Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yaro yana riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu. - The boy is holding a cup of tea in his hand.

yaro – boy (a young male person)
yana – he is / is (3rd person masculine singular in the progressive aspect)
riƙe – holding / to hold
da – with
kofi – cup / mug
na – of (a linker that means of here)
shayi – tea
a – in / at / on (general preposition for location)
hannu – hand (can also mean arm in some contexts)

So a very literal rendering is:

Boy he-is holding with cup of tea in hand.
Natural English: The boy is holding a cup of tea in his hand.

In English we say a boy or the boy. Why does Hausa just say yaro without a or the?

Hausa does not have separate little words like English a and the. Instead:

A bare noun like yaro can mean a boy or the boy, depending on context.
To make it clearly some boy / a boy, you can say:
- wani yaro – a (certain) boy / some boy
To make it clearly the boy (that we know / are talking about), you often:
- Add a final -n / -r to the noun, or
- Use a demonstrative like nan (this), or both.

Examples:

Yaro yana riƙe da kofi…
Could be A boy is holding a cup… or The boy is holding a cup…
Yaron yana riƙe da kofi…
More like The boy is holding a cup… (a specific boy)
Yaron nan yana riƙe da kofi…
This boy is holding a cup…

So yaro in your sentence is neutral; English has to choose a or the, but Hausa doesn’t.

What exactly is yana doing in this sentence? Is it like English is?

Yana is the combination of:

ya – he (3rd person masculine singular pronoun)
na – progressive / continuous aspect marker

Together, yana marks an ongoing action, similar to English is …‑ing:

yana riƙe – he is holding
yaro yana riƙe… – literally the boy, he is holding…

Other persons:

ina riƙe – I am holding
kana riƙe – you (m.sg.) are holding
kina riƙe – you (f.sg.) are holding
muna riƙe – we are holding
kuna riƙe – you (pl.) are holding
suna riƙe – they are holding

Compare with a completed action (perfective):

ya riƙe kofi – he held / he has held the cup (completed, not ongoing)

So in your sentence, yana tells you that the holding is happening right now / at this time, not just that it happened once.

Why do we say riƙe da kofi instead of just riƙe kofi?

In everyday Hausa, the natural way to say hold something is:

riƙe da + thing

So:

yana riƙe da kofi – he is holding a cup
ta riƙe da jariri – she is holding a baby

The da here means roughly with, but together riƙe da X functions like a single verb phrase: to be holding X.

Without da:

riƙe kofi is not wrong in all contexts, but it sounds less natural or more restricted.
In normal spoken Hausa, most speakers would automatically say riƙe da kofi.

Other common “holding / carrying” expressions for comparison:

ɗauke da kofi – carrying a cup (on you, with you)
rungume jariri – hugging / holding a baby in one’s arms

For our sentence, riƙe da kofi is exactly what you want.

I learned that da can mean and. What does da mean here, and what other uses does it have?

Da is a very multifunctional word in Hausa. Common uses:

With (comitative / accompaniment)
- Na je da abokina. – I went with my friend.
- In your sentence, riƙe da kofi – holding with a cup → holding a cup
And (joining nouns or noun phrases)
- yaro da yarinya – a boy and a girl
- shayi da madara – tea and milk
Have (when combined with to be)
- Ina da kofi. – I have a cup. (literally I am with a cup.)
- Yana da mota. – He has a car.
Than (in comparisons, with fi)
- Ya fi ni girma da yawa. – He is much bigger than me.
In some time / condition clauses
- Da ya zo, sai muka tafi. – When he came, then we left.

In your sentence:

riƙe da kofi – holding with a cup → holding a cup
So here da is the with / comitative use.

How does kofi na shayi work? Why do we need na between kofi and shayi?

Kofi na shayi is a genitive (possessive / “of”) construction:

kofi – cup
na – of (linker)
shayi – tea

So literally cup of tea.

General pattern:

Noun 1 + na / ta + Noun 2 → Noun 1 of Noun 2

Use na when Noun 1 is grammatically masculine singular.
Use ta when Noun 1 is grammatically feminine singular.

Examples:

kofi na shayi – cup of tea (cup = masculine)
faranti na abinci – plate of food
mota ta soja – soldier’s car (car = feminine)
rigar yarinya / riga ta yarinya – the girl’s dress

There is also a shorter way using a suffix:

kofin shayi – literally cup-of tea

Both:

kofi na shayi
kofin shayi

can mean cup of tea. Both are normal; speakers vary in which they prefer. For a learner, you can treat them as effectively the same in everyday use.

But I also learned na as I (like in na je = I went) or my (like in littafina = my book). Is it the same na as in kofi na shayi?

