Learn Hardcore Hausa: Idan abokai suna da matsala, ya kamata su yi magana a hankali su nemi mafita tare. - If friends have a problem, they should speak gently and look for a solution together.

In the sentence Idan abokai suna da matsala, ya kamata su yi magana a hankali su nemi mafita tare, does idan mean if or when? How is it used in Hausa?

Idan can mean both if and when, depending on context.

Here it has a general, habitual meaning:
- Idan abokai suna da matsala... → When friends have a problem… (whenever that situation happens)
It can also be used for conditional if:
- Idan ka zo, zan tafi. → If/when you come, I will go.

So idan introduces a condition or time clause, much like English if/when in “If/When X happens, Y should happen.”
Word order is usually: Idan + clause 1, clause 2.

What exactly does abokai mean, and what is the singular form?

Abokai means friends (plural).

Singular: aboki → friend (male or generic)
Plural: abokai → friends

Common patterns:

abokina – my (male) friend
abokaina – my friends

There is also kawa / kawaye which often refers to a female friend / female friends, but aboki/abokai can be used generically for friends.

How does suna da matsala work grammatically? Is that how you say “have a problem” in Hausa?

Yes. Hausa generally doesn’t use a separate verb like “to have” the way English does. Instead it often uses “be + with”:

suna da matsala
- su – they
- na (in suna) – continuous/neutral aspect marker
- da – with
- matsala – problem

Literally: “they are with a problem”, which corresponds to “they have a problem.”

Other examples:

Ina da littafi. – I have a book. (lit. I am with a book)
Mu na da lokaci. – We have time.

Why is it suna da and not something like suke da or just su da?

Suna is the usual present/continuous form of “they are” used in main clauses:

suna da matsala → they have a problem

Suke is generally used in relative or focus constructions, not in this simple main clause:

Abokan da suke da matsala… – The friends who have a problem…

Using just su da matsala would be incomplete; you normally need the aspect marker (na here) to say “they are with a problem” → suna da matsala.

What does ya kamata mean literally, and how is it used to mean “should”?

Ya kamata is a very common way to express obligation/advice – roughly “should / ought to / it is appropriate that…”

ya – 3rd person masculine singular marker here, but in ya kamata it’s almost “dummy,” like “it” in it is necessary.
kamata – suitability/appropriateness.

The whole phrase ya kamata functions almost like a fixed expression: “it is appropriate / it is right / should.”

Pattern:

Ya kamata su yi magana. – They should talk.
Ya kamata ka tafi. – You should go.
Ya kamata mu yi hakuri. – We should be patient.

So in your sentence:

ya kamata su yi magana… → they should speak…

Why do we have su twice: ya kamata su yi magana… su nemi mafita…? Could we drop the second su?

The repetition of su is very natural in Hausa when you have two verbs in sequence sharing the same subject:

ya kamata su yi magana a hankali su nemi mafita
- su yi magana – that they speak
- su nemi mafita – that they look for a solution

You can sometimes hear people drop the second su in fast speech, but the clearest and most standard form is to repeat the subject pronoun before each verb in a series. It keeps the structure transparent:

Ya kamata su yi magana su nemi mafita.
= They should speak and look for a solution.

So the double su is normal and good style here.

What does the combination yi magana mean? Why is there yi instead of just a single verb for “speak”?

In Hausa, many actions are expressed using the general verb yi (“to do/make”) plus a noun:

yi magana – to speak / to talk (lit. “do talk”)
yi aiki – to work (lit. “do work”)
yi tafiya – to travel / to make a journey
yi wasa – to play

So yi magana is the natural way to say “speak / talk”.
In your sentence, su yi magana = “that they speak.”

What does a hankali mean, and why does Hausa use a before hankali?

A hankali literally means “in care / in carefulness”, and in practice it often means:

slowly, gently, calmly, carefully, depending on context.

The a here is a preposition meaning “in/at”, and hankali is “sense, awareness, care, caution.”

The structure a + noun is a common way of forming adverb-like expressions in Hausa:

a hankali – carefully, slowly
a hankali sosai – very carefully / very gently
a hankali su – slowly/calmly (with emphasis on them)

So in your sentence: su yi magana a hankali → they should speak calmly/gently/carefully.

What does mafita mean, and is there any connection to the verb fita (“to go out”)?

Yes, there is a connection.

fita – to go out, to exit
mafita – way out, exit, solution

The ma- prefix in Hausa often makes nouns of place or instrument or related abstract nouns. So mafita is like “a way out / an exit”, which metaphorically becomes “solution” to a problem.

In the sentence, su nemi mafita tare = “they should look for a solution together.”

What is the role of tare at the end of the sentence? Can it appear earlier?

Tare means “together”. It’s often placed:

at or near the end of the verb phrase:
- Su nemi mafita tare. – They should look for a solution together.

You can sometimes move it, but the most natural place in this sentence is exactly where it is.

Related form:

tare da juna – together with each other (emphasizing mutual action)
- Su yi magana a hankali tare da juna. – They should speak calmly with each other.

Here, tare alone is enough to show that the action is done jointly.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “they” before suna da matsala? Is suna already including “they”?

Yes. In Hausa, the subject pronoun is built into the verb form:

su-na – su (they) + na (aspect marker) → suna

So suna already means “they are” (in the relevant aspect), and that functions as the subject + verb together:

abokai suna da matsala
- abokai – friends
- suna – they are
- da matsala – with a problem

Literally: “Friends, they are with a problem” → Friends have a problem.

English keeps “they” and “are” separate; Hausa fuses su + na into suna.

Is the word order in Idan abokai suna da matsala, ya kamata su yi magana a hankali su nemi mafita tare similar to English, or is there anything unusual about it?

The overall structure is quite close to English:

Idan abokai suna da matsala,
- When friends have a problem,
ya kamata su yi magana a hankali
- they should speak calmly
su nemi mafita tare.
- and look for a solution together.

Key points:

The conditional/time clause with idan comes first, followed by a comma, just like “When X, Y…” in English.
Verbs in series (su yi… su nemi…) each have their own su, which is common in Hausa.
The adverbial a hankali and tare come after the verbs they modify, which is also natural in Hausa and roughly matches typical English placement here.

So grammatically, nothing particularly unusual for a learner beyond getting used to pronoun repetition and things like a hankali and tare.