Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yara suna bi umurni na likita. - The children are following the doctor’s instructions.

Hausa doesn’t have a separate verb “to be” used with verbs the way English does. Instead, the pronoun + aspect marker combination (like suna, ina, kana, muna, etc.) plays the role of “am/is/are (doing)” before the main verb.

Why do we have both Yara and suna? Isn’t that like saying “The children they are following…”?

Yes, literally it is similar to “The children, they are following the doctor’s orders.” But that’s normal and required in Hausa.

Yara = children (a full noun subject)
suna = they are (subject pronoun + aspect marker)

In standard Hausa:

You almost always need the subject pronoun (su, ya, ta, ka, na, etc.) before a verb.
If you mention a full noun like Yara, it often appears before the clause, and then the pronoun repeats the subject inside the clause.

So Yara suna bi umurni na likita is like a topic + comment structure:

Yara – as for the children,
suna bi umurni na likita – they are following the doctor’s orders.

Saying just Yara bi umurni na likita (without suna) would be ungrammatical in normal Hausa.

What exactly does bi mean here, and why doesn’t it change for person or number?

bi means “to follow / to obey”. In this context it’s “are obeying / are following.”

Hausa verbs do not conjugate for person or number the way English verbs do. The form of the verb bi stays the same with different subjects:

Ina bi umurni na likita. = I am following the doctor’s orders.
Kana bi umurni na likita. = You (m.sg.) are following the doctor’s orders.
Suna bi umurni na likita. = They are following the doctor’s orders.

What changes is:

the subject pronoun (ni, kai, ita, su, etc.)
the aspect/tense form attached to it (na, ke, ka, etc.)

The main verb itself (bi) doesn’t add endings like -s, -ed, -ing.

What does na mean in umurni na likita? Is it “of” or “my”?

Here na means “of”, not “my.”

umurni = command, instruction, order
na = of (linker agreeing with a masculine singular head noun)
likita = doctor

So umurni na likita literally = “order of (a/the) doctor” → “the doctor’s orders / instructions.”

Hausa has two different “na” forms that look the same in writing:

Independent linker “na” (what you see here)
- Shows a genitive/possessive relationship: X na Y = X of Y
- Example: motar sufurin jama’a / mota ta gwamnati etc. (car of public transport / car of the government)
Possessive suffix “-na” meaning “my”, which attaches to the noun:
- gida
  - -na → gidana = my house
- littafi
  - -na → littafina = my book

In umurni na likita, na is the linker “of”, not the "-na" possessive suffix. So it doesn’t mean “my doctor’s order”; it just links umurni to likita.

How would I say “the children” instead of just “children” here?

Hausa doesn’t have a separate word for “the”. Instead, definiteness is usually shown by adding a short ending to the noun (often -n / -r / -ɗin etc., depending on the noun’s ending and dialect).

Yara = children (general / “children” in general)
Yaran (or Yaran nan for extra clarity) = the children (specific)

So you could say:

Yaran suna bi umurni na likita.
= The children are following the doctor’s orders.

Likewise for umurni:

umurni = (some) order / instruction(s)
umurnin (often written umurnin likita) = the order(s)

More fully definite:

Yaran suna bi umurnin likita.
≈ The children are following the doctor’s orders. (very natural wording)

Why is umurni singular in Hausa when English says “orders” or “instructions”?

umurni is grammatically singular, but in many contexts it works like a mass or collective noun in English:

umurni na likita = the doctor’s instructions / orders (as a set)
It refers to the whole bundle of directions the doctor gives.

There is a regular plural: umurnai = individual “orders/commands,” but:

When you mean “follow the doctor’s advice/instructions” as a general idea, Hausa usually uses umurni (sg.), not umurnai.
Using umurnai would make you sound like you’re counting distinct, separate commands.

So suna bi umurni na likita is the natural way to say “They are following the doctor’s orders.”

Can I say “suke bi” instead of “suna bi”? What’s the difference between suna and suke?

Both suna and suke relate to the 3rd person plural “they.” The difference is mostly grammatical:

suna = “they are (doing)” in a simple, non‑relative clause
- Used in normal statements like:
  - Yara suna bi umurni na likita. = The children are following the doctor’s orders.
suke is the relative / focus form, used in:
- Relative clauses:
  - Yaran da suke bi umurnin likita sun warke.
    = The children who are following the doctor’s orders have recovered.
- Certain focus constructions and questions.

In your sentence, Yara suna bi umurni na likita is the correct form.
Yara suke bi umurni na likita would be wrong unless it’s inside a larger structure that requires the relative form (for example after da, or with certain focus particles).

Is the word order in Yara suna bi umurni na likita always subject–verb–object like English?

Broadly yes, Hausa word order is also Subject – Verb – Object (SVO):

Yara (Subject)
suna bi (Verb phrase: “are following”)
umurni na likita (Object: “the doctor’s orders”)

Within the object phrase umurni na likita, the order is:

Head noun + linker + possessor
- umurni (head: “order”)
- na (of)
- likita (possessor: “doctor”)

So the whole thing matches English fairly closely in order:

Yara = The children
suna bi = are following
umurni na likita = the doctor’s orders

How would I say “The children always follow the doctor’s orders” vs “are following right now” in Hausa? Does suna bi cover both?

suna bi can cover both present continuous and habitual present, depending on context:

Right now / currently
- Yara suna bi umurni na likita.
  = The children are (currently) following the doctor’s orders.
Habitual / generally
- In everyday speech, the same form can also mean:
  The children follow / always follow the doctor’s orders.

If you really want to emphasize habit (always, generally), you can add an adverb:

Yara kullum suna bi umurnin likita.
= The children always follow the doctor’s orders.

Context usually makes it clear whether suna bi means “are following (now)” or “(usually) follow.”