Breakdown of Likita ya ce kar mu ƙara sukari a cikin shayi.
mu
we
a cikin
inside
ce
to say
likita
the doctor
Questions & Answers about Likita ya ce kar mu ƙara sukari a cikin shayi.
What does kar mean here, and how is it different from a normal negative like ba … ba?
Kar is a special negative particle used for prohibitions or negative commands / suggestions, roughly “don’t / let’s not / should not.”
- kar mu ƙara… ≈ that we should not add… / let’s not add…
- It is used with a subjunctive-type verb (no ba … ba around the verb).
Compare:
Ba mu ƙara sukari a cikin shayi ba.
→ We did not add sugar to the tea. (plain statement, past or general)Kar mu ƙara sukari a cikin shayi.
→ We should not add sugar to the tea. (warning / instruction)
So kar replaces ba … ba when you are forbidding or advising against an action.
Why is the word order kar mu ƙara… and not mu kar ƙara…?
In negative commands or prohibitions, Hausa normally uses this order:
kar + subject pronoun + verb (+ object …)
So:
- kar mu ƙara sukari – we should not add sugar
- kar ka sha shayi – you (m.sg.) should not drink tea
- kar su tafi – they should not go
Putting the pronoun before kar (mu kar ƙara…) is not the normal pattern and sounds wrong. The kar must come first in that clause.
What exactly does ƙara mean here? Is it “add” or “more”?