Learn Hardcore Hausa: Tabarmar ta yi taushi, amma bargon kaka tsoho ne, amma yana dumi. - The mat is soft, but grandmother's blanket is old, yet it is warm.

Marks definiteness:
- tabarma = “a mat”
- tabarmar = “the mat”
Links to what follows (it’s like a “linking form” or “construct state”):
When a noun is subject of a clause or is followed by something closely related (possessor, adjective, relative clause, etc.), Hausa often adds -n/-r:
- motar malam = the teacher’s car
- gidan nan = this house

Here, Tabarmar ta yi taushi literally feels like “The mat, it has become soft,” so -r makes tabarma “the mat” and marks it as the topic/subject.

What is the ta doing in ta yi taushi?

Ta is the 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun in the perfective aspect.

ta yi ≈ “she/it (feminine) did / has done”
Subject: tabarmar (feminine noun), so it takes ta.

In Hausa, verbs almost always come with a subject marker in front:

ya yi = he/it (masc) did
ta yi = she/it (fem) did
na yi = I did

So Tabarmar ta yi taushi literally: “The mat (fem) has done softness / has become soft.”

Why do we say ta yi taushi and not just something like taushi ce for “it is soft”?

Hausa very often expresses states and qualities with yi + a noun of quality:

ta yi kyau = she looks nice / she is beautiful
gidan ya yi zafi = the house is hot
ruwan ya yi sanyi = the water is cold

So:

ta yi taushi = “it has become soft / it is soft (now)”

You can use ne/ce with some adjectives or nouns:

Tabarma ta ce mai taushi ce (more complex: “The mat is one that is soft.”)

But the natural, everyday way to say “it is soft / it has gone soft” here is ta yi taushi, using the yi + quality noun pattern.

What exactly does ta yi taushi mean in terms of tense or aspect? Is it “became soft” or “is soft”?

Grammatically ta yi is perfective (“did, has done”), so the strict sense is:

“The mat has become soft (and is now soft).”

In actual use, perfective often implies a present result, so English translations “became soft” and “is soft (now)” are both acceptable, depending on context.

If you really wanted to emphasise an ongoing state without the idea of a change, you might use other constructions (e.g. tana da taushi “it has softness”), but ta yi taushi is very natural and common.

Why is amma (“but”) used twice: ..., amma bargon kaka tsoho ne, amma yana dumi?

Repeating amma is natural in Hausa for each new contrasting clause. The speaker is layering contrasts:

Tabarmar ta yi taushi – The mat is soft.
amma bargon kaka tsoho ne – but Grandpa’s blanket is old,
amma yana dumi – but (even so) it is warm.

In English we might compress this (“The mat is soft, but Grandpa’s blanket is old, yet it’s warm”), but in Hausa, starting each contrastive clause with amma is very normal and sounds natural.

How does bargon kaka tsoho ne work word by word? Why is tsoho after the noun?

Structure:

bargo = blanket (masculine noun)
bargon = bargo
- -n (linking/definite form: “the blanket (of)”)
kaka = grandparent / grandfather / grandmother
→ bargon kaka = “grandparent’s blanket / Grandpa’s blanket”
tsoho = old (also “old man” as a noun)
ne = copula, used with masculine subjects

So:

bargon kaka tsoho ne
Lit: “Grandparent’s blanket old is.”

Hausa puts most adjectives after the noun:

gida babba = a big house
mota ja = a red car
bargo tsoho = an old blanket

Then ne links the description to the subject:
bargon kaka tsoho ne = “Grandpa’s blanket is old.”

Why is it ne and not ce in tsoho ne?

Ne/ce are copula particles; which one you use depends mainly on the gender/shape of the subject:

ne — used with masculine nouns (and also often as a “default”)
ce — used with feminine nouns

Examples:

bargo tsoho ne = the blanket (masc) is old.
tabarma tsohuwa ce = the mat (fem) is old.
littafi sabo ne = the book is new.
mota sabuwa ce = the car is new.

Since bargo is masculine, we say tsoho ne.

What does kaka mean exactly? Is it “grandfather” or “grandmother”?

Kaka can mean:

grandfather
grandmother
more generally, a grandparent or even ancestor, depending on context.

