Learn Hardcore Hausa: Me ya sa yara suna cikin gida yau? - Why are the children inside the house today?

In natural English, we don’t usually say “what has made the children be inside…?”, so we just translate it as “Why are the children inside today?”

Because of this underlying “what caused…?” idea, Me ya sa is a very common way to ask “why?” in Hausa.

In Me ya sa, what is the role of ya, and why is it masculine singular?

ya is the 3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun in the completed aspect, attached to the verb sa (to make, to cause, to put).

ya sa on its own means “he/it made / he/it caused”.
In Me ya sa…, the me (“what”) is the thing that did the causing, so ya is grammatically agreeing with that understood “thing”.

Even though me means “what” (not a person), Hausa treats it as something that triggers ya. You don’t change ya to agree with the gender of “children” or anything else; in this phrase, Me ya sa is a more or less fixed pattern for “why”:

Me ya sa ka zo da wuri? – Why did you come early?
Me ya sa suke kuka? – Why are they crying?

So:

Don’t try to make ya plural or feminine here.
Think of Me ya sa as a set chunk meaning “why / what caused…?”

I often see Me ya sa written as Me yasa. Are they the same?

Yes, Me ya sa and Me yasa are the same expression in practice.

Me ya sa is the more transparent spelling: me + ya + sa.
Me yasa is a contracted or fused spelling that reflects how people usually say it quickly.

In speech, most people pronounce it close to “meyasa?”, so many writers simply write Me yasa. Both mean “why?” in the sense of “what caused…?”

You may also see:

Me ya sa?
Me yasa?
Meyasa?

All of these function the same way in sentences like Me (ya)sa yara suna cikin gida yau?

What does yara mean exactly, and is it singular or plural?

yara means “children”; it is plural.

Singular: yaro – child (boy / young child)
Plural: yara – children

So in the sentence:

yara suna cikin gida yau? = “children are inside the house today?”

If you want to say “a child”, use yaro. yara always refers to more than one child (or to children as a group in general).

How does suna work here? Is it like the English verb “to be”?

suna combines the subject pronoun “they” with a progressive / continuous marker, and it often functions like “they are …”.

In the so‑called incomplete / progressive aspect you get forms like:

Ina – I am …
Kana – You (sg) are …
Yana – He is …
Tana – She is …
Muna – We are …
Kuna – You (pl) are …
Suna – They are …

Here, suna cikin gida literally is:

suna – they are (in a current/ongoing state)
cikin gida – inside the house

So it’s natural to think of suna here as “they are”, especially in locative expressions like suna cikin gida – “they are inside (the) house.”

What is the difference between suna cikin gida and suke cikin gida?

Both can translate as “are inside the house,” but they are used in different structures and emphases.

suna cikin gida – neutral statement of where they are
- Basic, standalone clause:
  - Yara suna cikin gida. – The children are inside the house.
suke cikin gida – usually appears in relative or emphatic contexts
- Relative clause (with da = “who / that”):
  - Yaran da suke cikin gida sun gaji.
    The children who are inside the house are tired.
- Emphasis / contrast (even without da):
  - Yara suke cikin gida yau, ba manya ba.
    It’s the children who are inside today, not the adults.

In your sentence:

Me ya sa yara suna cikin gida yau? is the normal way to ask.
Me ya sa yara suke cikin gida yau? is possible, but sounds more emphatic/marked, as if you are stressing those children in contrast to something expected.

For a beginner, it’s safe to treat suna cikin gida as the default neutral form.

What does cikin mean, and how is it different from ciki or a cikin?

All are related to the idea of “inside”, but they’re used slightly differently.

ciki by itself means “inside, interior, stomach/belly”.
- Ina a ciki. – I am inside.
cikin is basically “inside of”, used before a noun:
- cikin gida – inside (the) house
- cikin jaka – inside the bag
a cikin is “in(side) the …” with the explicit preposition a = “in/at”:
- a cikin gida – in/inside the house
- Yara suna a cikin mota. – The children are in the car.

In yara suna cikin gida, the a is simply dropped (very common), and cikin works almost like “inside” or “within” in English. You could also say suna a cikin gida; the meaning is the same, though everyday speech often omits a in this pattern.

Why is it cikin gida and not just a gida?

cikin gida specifically means “inside the house / indoors”, while a gida is broader and can simply mean “at the house / at home”, possibly outside.

yara suna cikin gida – strongly suggests the children are indoors, inside the building.
yara suna a gida – only tells you they are at home / at the house, but not necessarily inside; they could be in the yard, for example.

So if you want to emphasize indoors / within the house, cikin gida is the more accurate choice, and that’s why it appears in this sentence.

Why is gida used without -n, instead of gidan?

gida can appear in a kind of indefinite or generic sense, while gidan often indicates a more specific, definite house (“the house”).

cikin gida – inside the house / indoors (general; could even be understood like “inside (at) home”)
cikin gidan – inside the house (a particular house already known from context)

In many contexts, cikin gida is understood more like “indoors / in the home” in general rather than pointing to one particular, previously mentioned house. That fits your sentence, which feels like a general question: “Why are the children indoors today?”

If you had already been talking about a specific house, you might use gidan instead:

Me ya sa yara suna cikin gidan Liman yau?
Why are the children inside the Imam’s house today?

Why does yau (“today”) come at the end of the sentence? Can it go somewhere else?

In Hausa, time words like yau are quite flexible in position. Sentence‑final position is very common:

Me ya sa yara suna cikin gida yau?
→ Neutral: “Why are the children inside today?”

You can also move yau for emphasis or a slightly different focus:

Yau me ya sa yara suna cikin gida?
- Emphasis on “today”: Today, why are the children inside?
Me ya sa yau yara suna cikin gida?
- Focuses a bit more on “Why is it today that the children are inside?”

All are grammatically possible. The original version, with yau at the end, is a very natural, neutral choice.

Could the sentence be Me ya sa yaran suna cikin gida yau? What would change?

Yes, you can say Me ya sa yaran suna cikin gida yau?

The change is in definiteness:

yara – children (general, non‑specific)
yaran – the children / those particular children (definite)

So:

Me ya sa yara suna cikin gida yau?
– Could mean “Why are children (kids) inside today?”
– You might be talking about kids in general (e.g., on the street, in the neighborhood).
Me ya sa yaran suna cikin gida yau?
– More like “Why are the children inside today?”
– Implies some specific group of children both speaker and listener know (e.g., the children in this household, the class, the group we’ve just mentioned).

In English we often just say “the children” either way, but Hausa marks this distinction more clearly with -n (yaran).

How would you typically answer this question in Hausa? Do you repeat the whole sentence?

You don’t have to repeat the whole question. A very natural way is to answer with saboda (“because”) plus a clause giving the reason.

For example:

Me ya sa yara suna cikin gida yau?
Why are the children inside today?

Possible answers:

Saboda ana ruwa a waje.
– Because it is raining outside.
Saboda sun yi rashin lafiya.
– Because they are sick.
Saboda makaranta rufe take yau.
– Because school is closed today.

If you want to echo more of the sentence, you can, but it’s not required:

Saboda ana ruwa a waje ne yasa yara suna cikin gida yau.
– Because it’s raining outside, that’s what made the children be inside today.

For everyday conversation, though, a short Saboda … clause is the most natural way to answer.