but the point is your ongoing style or manner of teaching, not just a single moment. If you needed to focus on just “right now”, you would make that explicit, e.g.:

  • Yanzu kina koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya.Right now you are teaching me Hausa slowly over the phone.
Can I drop ni and still be understood, like koyar da Hausa a hankali ta waya?

You can say koyar da Hausa a hankali ta waya, but you would be omitting who is being taught.

  • koyar da Hausateach Hausa (to someone)
  • koyar da ni Hausateach me Hausa

In your original sentence, ni is important because you’re specifically appreciating how you are being taught:

  • Ina son yadda kike koyar da ni Hausa a hankali ta waya.
    I like the way you are teaching *me Hausa slowly over the phone.*

Without ni, it would mean something more general like I like the way you teach Hausa slowly over the phone (to people), not necessarily to you specifically.