Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ma'aikaci a banki yana taimaka wa mutane su buɗe asusu. - An employee at the bank helps people open an account.

It comes from aiki (work) with the prefix ma- (a doer), so literally “someone who works.”
On its own, ma'aikaci is singular and usually gender‑neutral in meaning (“a worker”), though grammatically it patterns like a masculine noun unless you make it explicitly feminine (see next question).

How do I say female worker or workers (plural) like in English?

You change the ending:

ma'aikaci – a worker (generic or male)
ma'aikaciya – a female worker
ma'aikata – workers (plural, any gender)

So you could say:

Ma'aikaciya a banki – A female worker at a bank
Ma'aikata a banki – Workers at a bank

What exactly does a in a banki mean?

The a in a banki is a preposition meaning in / at / on depending on context.

So:

a banki = at a bank / in a bank
a gida = at home / in the house
a kasuwa = at the market

It is not an article like English a / the; it’s a locative preposition.

Where are the English articles “a” and “the” in this sentence?

Hausa does not have direct equivalents of English a / an / the as separate words.
Definiteness is usually shown by:

context, or
an extra element like ɗin / ɗin nan / nan, etc.

For example:

Ma'aikaci a banki – a worker at a bank (or “the worker at a bank,” if context makes him specific)
Ma'aikacin nan a banki – this (particular) worker at the bank
Ma'aikacin bankin nan – the worker of this bank

So in Ma'aikaci a banki, there is no explicit “a” or “the”; it’s understood from context.

What does yana in yana taimaka mean? Is it like “he is helping” or “he helps”?

Yana is made of ya (he) + na (progressive aspect marker), usually written together as one word.

It typically corresponds to “he is …‑ing” or a present / habitual action, depending on context:

Ma'aikaci a banki yana taimaka wa mutane…
– The bank worker is helping people… / helps people…

If you want a more clearly habitual form (“he usually/regularly helps”), Hausa often uses yakan taimaka, but yana taimaka is very commonly used for present and general facts.

Why is it yana taimaka wa mutane, not just yana taimaka mutane?

The verb taimaka (“to help”) usually takes an indirect object marked by wa (or ga) when you say who is being helped.

taimaka wa mutane – help people
taimaka wa shi – help him
taimaka musu – help them

Without wa/ga (or a pronoun like masa, musu), the sentence sounds incomplete or ungrammatical. So:

✔ yana taimaka wa mutane – he helps people
✖ yana taimaka mutane – incorrect in standard Hausa

What is mutane exactly? Is it just “people”? What is the singular form?

Yes, mutane means people (plural).

The singular is:

mutum – a person / a man
mutane – people (more than one)

So in the sentence:

mutane = people (the ones being helped)

What does su do in mutane su buɗe asusu? Why is it there?

Here su is the subject pronoun “they” introducing a subordinate clause.

The structure is:

yana taimaka wa mutane [su buɗe asusu]
– he helps people [they open an account] → he helps people (so that) they open an account.

Hausa often repeats the appropriate subject pronoun at the start of such “purpose/result” clauses:

… yana koya wa yara su karanta.
– …he teaches children (so that) they read → he teaches children to read.

Can I just say yana taimaka wa mutane buɗe asusu and drop su?

In natural Hausa, you normally keep the pronoun su in this type of clause.

✔ yana taimaka wa mutane su buɗe asusu – correct and natural
✖ yana taimaka wa mutane buɗe asusu – sounds wrong / incomplete

The su clearly marks that “they” (the people) are the ones doing the opening. Leaving it out removes that grammatical signal.

Who is actually opening the accounts here — the worker or the people? How would I change it if the worker opens them?

In the original sentence:

Ma'aikaci a banki yana taimaka wa mutane su buɗe asusu.
→ The worker helps people (so that) they open accounts.

Su refers back to mutane = the people are opening the accounts.

If you want to say that the worker himself opens the accounts for the people, you would say something like:

Ma'aikaci a banki yana buɗe wa mutane asusu.
– The worker at the bank opens accounts for people.

Here, yana buɗe has the worker as the subject of buɗe.

What does asusu mean exactly? Is it one account or many?

Asusu here means a bank account (or more generally, an account / fund / deposit).

In this sentence, asusu is singular: “an account.”
The plural is asusuka (or in some usage asusoshi, depending on dialect/register).

If you want to emphasize plural accounts, you could say:

… su buɗe asusuka. – …to open accounts.

How would I make it more explicit that these are bank accounts?

You can add a possessive/genitive phrase:

asusu na banki – an account of a bank / bank account
asusun banki – the bank’s account / bank account (with a genitive form)

So a slightly fuller version:

Ma'aikaci a banki yana taimaka wa mutane su buɗe asusun banki.
– A worker at the bank helps people open bank accounts.

How do I say this sentence in the past or future?

Starting from the original:

Ma'aikaci a banki yana taimaka wa mutane su buɗe asusu.
– A worker at a bank helps / is helping people open an account.

Past tense:

Ma'aikaci a banki ya taimaka wa mutane su buɗe asusu.
– The worker at the bank helped people open an account.

Future:

Ma'aikaci a banki zai taimaka wa mutane su buɗe asusu.
– The worker at the bank will help people open an account.

How do I pronounce the apostrophe in ma'aikaci and the special letter ɗ in buɗe?

In ma'aikaci, the ' marks a glottal stop (like the break in the middle of English uh‑oh). So it’s roughly: ma‑[glottal stop]‑ai‑ka‑ci.
ɗ is a special consonant (an implosive d). It’s a bit like a regular d, but with a slight inward airflow. For learners, pronouncing it as a clear d is usually acceptable at first.

So buɗe is roughly “boo‑deh” with that special ɗ sound.