A tsakiya na falo akwai tebur, amma a kusurwar dama akwai firji.

In the middle of the living room there is a table, but in the right-hand corner there is a fridge.

Breakdown of A tsakiya na falo akwai tebur, amma a kusurwar dama akwai firji.

• amma: but
• na: of
• a: in
• akwai: there is
• tebur: the table
• falo: the living room
• firji: the fridge
• kusurwa: the corner
• tsakiya: the middle
• dama: right-hand

Questions & Answers about A tsakiya na falo akwai tebur, amma a kusurwar dama akwai firji.

What does a mean in a tsakiya na falo and a kusurwar dama? Is it in, at, or something else?

In Hausa, a is a very common preposition that usually covers the meanings of English in, at, and on, depending on context.

• a tsakiya na falo
  → literally: at/in the middle of the living room

• a kusurwar dama
  → literally: in/at the right corner

So a here is a general locative preposition:

• a gida – at home / in the house
• a kasuwa – at the market
• a hanya – on the road / on the way

In this sentence, you can safely understand a as in or at (the middle, the corner).

What is the function of na in tsakiya na falo? Why not just say tsakiya falo?

Na is a genitive/possessive linker. It often corresponds to English of in phrases like X of Y.

• tsakiya – middle, center
• falo – living room / sitting room
• tsakiya na falo – the middle of the living room

Without na, the phrase tsakiya falo would sound incomplete or wrong. Na shows the relationship:

• ƙofa na gida – door of the house / the house door
• ruwa na rijiya – water of the well / the well’s water
• tsakiya na falo – middle of the living room

You will also see an alternative form using a suffix:

• tsakiyar falo – also the middle of the living room

Both tsakiya na falo and tsakiyar falo are acceptable; the second one is a bit more compact and feels a little more formal or standard.

Why does tsakiya mean middle instead of simply inside? What is the difference between tsakiya and ciki?

They are related but not the same:

• ciki = inside, interior

  • a ciki na falo – inside the living room

• tsakiya = middle, center

  • a tsakiya na falo – in the middle of the living room

So:

• If you just mean inside a room or container, use ciki.
• If you mean specifically the central part (not near the edges or corners), use tsakiya.

In English you might blur the difference (saying in the room vs in the middle of the room), but in Hausa the choice of ciki vs tsakiya makes that distinction clear.

What does akwai mean here? Is it a verb like to be or to exist? Does it change with singular/plural?

Akwai is an existential verb that roughly means there is / there are.

In the sentence:

• akwai tebur – there is a table
• akwai firji – there is a fridge

Key points about akwai:

• It does not change for singular vs plural:

  • akwai tebur – there is a table
  • akwai tebura – there are tables
    Same form akwai for both.

• It often appears after a location expression:

  • a tsakiya na falo akwai tebur – in the middle of the living room there is a table
  • a gidanmu akwai kofa biyu – in our house there are two doors

Hausa does not use a direct equivalent of English is/are for simple existence; instead, akwai handles that idea.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Akwai tebur a tsakiya na falo instead?

Yes, you can change the word order, and it is still correct:

• A tsakiya na falo akwai tebur
• Akwai tebur a tsakiya na falo

Both mean In the middle of the living room there is a table / There is a table in the middle of the living room.

The difference is mainly one of emphasis and style:

• A tsakiya na falo akwai tebur
  – Emphasizes where first (the location), then tells what is there.

• Akwai tebur a tsakiya na falo
  – Starts with there is a table, then adds where it is.

Both patterns are common and natural in Hausa.

What does falo mean exactly? Is it room, living room, or hall?

Falo is usually:

• sitting room / living room / parlour – the main room where people sit, talk, receive guests, watch TV, etc.

It is not a generic word for any room. For room in general, you are more likely to see:

• ɗaki – room, bedroom
• ɗakin kwana – bedroom
• ɗakin aiki – work room, office (in a house context)

So in this sentence, falo refers specifically to something like the living room.

Is tebur definite or indefinite here? Why is there no word for a or the?

Hausa does not have separate little words for a/an and the like English does. Definiteness is expressed in other ways (context, suffixes, demonstratives, etc.).

On its own:

• tebur can be a table or the table, depending on context.

In the sentence:

• akwai tebur – most naturally understood as there is a table (indefinite)
  But if the context is clear (for example, you’re describing a known room), listeners might understand it as the table.

To make it clearly definite, Hausa often adds a suffix or a demonstrative:

• teburin (or tebur ɗin) – the table (previously mentioned or specific)
• wannan tebur – this table
• wancan tebur – that table

Here the sentence stays neutral about a/the; English must choose something, so a table is the usual translation.

What does amma mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

Amma means but (a contrastive conjunction).

In the sentence:

• ... akwai tebur, amma a kusurwar dama akwai firji.
  → ... there is a table, but in the right corner there is a fridge.

It works very much like but in English:

• Ina son shayi, amma bana son kofi.
  – I like tea, but I do not like coffee.

It almost always comes at the beginning of the clause it introduces, just like English but.

How is kusurwar dama formed, and what does it literally mean?

Breakdown:

• kusurwa – corner (feminine noun)
• dama – right (as in right-hand side; direction)

When forming a genitive construction (corner of the right side / right corner), Hausa often:

1. Drops the final -a of a feminine noun.
2. Adds -r (or -ar/-yar) to link it to what follows.

So:

• kusurwa → kusurw
  • -ar → kusurwar
    kusurwar dama – the corner of the right (side) → the right corner

Compare:

• hagu – left
  
  • kusurwar hagu – the left corner

So a kusurwar dama literally means at/in the corner of the right (side), i.e. in the right-hand corner.

What exactly does firji mean, and is it a Hausa word or a borrowed one?

Firji means fridge / refrigerator.

It is a loanword, ultimately from European languages (through English fridge or French frigo, depending on region and history). The pronunciation has been adapted to Hausa phonology, but the meaning is straightforward:

• firji – fridge, refrigerator

You might hear:

• a firji – in the fridge
• firji na ɗaki – the fridge of the room / the room’s fridge

In this sentence:

• akwai firji – there is a fridge in that location.