Learn Hardcore Hausa: Muna tsabtace ɗaki domin lafiya.

muna – we (are), 1st person plural in the imperfective aspect (ongoing / habitual)
tsabtace – clean / are cleaning (verb)
ɗaki – room
domin – for, for the sake of, in order for
lafiya – health, well‑being

So the whole sentence is something like: We are cleaning the room for (the sake of) health.

What exactly does muna mean? Is it we or we are?

Muna actually combines both ideas:

mu = we
na (here merged) = imperfective marker (are doing / do (ongoing))

In modern spelling, they are written together as muna, and it usually translates best as we are …‑ing or sometimes we … (regularly), depending on context.

Can muna be written as two words, like mu na tsabtace ɗaki?

Historically it comes from mu + na, but in standard modern Hausa it is normally written as one word: muna tsabtace ɗaki.
You might see or hear mu na separated in very slow or careful speech, but for normal, neutral sentences you should treat muna as a single unit.
So for learning and writing, stick with muna tsabtace ɗaki, not mu na tsabtace ɗaki.

Is tsabtace just the verb to clean, or does it come from another word?

Tsabtace is the verb meaning to clean / to make clean.
It is related to the noun tsabta / tsafta (cleanliness), but as a learner you can simply remember tsabtace as the basic verb clean.
In some varieties you will also see tsaftace with f; both mean essentially the same thing: to clean, to make something clean.

Why is there no word for to before tsabtace, like in to clean?

Hausa verbs do not use a separate word like English to in the infinitive.
The form tsabtace is used directly after the aspect marker (muna, ina, yana, etc.) to mean am/is/are cleaning.
So muna tsabtace already expresses we are cleaning / we clean, without needing to.

What does ɗaki mean exactly? Is it always a bedroom?

Ɗaki means room in general.
Very often, if someone just says ɗaki without any extra word, it will be understood as bedroom, because that’s the main private room in a typical house.
But it can be any kind of room when you specify it, for example:

ɗakin kwana – bedroom
ɗakin girki – kitchen
ɗakin karatu – study / reading room

How do you pronounce the letter ɗ in ɗaki, and how is it different from d?

Ɗ is an implosive d‑sound. To approximate it:

Put your tongue where you say an English d,
Start the sound as if you are slightly “pulling in” the voice instead of pushing air out strongly.

To many English speakers it will sound like a softer, more “popping” d.
It is a distinct consonant from d in Hausa, so ɗaki and daki would be different words (or daki might simply sound wrong).

What does domin mean in this sentence, and how is it different from don or saboda?

In Muna tsabtace ɗaki domin lafiya, domin introduces a purpose: for the sake of / in order for (there to be) health.
You can think of it as for or so that in English.

Related words:

don – a shorter, very common form; in many contexts it works like domin.
saboda – more clearly because / due to, pointing to a reason or cause rather than a goal or purpose.

Here, domin lafiya sounds like you are stressing the goal of cleaning: to maintain health.

Does lafiya only mean health, or does it include general well‑being?

Lafiya primarily means health, but it also covers broader well‑being, safety, peace of mind.
That’s why it appears in greetings, e.g. Lafiya? – Are you well?, Lafiya lau – Very well / I’m fine.
In this sentence, the most natural translation is health or good health, but the idea of general well‑being is also implied.

Could I just say Muna tsabtace ɗaki without domin lafiya?

Yes. Muna tsabtace ɗaki is a complete, grammatical sentence meaning We are cleaning the room / We clean the room.
Adding domin lafiya simply adds the purpose: … for health, … for the sake of health.
So the full sentence tells you both what is happening and why.

How would I say this in the past tense: We cleaned the room for health?

To put it in the perfective (completed action), you change muna to mun:

Mun tsabtace ɗaki domin lafiya.

Here:

mun = we (have) / we did (perfective aspect)
tsabtace – cleaned
The rest of the sentence stays the same.

How do I say We are cleaning our room for health and We are cleaning the rooms for health?

We are cleaning our room for health:
- Muna tsabtace ɗakinmu domin lafiya.
- ɗaki
  - ‑nmu (our) → ɗakinmu = our room.
We are cleaning the rooms for health (or simply We are cleaning rooms for health):
- Muna tsabtace ɗakuna domin lafiya. – rooms in general
- If you want to stress our rooms, say: Muna tsabtace ɗakunanmu domin lafiya.

Is Muna tsabtace ɗaki domin lafiya about something happening right now, or a general habit?

The form muna (imperfective) can express both:

ongoing now: We are (right now) cleaning the room for health.
habitual: We clean the room (regularly) for health.

Context or extra words make it clearer, e.g.:

Yanzu muna tsabtace ɗaki domin lafiya – Right now we are cleaning the room for health.
Kullum muna tsabtace ɗaki domin lafiya – We clean the room every day for health.