They are written the same in Latin letters (na), but they play different grammatical roles. Context tells you which is which:

Perfective 1st person singular (subject I in past / completed action)
- Na je. – I went.
- Na gani. – I saw.
Possessive “my” (as a suffix on nouns)
- littafi – book
- littafina – my book
- motata – my car (note ‑ta here, not ‑na, because of the noun’s shape)
Genitive linker “of” (what you have in your sentence)
- kofi na shayi – cup of tea
- gida na malam – the teacher’s house / house of the teacher

So:

In na je, na = I (subject of the verb, perfective).
In littafina, ‑na = my (possessive suffix).
In kofi na shayi, na = of (linker between two nouns).

They are historically related, but for learning purposes, treat them as three separate grammar items that just happen to look the same.

Literally a hannu is in hand. Why don’t we say in his hand (for example, a hannunsa)? How is possession shown here?

The phrase is:

a hannu – in (the) hand

In Hausa, when talking about someone’s own body parts in a simple sentence, it’s very common to omit the possessive pronoun if it’s obvious from context who the owner is.

In your sentence:

Yaro yana riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu.
We naturally understand: The boy is holding a cup of tea in his hand.

Because the subject is the boy, a hannu is automatically interpreted as in his hand.

If you want to be explicit or talk about someone else’s hand, you add the possessive:

a hannuna – in my hand
a hannunka / a hannunki – in your (m./f.) hand
a hannunsa – in his hand
a hannunta – in her hand
a hannunsu – in their hand(s)

Example:

A hannunsa akwai kofi na shayi. – In his hand there is a cup of tea.
Yaro yana riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannunsa. – The boy is holding a cup of tea in his hand. (more explicit, slightly heavier)

But in simple subject–body‑part sentences, a hannu is very normal and usually means in his / her hand when the subject is clear.

What is the normal word order in Hausa, and how does this sentence fit that pattern?

Hausa is basically an S–V–O language (Subject–Verb–Object), but with an aspect marker / auxiliary between subject and main verb.

Your sentence:

Yaro – Subject (S)
yana – Aspect / auxiliary (progressive is)
riƙe – Main verb (holding)
da kofi na shayi – Object phrase (a cup of tea) introduced by da
a hannu – Prepositional phrase (in (his) hand)

So the structure is:

[Subject] [Aspect/aux] [Verb] [Object] [Locative phrase]
Yaro yana riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu

This is the neutral, unmarked order.

You can move things for emphasis or focus, usually with extra markers like ne / ce, but that’s a later topic. For now, remember:

Subject first
Then tense/aspect (like yana, ya, zai, etc.)
Then verb
Then object(s) and prepositional phrases (like a hannu)

How would I say similar things in other tenses, like The boy was holding… or The boy will hold…?

Your sentence uses the progressive aspect:

Yaro yana riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu.
– The boy is holding a cup of tea in his hand.

Other common possibilities:

Perfective past / completed action: “The boy held…”
- Yaro ya riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu.
  – The boy held / has held a cup of tea in his hand.
  This describes a completed event, not an ongoing one.
Future: “The boy will hold…”
- Yaro zai riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu.
  – The boy will hold a cup of tea in his hand.
Ongoing in the past: “The boy was holding…”
Hausa often keeps yana and uses a time expression to show it was in the past:
- Jiya, yaro yana riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu.
  – Yesterday, the boy was holding a cup of tea in his hand.
Habitual: “The boy usually holds…”
- Yaro yakan riƙe da kofi na shayi a hannu.
  – The boy usually holds a cup of tea in his hand.

So:

yana → ongoing now (or at a given time)
ya → completed
zai → future
yakan → habitual

How do you pronounce riƙe and what is the difference between k and ƙ in Hausa? And how do you say shayi?

1. Difference between k and ƙ

Hausa has two different consonants written k and ƙ:

k – a plain k sound, like English k in cat.
ƙ – a “stronger” k produced with a little glottal burst (technically an ejective k).

For many learners, a practical first step is:

Start by pronouncing ƙ as a slightly tenser, sharper k, often with a very short pause or tightness in the throat.
Native speakers clearly distinguish them, but you will still be understood if your ƙ sounds like a strong k while you are learning.

2. Pronouncing riƙe

Approximate pronunciation:

riƙe ≈ REE‑keh, but with a strong / tight k in the middle.
More phonetically (for those who know IPA): [rî.kʼè] with falling tones, but tones aren’t written in standard orthography.

Tips:

The r is usually a quick tap, like the tt in American English butter.
Keep both vowels short: not reee‑kay, but ri‑ke.

3. Pronouncing shayi

shayi ≈ SHAH‑yee.
sh like English sh in ship.
First vowel like a in father (for many English accents).
Second syllable ‑yi sounds like English yee.

Again, Hausa is tonal, so pitch differences matter to native speakers, but in writing the tones are not shown. For basic communication, getting the consonants and vowels right, and a reasonably natural rhythm, is more important at first.