Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi. - The children are sitting at the riverbank.

Yara – children
suna – they are (progressive/continuous marker: su = they, na = continuous aspect)
zaune – sitting / in a sitting state (from the verb zauna = to sit)
a – at / in / on (general preposition for location)
bakin – the edge / the bank / the mouth of (from baki = mouth, edge + -n linking suffix)
kogi – river

So literally: Children they-are sitting at edge-of river.

Why do we say suna zaune and not just zaune?

In Hausa, you usually need a verbal/aspect marker to make a full clause.

suna zaune:
- su (they) + na (progressive/continuous) = suna
- zaune = sitting

Together they mean they are sitting / they are in a sitting state.

If you said only zaune, it would sound like a fragment (just sitting), not a complete sentence with a subject and tense/aspect.

Compare:

Yara suna zaune. – The children are sitting.
Yara zaune. – Feels incomplete, like saying children sitting without a verb.

What is the difference between suna zaune and sun zauna?

These differ in aspect (ongoing vs completed):

suna zaune – progressive / continuous state
- Focus on the current state: they are (right now) in a sitting position.
- English: They are sitting / They are seated.
sun zauna – perfective / completed action
- Focus on the completed act: they have already sat down.
- English: They sat (down) / They have sat down.

So:

Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi. – We are looking at them as they sit by the river.
Yara sun zauna a bakin kogi. – We are telling you that at some point they sat down there (the action is completed).

Is zaune here a verb, an adjective, or something else?

Zaune is a kind of verbal adjective / stative form (often called a verbal noun or participle-like form).

Base verb: zauna – to sit
Stative form: zaune – in a sitting state, sitting

In suna zaune, the verbal work (person + aspect) is carried by suna, while zaune describes the state they are in.

This pattern is common:

suna tsaye – they are standing (from tsaya = to stand)
suna kwance – they are lying down (from kwanciya / kwana = to lie)

So you can think of zaune as sitting (state) rather than a finite verb on its own.

Why is there no word that directly matches the in the children?

Hausa normally does not use a separate word for the like English does. Definiteness is shown by:

Context – If the context makes the group specific, Yara can mean the children.
Suffixes – You can add -n / -r / -ar / -an to a noun in some cases to make it more specific.

For example:

Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi.
- Could be Children are sitting by a river or The children are sitting by the river, depending on context.

If you want to be clearly specific about the children:

Yaran suna zaune a bakin kogi. – The children are sitting by the river.

Here Yaran is Yara + -n (definite/possessive-type suffix), making it sound like a particular set of children already known in the situation.

What exactly does bakin kogi mean, and how is it formed?

Bakin kogi literally means the mouth/edge of the river, and idiomatically it is the river bank.

Formation:

baki – mouth, edge, lip
baki + -n → bakin (the edge of / the mouth of)
kogi – river

So:

bakin kogi – the bank (edge) of the river

This -n is a linking / genitive suffix used when one noun possesses or qualifies another:

gidan malam – the house of the teacher / the teacher’s house
ƙofar gida – the door of the house / the house door
bakin kogi – the edge of the river / the river bank

Why do we have kogi and not kogin here?

Both can appear, but they have slightly different feels:

bakin kogi – the edge of a river / the river (more general)
bakin kogin nan – the edge of this river (more clearly definite and specific)

The -n at the end of kogin is again the same type of definite/genitive suffix:

kogi – a river / the river (depending on context)
kogin – the river (more explicitly definite in many contexts)

In bakin kogi, the phrase is already pretty clear and natural as river bank, so kogin is not required. Native speakers often say bakin kogi for the river bank in general.

What does the preposition a express in this sentence, and could another preposition be used?

Here, a is a general location preposition, roughly at / in / on.

suna zaune a bakin kogi – they are sitting at / on the river bank.

You could sometimes use other prepositional words, depending on nuance:

suna zaune kusa da kogi – they are sitting near the river.
suna zaune a gefen kogi – they are sitting at the side of the river.

But a bakin kogi is the most natural way to say by the river / on the river bank in many contexts.

Can the word order change, like Yara suna a bakin kogi zaune?

In neutral, simple statements, the most natural order is:

Subject – Aspect/Pronoun – Main predicate – Location

So:

Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi. – Very natural.

You could move things around for emphasis, but some orders will sound awkward or require other changes (like focus markers). For a learner, stick to:

Subject: Yara
Verb phrase: suna zaune
Location phrase: a bakin kogi

So Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi is the recommended word order.

What is the difference between Yara suna zaune and Suna zaune?

Yara suna zaune – The children are sitting.
- Yara explicitly tells you who they are.
Suna zaune – They are sitting.
- su (in suna) refers to they, but you need context to know who.

In conversation, if it is already clear that we are talking about children, a speaker might just say Suna zaune a bakin kogi (They are sitting by the river) and omit Yara. For a clear, standalone sentence, Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi is more explicit.

How is Yara related to yaro and yarinya, and why isn’t there a plural ending like in English?

Hausa often uses internal changes (not just adding a plural ending) to form plurals.

yaro – boy
yarinya – girl
yara – children (boys and/or girls; general children)

So:

Singular: yaro / yarinya
Plural: yara

There is no -s or -es ending like in English. Instead, the vowel pattern changes to mark the plural. This type of pattern is common in Hausa (and other Afro-Asiatic languages).

Does Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi sound like a general statement (children in general) or about specific children?

By itself, Yara suna zaune a bakin kogi is ambiguous, and context decides:

Specific children (most common in real-life use):
- In a story or conversation where we already know which children we are talking about, it means
  The children are sitting by the river.
Children in general (possible in some contexts):
- In a more general description, it could be Children sit / are sitting by the river.

If you strongly want specific, known children, you can mark definiteness more clearly:

Yaran suna zaune a bakin kogi. – The children are sitting by the river (those particular children).

Is there any difference in meaning between a bakin kogi and saying a bakin rafi?

Both are possible but refer to different types of water:

kogi – a larger river
rafi – a smaller stream or creek (often seasonal in some regions)

So:

a bakin kogi – at the bank of a river
a bakin rafi – at the bank of a stream

The structure bakin + noun is the same; only the kind of waterway changes.

How would the sentence change if I wanted to say The children were sitting by the river (past continuous)?

Hausa often uses the same suna + stative form for present and past continuous, with the time reference given by context or a time word.

You can add a past time adverb:

Jiya yara suna zaune a bakin kogi. – Yesterday the children were sitting by the river.
Da yamma yara suna zaune a bakin kogi. – In the evening the children were sitting by the river.

The form suna zaune itself does not change; the time expression (like jiya – yesterday) makes it clearly past.