Learn Hardcore Hausa: Musa da Aisha suna yin hira a falo. - Musa and Aisha are chatting in the living room.

da is the normal way to join two nouns:
- Musa da Aisha – Musa and Aisha
- shayi da burodi – tea and bread
It usually goes between the two items it connects, like English "and".
In other contexts da can also mean “with” (as a preposition), but here it’s just a coordinating conjunction meaning “and”.

Why is it “suna yin hira” and not just something like “suna hira” or “su hira”?

The pattern here is:

su = they
-na (attached) = progressive/continuous marker (“be doing”)
yin = doing (verbal noun from yi, “to do”)
hira = conversation/chat

So suna yin hira literally has the structure “they-are doing conversation”, which is how Hausa commonly expresses “they are chatting”.

About the alternatives:

suna hira – also possible in many dialects and contexts, and can mean the same thing, “they are chatting / they chat”.
su hira – not correct; Hausa normally needs an aspect marker like -na, -ke, -kan, -ta after the pronoun in this kind of clause.

So suna yin hira is a very natural, explicit way to say “they are chatting”.

Isn’t “suna yin” like saying “are doing doing”? Why do we need both suna and yin?

It looks redundant from an English perspective, but in Hausa each part has its own job:

suna = su (they) + na (progressive marker) → “they are …”
yin = verbal noun of yi (“to do”) → “doing”

The structure is:

Subject pronoun + aspect marker (suna)
Verbal noun (yin)
Object/complement (hira)

This is a very common pattern:

suna yin aiki – they are working (lit. they are doing work)
muna yin karatu – we are studying (lit. we are doing study)
yana yin wasa – he is playing (lit. he is doing play)

So you’re not literally saying “doing doing” – you’re saying “they-are” + “doing”.

What does hira mean exactly? Is it like “chat,” “conversation,” or “discussion”?

Hira is a noun that means something like:

chat
conversation
talk

It usually suggests a more casual, friendly conversation, not a formal meeting or a heated argument.

Examples:

yin hira da aboki – to chat with a friend
hira ta waya – a phone conversation
muna hira kawai – we’re just chatting / just talking

So suna yin hira is best understood as “they’re chatting” or “they’re having a conversation.”

What is the “dictionary form” of the verb “to chat” in Hausa?

There isn’t a single simple verb that means “to chat.” Instead, Hausa commonly uses a verb + noun combination:

yi hira – literally “do conversation” → to chat / to have a chat

So:

Ina so in yi hira da kai. – I want to chat with you.
Sun yi hira sosai jiya. – They chatted a lot yesterday.

In dictionaries, you might see:

yi – “to do, to make”
hira – “conversation, chat”

Together: yi hira = “to chat”.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “they” in the sentence? Where is “they” in “suna yin hira a falo”?

The “they” is built into the word suna.

Breakdown:

su = they
-na = progressive aspect marker (“be doing”)

When combined, su + na → suna, which functions as “they are …”.

So Hausa doesn’t need a separate word for “they” plus “are”; it fuses them:

suna – they are
muna – we are
yana – he is
tana – she is

That’s why you don’t see an extra pronoun: suna already carries the meaning “they are”.

Why is it suna here and not yana or tana?

The verb form has to agree with the subject.

Musa da Aisha together are more than one person → the subject is plural.
The plural pronoun is su (“they”), with progressive marker na → suna.

Compare:

Musa yana yin hira a falo. – Musa (he) is chatting in the living room.
Aisha tana yin hira a falo. – Aisha (she) is chatting in the living room.
Musa da Aisha suna yin hira a falo. – Musa and Aisha (they) are chatting in the living room.

So suna is used because the subject is two people = they.

What does a falo mean exactly, and how is a used?

a falo means “in the living room” / “in the sitting room”.

a is a very common preposition/place marker that often corresponds to “in, at, on” depending on context.
falo is the living room, sitting room, or parlor.

So:

a gida – at home / in the house
a kasuwa – at the market
a falo – in the living room

Hausa can also use words like cikin (inside) for more specificity:

cikin falo – inside the living room
But in many cases a falo is enough and very natural.

What exactly is falo? Is it any kind of room?

Falo is specifically a living room / sitting room / lounge – the area where people usually sit, receive guests, and talk.

It’s not just any room:

ɗaki – a room (often bedroom, but can be general “room”)
kitchen in Hausa is usually kicin or ɗakin girki (cooking room)
falo – sitting/living room

So a falo suggests they are chatting in the communal sitting area, not in a bedroom or some random room.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say “A falo, Musa da Aisha suna yin hira”?

Yes, you can move a falo to the front:

A falo, Musa da Aisha suna yin hira.

This is grammatical and sounds natural. It puts a bit more emphasis on the place, like saying:

“In the living room, Musa and Aisha are chatting.”

Basic neutral order is:

Subject + verb phrase + place
→ Musa da Aisha suna yin hira a falo.

But fronting the location for focus or style is common, especially in spoken and narrative contexts.

How would I say this in the past or future instead of “are chatting”?

Using the same idea, here are common ways:

Past (completed action):

Musa da Aisha sun yi hira a falo.
→ Musa and Aisha chatted in the living room / have chatted.

Here sun yi = they (su) + completed aspect (n) + yi (do).

Past (continuous-like with time word):

Jiya, Musa da Aisha suna yin hira a falo.
→ Yesterday, Musa and Aisha were chatting in the living room.

Future:

Musa da Aisha za su yi hira a falo.
→ Musa and Aisha will chat in the living room.

So:

suna yin hira – are chatting
sun yi hira – (have) chatted / chatted
za su yi hira – will chat