In everyday use, context usually tells you whether it is grandpa or grandma. In bargon kaka, without any extra context, a very natural translation is “Grandpa’s blanket”, but it could also be “Grandma’s blanket.”

If you need to be explicit, Hausa can say:

kaka namiji = male grandparent, grandfather
kaka mace = female grandparent, grandmother

But often kaka alone is enough.

Is tsoho here “old man” or just “old”? Could it mean “the grandfather is old”?

In this sentence, tsoho is functioning as “old” (adjective) describing the blanket, not the grandparent.

The clause breaks down as:

Subject: bargon kaka = Grandpa’s blanket
Predicate: tsoho ne = (is) old

So the meaning is “Grandpa’s blanket is old.”

If you wanted to say “Grandpa is old,” you would say something like:

Kaka na tsoho ne. = My grandfather is old.
Kaka tsoho ne. (in a clear context)

In bargon kaka tsoho ne, the closest noun for tsoho to describe is bargo, so we read it as “the blanket is old.”

Why does the last part say amma yana dumi, and what does yana mean exactly?

Yana is the 3rd person masculine singular progressive form:

ya = he/it (masc)
-na = progressive aspect (“is doing”)
→ yana ≈ “he/it is (doing) …”

dumi is a noun meaning “warmth, heat (but milder than zafi)”.

So:

yana dumi ≈ “it is warm / it is giving warmth (right now).”

Here yana refers back to bargon kaka (the blanket), which is masculine (bargo), so the pronoun is masculine too.

What is the subject of yana dumi? There’s no noun, just yana.

The subject is contained inside the verb form yana. Hausa subject markers are attached directly to the verb and are not separate words like English “he/it.”

ya na dumi → contracted to yana dumi
= “he/it (masc) is being warm.”

Because bargo is masculine, yana is masculine singular and refers back to bargon kaka. You don’t need to repeat the noun:

bargon kaka tsoho ne, amma yana dumi.
= “Grandpa’s blanket is old, but it is warm.”

You could explicitly repeat the noun:

Bargon kaka tsoho ne, amma bargon yana dumi.

but that sounds heavier and is usually unnecessary if the referent is clear.

Could I say Bargon kaka yana dumi instead of just amma yana dumi? Is that correct?

Yes, Bargon kaka yana dumi is grammatically correct and means:

“Grandpa’s blanket is warm.”

The version in your sentence:

..., amma yana dumi.

relies on context: after mentioning bargon kaka, Hausa naturally just uses the pronoun form yana to avoid repetition. Both are correct; the shorter one is more natural in flowing speech.

Why is it ta yi taushi but yana dumi? Why not use the same pattern for both, like yana taushi or ya yi dumi?

Both ta yi taushi and yana dumi use common Hausa patterns for expressing qualities, but they differ in aspect and style:

ta yi taushi – perfective “has become soft / is soft now”
- ta = 3sg feminine perfective
- yi = do/make
- taushi = softness
  → “It (fem) has become soft / turned soft.”
yana dumi – progressive/state “is warm (now)”
- yana = 3sg masculine progressive
- dumi = warmth
  → “It (masc) is giving warmth / is warm.”

Alternative forms are possible:

ya yi dumi = it became warm / it warmed up
yana da dumi = it has warmth / it is warm
yana taushi is less idiomatic; speakers would more often say ya yi taushi or yana da taushi.

So the sentence is using:

perfective ta yi for a resulting state (mat has become soft), and
progressive yana for an ongoing state (blanket is warm now).

How do I know that tabarma is feminine and bargo is masculine? Is there a rule?

Hausa noun gender is partly predictable but often must be memorised.

Some tendencies:

Many nouns ending in -a are feminine:
- tabarma (mat) → feminine
- mota (car) → feminine
- kujera (chair) → feminine
Many other nouns (no -a ending) are masculine:
- bargo (blanket) → masculine
- littafi (book) → masculine
- gida (house/home) is actually masculine despite ending in -a (an exception)

But there are enough exceptions that you should:

Learn each noun with its gender (e.g. “tabarma – fem”, “bargo – masc”).
Watch how native speakers refer to it:
- tabarma → ta / tana / ce
- bargo → ya / yana / ne

In your sentence:

Tabarmar ta yi taushi → ta = feminine → tabarma is feminine.
..., amma yana dumi → yana = masculine → refers to bargo (masculine).