Learn Hardcore Hausa: Lokaci-lokaci malami yana yin darasi a waje idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama. - From time to time the teacher holds the lesson outside if there is no danger from the rain.

Lokaci means time. When you repeat it as lokaci-lokaci, it forms an adverb meaning from time to time, sometimes, or occasionally.

Reduplication (repeating a word) is common in Hausa to give meanings like repetition, frequency, or dispersion. So:

lokaci = time
lokaci-lokaci = at various times → sometimes / occasionally

Can lokaci-lokaci be placed in a different position in the sentence?

Yes. Its position is quite flexible, as long as the meaning is clear and the rhythm feels natural. For example:

Lokaci-lokaci malami yana yin darasi a waje idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama.
Malami lokaci-lokaci yana yin darasi a waje idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama.

Both would be understood as Sometimes the teacher gives the lesson outside if there’s no danger from rain.

Putting lokaci-lokaci at the very beginning (as in your example) is very natural and emphasizes the occasional nature of the action.

Does malami mean a teacher or the teacher? How is definiteness shown in Hausa here?

Malami by itself can be translated as a teacher or the teacher, depending on context. Hausa does not have separate words like a or the. Instead, definiteness is usually understood from:

context
whether you’ve mentioned the person before
sometimes from possessive or demonstrative forms (e.g., malamin nan = this teacher, malamin da muka gani = the teacher we saw)

In this sentence, malami is most naturally understood as the teacher (a specific known teacher), but grammatically it could also be a teacher.

What exactly is happening in yana yin darasi? Why are there two parts yana and yin?

Yana yin darasi is a common Hausa structure for ongoing or regular actions.

yana = he is / he (habitually) does, the 3rd person singular masculine of the progressive-aspect verb na/ina/kana/yana...
yi = the verb to do / to make / to perform
yin = the verbal noun of yi, used after aspect markers like yana

So:

yana yin darasi literally: he is doing lesson
→ in natural English: he gives/teaches a lesson or he is giving a lesson

The pattern is:
subject + (na/ina/kana/yana...) + verbal noun

For example:

Yana cin abinci. = He is eating food.
Yana karatun Hausa. = He is studying Hausa.

Is there a difference between yana yin darasi and yakan yi darasi?

Yes, there is an aspectual difference:

yana yin darasi
- Often used for an action that is in progress now or can also describe a general current habit.
- With lokaci-lokaci, it becomes He (normally) gives lessons from time to time.
yakan yi darasi
- Uses yakan, a marker for habitual / usual actions (what someone typically does).
- More clearly means He usually / typically gives lessons.

So your sentence:

Lokaci-lokaci malami yana yin darasi a waje...
= From time to time, the teacher does the lesson outside...

You could also say:

Lokaci-lokaci malami yakan yi darasi a waje idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama.
This version makes the habitual nuance even stronger. Both are acceptable.

What does a waje mean exactly, and why do we need the a?

waje = outside, outdoors, outside place
a = a general preposition for in, at, on (location)

So a waje = outside / outdoors (literally, at outside).

Hausa often uses a to mark location:

a gida = at home / in the house
a makaranta = at school
a kasuwa = at the market
a waje = outside

Without a, waje alone is more like a bare noun (outside-place); with a, it clearly functions as a location phrase (outside).

What does idan mean here? Is it if or when, and is it different from in?

Idan usually corresponds to if or when, depending on context. In this sentence:

idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama
= if there is no danger from rain / if there is no threat of rain

So here idan = if.

There is also a shorter form in (sometimes written the same as English in, but pronounced differently). Both idan and in can introduce conditional or temporal clauses:

Idan ya zo, sai mu tafi. = When/If he comes, then we’ll go.
In ya zo, sai mu tafi. = same meaning, slightly more colloquial/shorter.

Idan is slightly more explicit and common in careful or written Hausa.

How does babu work in this sentence?

Babu is a negative existential, meaning there isn’t / there is no.

haɗari = danger, threat, or sign of bad weather (see next question)
babu haɗari = there is no danger / there is no threat

So idan babu haɗari = if there is no danger / if there is no threat.

Some more examples:

Babu ruwa. = There is no water.
Babu lokaci. = There is no time.
Babu matsala. = No problem.

In positive existential, Hausa often uses akwai:

Akwai ruwa. = There is water.
Akwai matsala. = There is a problem.

So akwai X (there is X) vs. babu X (there is no X).

What exactly does haɗari mean here, and how is it different from hatsari?

Both words exist and they are different:

haɗari (with ɗ)
- can mean threat, danger, but also clouds / signs of rain / stormy weather depending on dialect and context
- in weather contexts, haɗari daga ruwan sama is often understood as threat or signs of rain / rain clouds
hatsari (with ts)
- usually means accident (e.g., car accident) or dangerous incident

In your sentence:

idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama
can be understood as
if there is no danger from the rain
or more naturally in weather terms:
if there’s no sign of rain / if the weather doesn’t look threatening

So here haɗari fits better than hatsari, because we’re talking about weather risk, not a traffic accident.

How is daga ruwan sama constructed, and why is it not just daga ruwa?

Breakdown:

daga = from
ruwa = water
ruwan sama = rain, literally water of the sky
- ruwa + -n (genitive linker) + sama (sky)
- so ruwan sama = sky’s water, i.e. rain

Therefore:

daga ruwan sama = from the rain / from the rainwater

Daga ruwa would mean from water in general, not specifically from rain. Using ruwan sama here clearly points to rain as a weather phenomenon.

Is there a simpler way to say if it’s not raining, and how does that compare to idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama?

Yes, there are simpler and more direct ways:

idan ba a samun ruwan sama = if rain is not falling / if it’s not raining
idan ba ruwan sama ba (colloquial in some areas) = if there is no rain

Your phrase:

idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama

is slightly more indirect: it focuses on the threat or signs of rain, not strictly on whether rain is currently falling. Meaning-wise:

idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama
= if there is no risk/likelihood of rain (e.g., the weather looks safe)

So it allows for the idea: as long as it doesn’t look like it might rain and it’s safe to be outside.

Can you break down the whole sentence word by word?

Yes. Here is a word-by-word breakdown:

Lokaci-lokaci = from time to time, sometimes, occasionally
malami = (the/a) teacher
yana = he is / he (progressive or habitual marker)
yin = doing (verbal noun of yi = to do/make)
darasi = lesson, class, teaching session
a = in / at / on (locative preposition)
waje = outside, outdoors
idan = if / when
babu = there is no / there isn’t
haɗari = danger, threat, sign of bad weather
daga = from
ruwan sama = rain (literally water of the sky)

Putting it together:

Lokaci-lokaci malami yana yin darasi a waje idan babu haɗari daga ruwan sama.
= From time to time the teacher gives the lesson outside if there is no danger/threat from rain.