Learn Hardcore Hausa: Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane, don haka na ɗauki mota ta haya. - The bus was full of people, so I took a taxi.

The ending -ɗin is a kind of definite marker. It points to a specific, known bus, roughly like saying “that bus / the bus (we were talking about)” rather than just “a bus”.

Bas = a bus (any bus)
Bas ɗin = that (particular) bus / the bus in question

The letter ɗ is a special Hausa consonant. It is not the same as English d. It is an implosive d sound: you make a d but with a slight inward gulp of air. It is always written with the hook (ɗ) in standard Hausa spelling.

So -ɗin is simply how this little word is written when it is attached to the noun.

Why do we have ya in Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane? What does ya do?

Ya is the 3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun in the perfective (completed-action) tense.

In this sentence:

Bas ɗin = the bus (subject)
ya = it (he), masculine singular subject pronoun
cika = filled / became full

Hausa normally needs a subject pronoun before the verb, even when the noun subject has just been stated. So:

Bas ɗin ya cika = The bus (it) filled up / The bus was full.

Because bas is grammatically masculine, you use ya, not ta (which is feminine).

What exactly does cika da mutane mean, and how does da work here?

The verb cika means to fill / to become full. When you say cika da X, it means “to be full of X”.

cika = to fill / become full
cika da mutane = to be full of people

So Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane literally is:

The bus filled (up) with people → The bus was full of people.

The word da here is like English “with/of” in this specific construction: cika da… = full of…

Could I say Bas ɗin ya cike da mutane instead of ya cika da mutane? What is the difference between cika and cike?

Both exist, but they are not quite the same:

cika is a verb: to fill, to become full.
- Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane = The bus filled up with people / The bus was full of people.
cike is more like an adjective/state: full.
- Bas ɗin cike yake da mutane (or Bas ɗin cike ya ke da mutane) = The bus is full of people.

In everyday speech, people also say:

Bas ɗin cike da mutane (elliptical, dropping yake).

Your sentence with ya cika da mutane emphasizes more the resulting state after an action: it (has) filled up.

What does don haka literally mean, and how is it used?

Literally, don haka breaks down as:

don = because of / for (the sake of)
haka = that / like that / this way

Together, don haka functions as a conjunction, usually translated:

so / therefore / as a result / that’s why

In your sentence:

… don haka na ɗauki mota ta haya.
… so I took a taxi / hired car.

It links the first clause (bus was full) to the second (you took another vehicle).

Can I use saboda haka instead of don haka?

Yes, you often can.

don haka and saboda haka both commonly mean “so / therefore / for that reason.”

A slight nuance:

don is short and very frequent in speech.
saboda is a full word meaning “because of / due to”, sometimes a bit more formal or explanatory.

In your sentence:

Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane, don haka na ɗauki mota ta haya.
Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane, saboda haka na ɗauki mota ta haya.

Both are natural and correct.

Why is it na ɗauki and not na ɗauka or something else?

The verb is ɗauka = to take, pick up. In the 1st person singular perfective (I took), Hausa uses a short form of the verb, and the -k- often becomes -ki before a vowel ending.

So:

Infinitive: ɗauka = to take
1st person perfective: na ɗauki = I took

Structure:

na = I (perfective subject pronoun)
ɗauki = took

So na ɗauki mota ta haya = I took a taxi / hired car.

What does mota ta haya literally mean? Is it the normal way to say “a taxi”?

Literally:

mota = car
ta = its / her (3rd person feminine singular pronoun)
haya = hire, rental

So mota ta haya is something like “car of hire / car whose use is hire”, i.e. a car for hire, which in normal English is a taxi or a hired car (context decides).

In modern Hausa, people may say:

mota ta haya = taxi, hired car (very common)
motar haya = taxi, hired car (another structure)
taksi = taxi (direct borrowing from English/French)

Your sentence uses a very common, natural phrase: mota ta haya.

What is the role of ta in mota ta haya? Why not just mota haya?

Ta here is the 3rd person feminine singular pronoun, agreeing with mota, which is grammatically feminine in Hausa.

It behaves a bit like a linking possessive pronoun:

mota = car (she/it, feminine)
ta = her/its (referring back to the car)
haya = hire

So mota ta haya is literally “car, her hire” → car whose function is hire → car for hire.

You will also hear:

mota haya or motar haya in some dialects/contexts.

But mota ta haya is a standard, very commonly taught phrase.

Why is it mutane and not mutumai or something? How do mutum and mutane work?

Hausa has some irregular plurals.

mutum = person (singular)
mutane = people (plural)

So:

ya cika da mutane = it was full of people.
mutum ɗaya = one person.
mutane da yawa = many people.

There is no form like mutumai; mutane is just the irregular plural you must memorize.

Why does the object mota ta haya come after the verb ɗauki? Could it come before?

Hausa basic word order is Subject – Verb – Object (SVO), like English.

In your second clause:

na (I) = Subject
ɗauki (took) = Verb
mota ta haya (a taxi / hired car) = Object

So:

na ɗauki mota ta haya = I took a taxi.

You normally cannot put the direct object before the verb in a simple statement. Putting mota ta haya before ɗauki would sound ungrammatical in this neutral sentence.

Is there any difference in meaning between Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane and just Bas ɗin ya cika?

Yes, a small difference in explicitness, though context can fill it in.

Bas ɗin ya cika = The bus filled up / The bus was full.
(It does not say what it was full of.)
Bas ɗin ya cika da mutane = The bus was full of people.

Often, in real life, if you say Bas ɗin ya cika, people will understand you mean “with passengers/people,” but adding da mutane makes it explicit and is very natural.

How should I pronounce the special consonant ɗ in ɗin and ɗauki?

ɗ is an implosive d, different from the plain d in Hausa.

To pronounce ɗ:

Start with your tongue in the normal d position (touching the ridge behind the upper teeth).
Instead of pushing air out strongly, you make a gentler, slightly inward movement, like a very soft gulp while releasing the d.

In practice, many learners start by pronouncing it like a strong, “heavy” d and refine it over time.

So:

ɗin ≈ a “heavy” din
ɗauki ≈ dauki but with that implosive quality on the d.