Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni ina so ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona gobe. - I want you masculine to repair my bicycle before we go to the farm tomorrow.

Ni is the independent pronoun: I / me.
ina is the continuous/progressive subject form for I: literally I am (as in I am wanting).

So:

Ni ina so... = Me, I want... (with emphasis on I).
Without emphasis you can simply say: Ina so ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona gobe.

The Ni at the start is optional and just adds emphasis or contrast, like:
As for me, I want you to fix my bike before we go to the farm tomorrow.

What exactly does ina so mean? Is it more like I want or I like?

ina so literally means I am wanting / I like, and in practice it covers both want and like / love, depending on context:

Ina so ka gyara kekena – I want you to fix my bicycle.
Ina son shayi – I like tea / I love tea.

So:

When so is followed by a clause (another verb phrase), it is usually want:
- Ina so ka zo. – I want you to come.
When so / son is followed by a noun, it usually means like / love:
- Ina son kifi. – I like fish. / I love fish.

In your sentence, because it’s followed by ka gyara…, the meaning is clearly I want….

What is the difference between so and son? Why is it so ka gyara, not son ka gyara?

so and son are related forms of the same word, but they’re used in different structures:

so is the basic verb form: to want / to like / to love.
son is a genitive / “of” form, used when so behaves more like a noun (love, liking, desire) before another noun or pronoun.

Typical patterns:

Verb + clause (someone does something):
- Ina so ka gyara kekena. – I want you to fix my bike.
- so is followed by a clause (ka gyara kekena), so we use so.
Verb + noun (liking a thing/person):
- Ina son keke. – I like bicycles.
- Ina son ka. – I love you (m.sg).
- Here son behaves like love of, so son + noun/pronoun.

For I want you to do X, the natural pattern is ina so ka…, not ina son ka… followed by a verb. That’s why your sentence has so ka gyara, not son ka gyara.

What does ka mean in so ka gyara?

ka here is a subject pronoun meaning you (masculine singular) in a kind of subjunctive / dependent clause.

Structure:

Ina so – I want
ka gyara kekena – you (should) fix my bicycle

So the whole thing is literally: I want you fix my bicycle…

Other forms you might see in the same slot:

ki gyara – you (feminine sg) fix
ku gyara – you (plural) fix

Examples:

Ina so ki gyara kekena. – I want you (fem.) to fix my bike.
Ina so ku gyara kekena. – I want you (pl.) to fix my bike.

So ka is not to (like English to fix). It is you (m.sg) as the doer of gyara in that subordinate clause.

What does gyara mean exactly? Just fix, or also clean / tidy?

gyara basically means to put something right / in good order, and depending on the object it can translate as:

fix / repair – gyara keke, gyara mota (fix a bike, fix a car)
adjust / correct – gyara kuskure (correct a mistake)
tidy / straighten / arrange – gyara daki (tidy/arrange the room), gyara gashi (do your hair)

In your sentence gyara kekena, the natural reading is fix / repair my bicycle, but context could also allow service / adjust the bike.

How is kekena formed? Why is it written as one word?

kekena is made up of:

keke – bicycle
na – my (a possessive pronoun)

So keke na = my bicycle. In rapid, natural speech and common writing, this often becomes one word: kekena.

This is a general pattern:

mota na → motana – my car
gida na → gidana – my house
littafi na → littafina – my book

So ka gyara kekena = you fix my bicycle.

You can also see it written as keke na, especially in more careful or pedagogical writing, but kekena is very common and natural.

What does kafin mean, and how does kafin mu tafi work grammatically?

kafin means before (in a temporal sense).

Structure in the sentence:

kafin – before
mu tafi – we go

So kafin mu tafi literally = before we go.

Key points:

kafin is usually followed by a clause with a subject pronoun + verb:
- kafin mu tafi – before we go
- kafin ka zo – before you (m.sg) come
- kafin su isa – before they arrive

In your sentence:
kafin mu tafi gona gobe – before we go to the farm tomorrow.

Why is it mu tafi and not just tafi after kafin?

In Hausa, a finite verb normally needs an explicit subject pronoun. After kafin, you introduce a full clause:

mu – we (subject pronoun)
tafi – go

So mu tafi = we go (here with a future-ish sense because of kafin and gobe).

Saying just kafin tafi without a subject pronoun is not normal in standard Hausa; you need:

kafin mu tafi – before we go
kafin ka tafi – before you go
kafin su tafi – before they go

Why is there no word like to in tafi gona? Why is it just go farm?

With some motion verbs (especially tafi – go, je – go, zo – come), Hausa often uses a bare noun to express the destination, without a preposition:

tafi gona – go (to) the farm
tafi kasuwa – go to the market
tafi gida – go home
zo gida – come home

You can also use a preposition like zuwa:

tafi zuwa gona – go to the farm

…but tafi gona is simpler and very common. English needs to, but Hausa often doesn’t in this type of construction.

What does gona mean here exactly, and is it definite (the farm) or indefinite (a farm)?

gona means farm / farmland / field.

In Hausa, bare nouns without a definite marker can often be understood as generic / definite from context, so tafi gona can be:

go to the farm (a known or usual farm, e.g. the family farm)
or
go to a farm (if no specific one is meant)

Context usually tells you which. In a sentence like this, with everyday activities, a natural English translation is the farm, even though Hausa doesn’t mark it explicitly.

Does gobe (tomorrow) always go at the end like this? Could it come earlier in the sentence?

gobe is an adverb meaning tomorrow, and it is quite flexible in position. Common options are:

At the end (as in your sentence):
- Ni ina so ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona gobe.
At the beginning:
- Gobe ina so ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona.
Just before the verb it modifies (if you want to stress the timing of the going):
- Ina so ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona gobe. (same as original)
- Ina so gobe ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona. (I want you to fix it tomorrow)

Position can slightly shift the focus:

End position often feels like neutral time-stamping of the whole event.
Early position can highlight tomorrow: As for tomorrow, I want you to…

All of these can be grammatical; word order is somewhat flexible with adverbs like gobe.

Does this Hausa sentence sound like a polite request or more like a direct order? How would you make it more polite?

As it stands, Ni ina so ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona gobe is a clear, direct statement of what you want. Depending on tone and relationship, it can feel:

neutral / matter‑of‑fact, or
a bit like a firm request / instruction.

To make it sound more polite or softer, speakers typically add things like:

Don Allah, ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona gobe.
– Please, fix my bicycle before we go to the farm tomorrow.
Dan Allah, or Don Allah – literally for God’s sake, used like please.

You can also soften with expressions like:

Ina roƙonka ka gyara kekena… – I beg you / I request that you fix my bicycle…
Da kyau idan ka gyara kekena kafin mu tafi gona gobe. – It would be good if you fixed my bicycle before we go to the farm tomorrow.

So pragmatically, your original sentence is more like I want you to…, not Would you mind…?, but tone and added politeness markers can adjust how it feels.