Kalli tsuntsu yana tashi sama.

Kalli is an imperative verb meaning look at / watch.

• Addressed to one person: Kalli... = Look (at)...
• It normally implies an object: Kalli tsuntsu = Look at the bird.

So it’s closer to look at or watch than to just look in English.

On its own, kalli is a command to one person (2nd person singular).

To speak to more than one person, you usually say:

• Ku kalli tsuntsu – You (all) look at the bird.

Here ku is the plural you, and kalli stays the same.

Hausa does not have separate words for the or a/an like English.

• Tsuntsu can mean a bird or the bird, depending on context.
• Definite meaning can be made clearer with extra markers, e.g.:
  
  • Tsuntsun nan – this/that bird (the bird here/there).
  • Wancan tsuntsun – that bird.

In your sentence, Kalli tsuntsu can naturally be translated as Look at the bird or Look, a bird, depending on the situation.

The usual plural of tsuntsu (bird) is tsuntsaye (birds).

Examples:

• Kalli tsuntsaye suna tashi sama.
  Look at the birds; they are flying up.

If you speak to several people:

• Ku kalli tsuntsaye suna tashi sama.
  You all look at the birds; they are flying up.

Note the plural subject marker suna (they are) instead of yana (he/it is).

Yana is written as one word, but historically it comes from ya + na:

• ya = he/it (3rd person singular masculine subject)
• na = marker of progressive / ongoing action

Together yana means he is / it is (doing something), used with a verb:

• yana tashi – he/it is flying / getting up / rising
• yana cin abinci – he is eating (food).

So yana marks that the action is happening right now or is in progress.

The difference is mainly about aspect (ongoing vs completed):

• ya tashi – he/it flew / took off / got up (completed action, like past or perfect).
• yana tashi – he/it is flying / is taking off / is getting up (ongoing action).

In your sentence:

• tsuntsu yana tashi sama suggests you see the action as it is happening – the bird is (in the process of) flying up.

If you said tsuntsu ya tashi sama, it would sound more like the bird (has) flown up / took off – the action is already done or viewed as a whole event.

No, tashi is a very flexible verb. Common meanings:

1. Fly / take off – with birds, planes, etc.

   • Tsuntsu yana tashi sama. – The bird is flying up.

2. Get up / stand up / rise – for people or things.

   • Na tashi daga kujera. – I got up from the chair.

3. Wake up – from sleep.

   • Na tashi da safe. – I woke up in the morning.

4. Leave / depart – of vehicles or people.

   • Jirgin ya tashi ƙarfe uku. – The plane left at three o’clock.

The exact meaning is decided by context. With tsuntsu and sama, fly (up) is the natural reading.

Sama can mean both up / above and the sky / heaven, depending on context.

In yana tashi sama:

• You can understand it as upwards → is flying up
• Or more concretely as into the sky → is flying up into the sky

Both ideas are naturally expressed by sama here.

Examples of sama in other phrases:

• A sama – upstairs / above.
• Gajimare a sama – clouds in the sky.

Hausa doesn’t have a separate it pronoun the way English does.

• The 3rd person masculine forms ya / shi are used for he and often for things and animals (like English it).
• So for tsuntsu (bird), you normally use:
  
  • ya tashi – it/he flew
  • yana tashi – it/he is flying

Grammatically, tsuntsu behaves like a masculine noun for purposes of agreement, which is why you see yana (not tana).

Yes, you can say Kalli tsuntsun yana tashi sama.

• tsuntsu – bare noun: bird / a bird / the bird (context decides).
• tsuntsun – tsuntsu + -n, a linking/definite marker. It often signals:
  
  • definiteness: the bird
  • or a link to something following: tsuntsun daji – forest/wild bird.

If you say:

• Kalli tsuntsun nan yana tashi sama.
  → Look at that bird, it is flying up.

the -n plus nan really makes it feel like that specific bird.

Without context, Kalli tsuntsu is a bit more neutral; with tsuntsun (nan) it feels more clearly like that particular bird.