Learn Hardcore Hausa: Filin jirgi yana kusa da birni.

fili = field, open ground, square
-n = linker showing “of”
jirgi = vehicle; especially airplane or ship, but in modern usage often “plane”

So filin jirgi literally means “field of the plane / airplane field”, i.e. an airfield / airport.
In everyday speech it simply means airport.

Why is there an -n in filin jirgi and not just fili jirgi?

Hausa usually links two nouns in a possessive / “of” relationship with a little linker that agrees with the first noun.

fili + n + jirgi → filin jirgi

This structure corresponds to English “field of plane” = plane field.

Other examples:

gidan malam = gida + n + malam → “house of the teacher”
littafin yaro = “book of the child”, i.e. the child’s book

So the -n is the normal genitive linker, not a separate word meaning “of”.

What exactly does yana do in this sentence?

Yana is a 3rd person masculine singular pronoun in the progressive / continuous form, often translated as “he is / it is (doing something / in a place)”.

In this sentence:

Filin jirgi = the subject (“the airport”)
yana = “it is (located)”
kusa da birni = locative phrase “near the city”

So Filin jirgi yana kusa da birni is literally:
“The airport is (located) near the city.”

In Hausa, to say where something is, you normally use this pronoun + -na form (yana, tana, suna…) rather than a separate verb “to be”.

Why is it yana and not tana here?

The choice between yana and tana depends on the gender of the subject noun:

yana = “he/it is …” for masculine nouns
tana = “she/it is …” for feminine nouns

The noun fili (and therefore filin jirgi) is treated as masculine, so you must use yana:

✅ Filin jirgi yana kusa da birni.

If the subject were a feminine noun, you’d say tana, for example:

mota tana kusa da gida – “the car is near the house” (motà is feminine)

Could I drop yana and just say Filin jirgi kusa da birni?

In careful, standard Hausa, you normally keep the yana in this kind of sentence:

✅ Filin jirgi yana kusa da birni.

If you say Filin jirgi kusa da birni, it can be understood in context, and you might hear similar structures in informal speech, but it sounds elliptical / incomplete.

For a learner, it’s best to treat [subject] + yana/tana + [place phrase] as the regular pattern for “X is in/at/near Y.”

What does kusa da mean, and why is da necessary?

kusa by itself means something like “nearness / vicinity / closeness”.

In the common expression kusa da, the full phrase means “near to / close to / in the vicinity of”:

kusa da birni – near the city
kusa da nan – near here
kusa da gona – near the farm

The da works like “to” in English “close to”.
You normally don’t drop it: kusa da X is the standard form.

Can I say very near in this sentence? How?

Yes. A very common way is to add sosai (“very, a lot”):

Filin jirgi yana kusa da birni sosai.
– “The airport is very near the city.”

You can also say:

Filin jirgi yana matuƙar kusa da birni. (more emphatic/formal)
but …kusa da birni sosai is very natural and widely used.

What is the difference between birni and gari? Both seem to mean “town/city.”

Both birni and gari relate to towns/cities, but there are some nuances:

birni
- Often used for a larger, more urbanized city, or “the city” as an urban center.
- Sometimes contrasted with rural areas or villages.
gari
- Very general: town, city, settlement, place where people live.
- Can be used for small or large places, depending on context.

In this sentence, kusa da birni suggests near the (main) city, maybe in contrast to countryside.
If you said:

Filin jirgi yana kusa da gari.

it would still be understood as “near the town/city,” just with a more general word.

How would I say “The airports are near the city” (plural)?

You need to pluralize both the noun and the verb:

filin jirgi → filayen jirgi (airfields/airports)
yana (he/it is) → suna (they are)

So:

Filayen jirgi suna kusa da birni.
– “The airports are near the city.”

There is no word for “the” in the Hausa sentence. How do I know it’s “the airport” and not “an airport”?

Hausa does not have a separate word like English “the” or “a/an”.
Definiteness is understood from:

context (what you already know in the conversation),
word order,
or sometimes particles like ɗin / din / r etc., which can add emphasis or clarity.

Here, Filin jirgi is most naturally understood as “the airport” because:

it’s a specific location being talked about,
and the sentence structure [noun] + yana + [place] usually refers to a particular known thing.

If you really want to emphasize that it’s a specific known airport, you might sometimes hear:

Filin jirgin nan yana kusa da birni. – “This (particular) airport is near the city.”

Is there a more formal or more explicit way to say airport than filin jirgi?

Yes. You may also see:

tashar jirgin sama
- tasha = station, terminal
- jirgin sama = airplane (“sky-vehicle”)

So tashar jirgin sama is like “airplane station / air terminal”, i.e. airport.

In everyday speech, filin jirgi is very common and completely correct.
In more formal writing or official contexts, tashar jirgin sama may also be used.

Could I use ne instead of yana here, like Filin jirgi ne kusa da birni?

No, that would not be a natural or correct way to express this idea.

ne/ce are copula particles used mainly to equate things (X is Y) or to link a noun to certain adjectives, e.g.
- Wannan gida ne. – “This is a house.”
- Motarsa sabuwa ce. – “His car is new.”

For location (“is in/at/near somewhere”), Hausa normally uses the yana / tana / suna pattern:

✅ Filin jirgi yana kusa da birni.

So you should not replace yana with ne in this sentence.