Learn Hardcore Hausa: Lokaci-lokaci malami yana tuna mana cewa fa'ida ta gaskiya ita ce ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya. - From time to time the teacher reminds us that the real benefit is to give everyone the same respect.

The hyphen just shows reduplication clearly in writing; you’ll also see it written as lokaci lokaci without a hyphen, but lokaci-lokaci is very common and clearer for learners.

Why is there no word for he before yana? How do we know who the subject is?

In Hausa, you usually do not need a separate pronoun if the subject is already a full noun phrase.

Malami yana tuna mana…
= The teacher he-is remembering for-us… (literally)
but in natural English just The teacher reminds us…

The subject is understood to be malami (teacher). If you really want to add a pronoun for emphasis, you could say:

Malami shi ne yake tuna mana… (more emphatic / focused)
But for a neutral sentence, malami yana… is normal and correct.

What exactly does yana do in malami yana tuna mana?

Yana is the 3rd person singular masculine imperfective/progressive form of to be used before verbs:

yana tuna = he is remembering / he (habitually) remembers

In context, yana here expresses a habitual action: something the teacher does from time to time.

Roughly:

malami yana tuna mana
= the teacher (regularly / from time to time) reminds us

Without yana, just malami ya tuna mana, it would usually sound more like a single, completed act of reminding.

Why is it tuna mana and not something like tunatar da mu for reminds us?

Both patterns exist, but they are slightly different:

tuna mana
- tuna: remember
- mana: to us / for us (1st person plural clitic)
- Together: he remembers (it) for us / he reminds us
Hausa often uses tuna + benefactive pronoun (mana, mini, masa, musu…) to mean remind:
- ya tuna mini = he reminded me
- yana tuna mana = he reminds us
tunatar da mu
- tunatar: cause someone to remember (a causative form)
- da mu: with us / about us
This is a more explicit causative form: he causes us to remember.

In everyday speech, tuna mana is very natural for reminds us.

What does mana mean in yana tuna mana? How is it different from mu?

Both refer to us / we, but they have different uses:

mu = independent pronoun (we / us)
- mu muna karatu = we are studying
- ya ga mu = he saw us
mana = enclitic/bound form (to us / for us)
- attaches to the verb phrase with a benefactive sense:
  - ya rubuta mana wasika = he wrote a letter for us
  - yana tuna mana = he reminds us (literally: he remembers for us)

So mana has a for-us / to-us nuance and cannot stand alone like mu.

What is the role of cewa in yana tuna mana cewa fa'ida ta gaskiya…?

Cewa is a complementizer; it introduces a clause that functions like that in English:

yana tuna mana cewa…
= he reminds us that…

The part after cewa is a full clause:

fa'ida ta gaskiya ita ce ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya
= the real benefit is to give everyone equal value

In many sentences you cannot just drop cewa; leaving it out often sounds ungrammatical or at least very informal. Here, cewa is standard and natural.

How is fa'ida ta gaskiya structured? Why do we have ta there?

Breakdown:

fa'ida = benefit, advantage (feminine noun)
ta = feminine linker / genitive marker (roughly of / that is)
gaskiya = truth / reality

So fa'ida ta gaskiya literally means:

the benefit that is true / the benefit of truth
i.e. the real / true benefit

In Hausa, this linker agrees with the gender/number of the first noun:

masculine singular: na → abin da ya fi muhimmanci na gaskiya
feminine singular: ta → fa'ida ta gaskiya
plural: na → fa'idodi na gaskiya

So ta here shows that fa'ida is feminine.

What does ita ce do in fa'ida ta gaskiya ita ce ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya?

Ita ce is a copular / focus structure:

ita = she / it (feminine pronoun, referring back to fa'ida)
ce = feminine form of the copula used in focus/equative sentences

fa'ida ta gaskiya ita ce… is roughly:

as for the real benefit, it is (the one that)…

This structure:

emphasizes fa'ida ta gaskiya as the topic or focus
links it to the following relative clause ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya

More neutral (less focused) wording could be:

fa'ida ta gaskiya ce ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya

But ita ce gives a slightly stronger “this is what the real benefit is” feeling.

What is the ta doing in ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya?

Here ta is the 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun agreeing with fa'ida:

fa'ida (fem.) … ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya
= the benefit … it (she) gives everyone equal value

So the structure is:

fa'ida ta gaskiya ita ce
(fa'ida ta gaskiya) ta ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya

You can think:

The real benefit – it is (the one which) gives everyone equal value.

Because fa'ida is feminine, Hausa uses ta (not ya).

What does ba wa mean here, and is it the same as the noun bawa (slave)?

In this sentence:

ba = to give
wa = to (preposition marking the indirect object)

So ba wa kowa = give to everyone.

Important:

ba wa (two words) = give to
bawa (one word) = slave / servant

They sound very similar, so context and spacing in writing matter. Here it’s clearly the verb phrase ba wa (to give to).

You might also hear sentences without wa when the indirect object is directly after the verb:

ya ba kowa daraja ɗaya = he gave everyone equal value

Both ba wa kowa and ba kowa can be found; ba wa makes the indirect-object relationship very explicit.

What does kowa mean exactly?

Kowa means everyone / everybody or anyone, depending on context.

Positive, general statement:
ya ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya = he gives everyone equal value
With negation, it often means no one / nobody:
ba kowa ya zo ba = nobody came

In this sentence it clearly has the inclusive, positive sense: everyone.

How does daraja ɗaya express the idea of equal?

Breakdown:

daraja = rank, status, value, dignity, respect
ɗaya = one

daraja ɗaya literally means one rank / one status / one value.

In context:

ba wa kowa daraja ɗaya
= to give everyone one and the same status
→ to give everyone equal value / equal dignity

Using ɗaya after a noun like this often carries the sense of the same rather than just the number 1.

How do you pronounce the special letter ɗ in ɗaya, and what about the apostrophe in fa'ida?

ɗ in ɗaya
- This is a voiced implosive d (distinct from d in Hausa).
- It’s pronounced by pulling the tongue slightly in while voicing, something like a “soft d” with a bit of an inward gulp.
- For learners, pronouncing it like a clear d is usually understood, but native speakers hear the difference.
The apostrophe in fa'ida
- It marks a glottal stop between the vowels a and i.
- So fa'ida is roughly faʔida: a tiny pause or catch in the throat between fa and ida.
- Without the glottal stop, it could sound like a simple glide, but the apostrophe helps indicate the proper syllable break.

Both features are part of standard Hausa orthography, especially in careful writing.