Learn Hardcore Hausa: A tebur akwai faranti biyu, cokali uku da kofi na shayi. - On the table there are two plates, three spoons and a cup of tea.

More precise ways to say “on top of the table” include a kan tebur or kan tebur, but in everyday speech a tebur is often enough and naturally understood as on the table here.

What exactly does akwai mean? Is it like the English “there is / there are”?

Yes. akwai is an existential verb that roughly corresponds to English “there is / there are”.

A tebur akwai faranti biyu…
Literally: At the table exists two plates…
Natural English: On the table there are two plates…

Key points:

akwai does not change for singular vs. plural.
- Akwai kofi ɗaya = There is one cup.
- Akwai kofuna da yawa = There are many cups.
It’s usually used without a pronoun subject; it already carries the idea “there is/are” by itself.

Why is the word order A tebur akwai… and not something like Akwai… a tebur?

Both orders are possible:

A tebur akwai faranti biyu…
Focuses first on the location (On the table there are…).
Akwai faranti biyu a tebur.
Focuses first on the existence of the items (There are two plates on the table).

Hausa is flexible here. Putting the place first (A tebur) is a common, natural way to set the scene, especially in descriptions.

Why do the numbers come after the nouns (e.g. faranti biyu) instead of before, like in English (“two plates”)?

In Hausa, cardinal numbers normally follow the noun they count:

faranti biyu = two plates
cokali uku = three spoons
kofi ɗaya = one cup
motoci huɗu = four cars

So the pattern is usually:

noun + number

This is just a basic word-order difference between English and Hausa. The number shows that the noun is plural; you don’t add anything like an English -s to mark plural in this structure.

Is faranti already plural? Do I ever add something like an “-s” for plates?

In Hausa, plural is not made with an English-style -s, and the rules are different from English.

Important for this sentence:

In faranti biyu, the number (biyu, “two”) already makes it clear that we are talking about more than one plate.
So faranti biyu is understood as “two plates”, even if you don’t see an extra plural ending.

More generally:

Hausa nouns can have separate plural forms (often irregular), but when a numeral follows, speakers often rely on the number itself to show plural and don’t need an extra mark like English does.
For learning at this level, it’s safe to remember:
noun + number → plural meaning, even if the noun looks “singular” to you.

What does cokali uku literally mean?

Literally:

cokali = spoon
uku = three

So cokali uku = spoon three, which is understood as “three spoons”.

Again, the pattern is noun + number. The number gives the plural meaning; you don’t need to change cokali to something else just because there are three of them in this structure.

What does na in kofi na shayi mean? Is it like “of”?

Yes. na is a linking word (often called a genitive or possessive linker) that often corresponds to English “of”.

kofi na shayi = cup of tea
(literally: cup of tea)

Other examples:

tufafi na yara = clothes of children → children’s clothes
motar malam (here the linker is built into motar) = the teacher’s car

Which form you use (na / ta / n / r) depends on the gender and ending of the first noun, but the main idea here is:

X na Y ≈ X of Y

Why is it kofi na shayi and not something like kofin shayi?

Both patterns exist in Hausa, but they are built slightly differently:

kofi na shayi
- Uses the separate linker na.
- Very clear for learners: cup of tea.
kofin shayi
- Here the -n at the end of kofi is the linker attached directly to the noun.
- Many Hausa nouns form this kind of bound linker:
  - gidan malam = the teacher’s house
  - motar soja = the soldier’s car

In everyday speech, kofin shayi is very common and natural. kofi na shayi is also understandable and clear for learning; you’ll encounter and eventually use both patterns.

What does da do in the phrase cokali uku da kofi na shayi?

da here means “and”. It connects the last two items in the list:

faranti biyu, cokali uku da kofi na shayi
= two plates, three spoons and a cup of tea

Other examples:

ruwa da shayi = water and tea
abba da umma = father and mother

Note: da can also mean “with” in other contexts:

Na zo da abokina. = I came with my friend.

In this sentence, it’s clearly the “and” meaning.

Why is da only before the last item? Could I put da between every item in the list?

The pattern in the sentence:

faranti biyu, cokali uku da kofi na shayi

is completely normal: commas between earlier items, and da (and) only before the last item, just like English:

“two plates, three spoons and a cup of tea”

You could technically say faranti biyu da cokali uku da kofi na shayi, and it would still be understood, but it sounds heavier and less natural as a simple list. Native speakers usually prefer the pattern:

item, item da item

Is tebur “the table” or “a table”? How does Hausa show “the / a”?

On its own, tebur is neutral for definiteness. It can mean “table / a table / the table” depending on context.

Hausa does not have separate little words exactly like English “a / an / the”. Instead, definiteness is shown by:

context (shared knowledge)
sometimes special definite markers, e.g. -n / -r / ɗin:
- teburin nan = this (particular) table
- mutumin = the man

In A tebur akwai faranti biyu…, the most natural English translation uses “the table” because we tend to imagine a specific table in the situation, but Hausa doesn’t need to mark it overtly here.

How would the sentence change if there was only one plate and one spoon?

You would change the numbers and possibly add guda (a counting word often used with “one”):

Original:

A tebur akwai faranti biyu, cokali uku da kofi na shayi.

Example with one plate and one spoon:

A tebur akwai faranti ɗaya, cokali ɗaya da kofi na shayi.
= On the table there is one plate, one spoon and a cup of tea.

You might also hear:

faranti guda ɗaya, cokali guda ɗaya…

But faranti ɗaya, cokali ɗaya is fine and clear at this stage.

Do the numbers have to agree with the nouns in gender in this sentence?

Hausa does have grammatical gender (masculine / feminine), and in some structures, numbers show gender agreement. However:

In faranti biyu and cokali uku, you can safely use these basic forms of biyu (two) and uku (three) after the nouns.
At an elementary level, it is enough to learn the simple pattern noun + basic cardinal number (biyu, uku, huɗu, biyar, etc.) without worrying about gender changes.

So for this sentence, you do not need to change the forms of biyu and uku; what you see is correct and natural.

Could I change the order of the items and say, for example, A tebur akwai kofi na shayi, faranti biyu da cokali uku?

Yes. You can reorder the list without changing the basic grammar:

A tebur akwai kofi na shayi, faranti biyu da cokali uku.
A tebur akwai cokali uku, kofi na shayi da faranti biyu.

All are grammatically fine; they just change what you mention first in the list. Native speakers will choose the order that sounds most natural or fits what they want to emphasize, but there is no strict rule about the order of the listed objects here.

How are the main words in the sentence pronounced (roughly, in English terms)?

Very rough approximations (Hausa has its own sound system and tones, but this will get you close):

a – like a in about (short)
tebur – TEH-boor (short e, rolled or tapped r)
akwai – AK-why (first syllable like ak in ack)
faranti – fa-RAHN-tee (short a, clear r)
biyu – BEE-yoo (sometimes closer to BEE-yu)
cokali – CHO-ka-lee (ch as in church)
uku – OO-koo
kofi – KOH-fee
na – na (like na in na-na)
shayi – SHAH-yee (sh as in she)

These are only approximations, but they should help you recognize and practice saying the sentence.