Learn Hardcore Hausa: A cikin ajanda na akwai lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki. - In my agenda there is time for work, study, rest and exercise.

A cikin ajanda na akwai lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki.

In my agenda there is time for work, study, rest and exercise.

Breakdown of A cikin ajanda na akwai lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki.

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Questions & Answers about A cikin ajanda na akwai lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki.

What does a cikin mean exactly, and why are there two words?

a cikin literally combines:

a = “in / at / on” (a general preposition for location)
cikin = “the inside (of), the middle (of)”

So a cikin ajanda na is literally “in the inside of my agenda”, i.e. “in my agenda / in my planner”.

You could see:

a gida – at home
ciki – inside
a cikin gida – inside the house / in the house

Using a cikin makes it clear that something is inside or within something else, not just loosely “at” that place.

Could the word order be Akwai lokaci na aiki… a cikin ajanda na instead of starting with A cikin ajanda na?

Yes, that is also grammatical:

A cikin ajanda na akwai lokaci na aiki…
Akwai lokaci na aiki… a cikin ajanda na.

Both mean essentially the same thing.

The difference is nuance:

Starting with A cikin ajanda na puts the location in focus first: “In my agenda, there is time for…”
Starting with Akwai lokaci… puts the existence of that time first: “There is time for… in my agenda.”

In normal speech, both word orders are fine; learners can treat them as equivalent for now.

What is the function of akwai here, and does it change for singular or plural?

akwai is an existential verb meaning “there is / there are” (or sometimes “exist(s)”).

akwai lokaci – there is time
akwai lokuta – there are times
akwai littafi – there is a book
akwai littattafai – there are books

akwai itself does not change for singular vs plural; the noun that follows shows whether it’s singular or plural. So in your sentence:

akwai lokaci… = “there is time…”

You would still say akwai even if you used a plural noun.

Why is na used twice (in ajanda na and lokaci na aiki)? Are they the same word?

They are the same form na, but doing two different jobs in this sentence.

ajanda na – here na is a possessive pronoun = “my”
- ajanda na = “my agenda / my planner”
  Other examples:
- littafi na – my book
- suna na – my name
lokaci na aiki – here na is a linker/genitive marker, often translated as “of / for”:
- lokaci na aiki = “time for work / time of work”
- lokaci na karatu – time for studying
- kofi na ruwa – cup of water

So:

The first na = “my”
The second na = “of / for” (linking “time” and “work”)

They look the same on the page but have different grammatical roles. Context tells you which is which.

Why does the possessive come after the noun in ajanda na instead of before, like “my agenda”?

In Hausa, the normal order is:

Noun + Possessive pronoun

So:

ajanda na – my agenda
gida na – my house
yarona / yaro na – my child (boy)
suna na – my name

This is the opposite of English, which says “my agenda”. So you have to think:

Hausa: “agenda my”
English: “my agenda”

This post‑noun position is very regular, so whenever you want “my X”, “your X”, “his X”, etc., expect the possessive to come after the noun.

What does lokaci na aiki literally mean, and why is lokaci singular even though several activities follow?

Literally, lokaci na aiki is:

lokaci – time
na – of / for (linking word)
aiki – work

So: “time of work” or “time for work”.

In the full phrase:

lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki

we still treat lokaci as one general category of time that covers several activities:

time for work,
(time for) study,
(time for) rest,
and (time for) exercise.

Hausa often uses a single singular head noun (here lokaci) and then lists several things it is “for”. You could pluralize it if you wanted to emphasise separate times:

lokuta na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki – “times for work, study, rest and exercise”

but the singular lokaci is perfectly natural when you mean “(in my schedule) there is time for X, Y, Z…”.

Why is na only written once before aiki, and not repeated before karatu, hutu, and motsa jiki?

In Hausa, if you have a linker like na or a preposition before the first item in a list, it is usually understood to apply to the whole list.

So:

lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki
is understood as:
- lokaci na aiki,
- lokaci na karatu,
- lokaci na hutu,
- lokaci na motsa jiki.

You can repeat na before each item for emphasis or formality:

lokaci na aiki, na karatu, na hutu, da na motsa jiki

but in everyday language it’s more natural (and less heavy) to say it once, as in your sentence.

What exactly does ajanda mean in Hausa? Is it the same as “agenda” in English?

ajanda is a loanword (from English or via another language) and is very close in meaning to English “agenda” or “planner / diary / schedule”.

Depending on context it can mean:

a personal planner or diary (where you write your daily schedule),
an agenda for a meeting (list of topics),
more generally, a schedule.

In your sentence A cikin ajanda na…, it clearly means something like “my planner / my schedule book” rather than “the list of topics for a meeting”.

What do karatu, hutu, and motsa jiki mean here? Do they have any extra nuances?

Yes, each word has a slightly broader meaning than the simple English gloss:

karatu
- Basic meaning: reading; study; studying; education.
- In this context: “study” or “study time” (could include reading, doing homework, revising, etc.)
hutu
- Basic meaning: rest, break, holiday, vacation.
- Here: “rest / break” – time when you are not working or studying.
motsa jiki
- Literally: motsa = move; jiki = body → “movement of the body”.
- Fixed expression meaning physical exercise, working out, doing sports, etc.

So the list aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki is:

work,
study,
rest,
and exercise.

What does da do in hutu da motsa jiki? Is it always used for “and”?

In this sentence, da is the normal word for “and” linking the last two items in a list:

aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki
= work, study, rest and exercise.

Common uses of da:

“and” between nouns or between adjectives:
- ruwa da burodi – water and bread
- babba da ƙarami – big and small
“with” (instrument or accompaniment):
- ya zo da abokinsa – he came with his friend
- ina yanka burodi da wuƙa – I’m cutting bread with a knife

Here it’s clearly the “and” meaning.

Could I say this sentence using a structure closer to “I have time for…” instead of akwai?

Yes. A natural alternative would be:

A cikin ajanda na ina da lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki.
= “In my agenda I have time for work, study, rest and exercise.”

Comparison:

A cikin ajanda na akwai lokaci…
- literally: “In my agenda there is time…”
- focuses on the existence of that time in your schedule.
A cikin ajanda na ina da lokaci…
- literally: “In my agenda I have time…”
- focuses a bit more on you having that time available.

Both are understandable; the original sentence with akwai is very natural and slightly more neutral.

Is the whole phrase “lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki” one big noun phrase?

Yes. Structurally, you can think of it as one large noun phrase whose head is lokaci (“time”):

lokaci [na aiki, (na) karatu, (na) hutu, (na) motsa jiki]

The pieces after lokaci describe what the time is for. So the structure of the sentence is basically:

A cikin ajanda na – in my agenda (a prepositional phrase of location)
akwai – there is (existential verb)
lokaci na aiki, karatu, hutu da motsa jiki – (one big noun phrase: time for work, study, rest and exercise)

That’s why it all stays together after akwai.