Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yanzu na fahimta labarin da malami ya ba mu. - Now I have understood the story that the teacher gave us.

In Hausa, na fahimta is in the perfective aspect. It literally means “I have understood / I understood”, but very often it is used for a present result:

Yanzu na fahimta… = “Now I have understood (it)” → naturally translated as “Now I understand”.

So:

na = first person singular subject in the perfective (“I” with a completed action).
fahimta = “understand”.

Because Yanzu (“now”) is there, the sentence means “I understand now” (I have just now come to understand it), not a remote past like “I once understood it.”

Could I also say Yanzu ina fahimta labarin da malami ya ba mu? What is the difference between na fahimta and ina fahimta?

Yes, you can say Yanzu ina fahimta labarin da malami ya ba mu, but the nuance changes:

na fahimta (perfective): “I have understood / I now understand.”
- Focuses on the completed result. With Yanzu, it sounds like “Now I’ve got it.”
ina fahimta (imperfective): “I am understanding / I (generally) understand.”
- Focuses on an ongoing or habitual state. With Yanzu, it sounds more like “Right now I’m in the process of understanding it.”

In the context of suddenly grasping something (e.g. after an explanation), Yanzu na fahimta is more natural: you’re saying you have just now reached understanding.

Where is the word “it” (the thing I understand)? Do I need to say shi after fahimta, like na fahimta shi?

You don’t have to say shi here. In Hausa, if it’s clear what you’re talking about, the object “it” is often left out:

Na fahimta. = “I understand / I’ve understood (it).”

You could say Na fahimta shi (“I have understood it”) for extra clarity or emphasis, but in your full sentence:

Yanzu na fahimta labarin da malami ya ba mu.

the object is already clearly labarin da malami ya ba mu (“the story that the teacher gave us”), so natives are very happy with na fahimta without shi.

Why is it labarin and not just labari?

Labari is the basic noun meaning “story, news, account”.

Labarin = labari + -n, where -n is a definite / linking ending (often called the “genitive linker”):

labari = “a story”.
labarin = “the story” or “the story of…”.

In your sentence:

labarin da malami ya ba mu = “the story that the teacher gave us”.

The -n is used because labarin is directly followed by something that describes it (da malami ya ba mu). This is very common in Hausa: noun + -n/-r + what follows it.

What exactly does da do in labarin da malami ya ba mu? I thought da meant “and” or “with”.

Da is a very flexible word in Hausa. It can mean “and”, “with”, “have”, “when”, and it also works as a relative marker, meaning “that / which / who”.

Here, da is a relative particle:

labarin da malami ya ba mu
= “the story that the teacher gave us”.

So in this sentence, da introduces a relative clause (a clause that describes “the story”), just like English “that” or “which” in “the story that he gave us”.

How is the relative clause da malami ya ba mu structured? Why is malami after da?

The typical pattern for a relative clause of this type in Hausa is:

[Head noun] + da + [subject] + [verb] (+ objects/other info)

In your sentence:

Head noun: labarin (“the story”)
da: relative marker (“that / which”)
subject of the relative clause: malami (“the teacher”)
verb phrase: ya ba mu (“gave us”)

So:

labarin
- da
  - malami
    - ya ba mu
      = “the story that the teacher gave us”.

The subject (malami) naturally comes right after da in this structure.

Can I replace da with wanda and say labarin wanda malami ya ba mu?

No, not in that way. In Hausa:

da is the usual relative marker used after a head noun:
labarin da malami ya ba mu = “the story that the teacher gave us”.
wanda / wadda / wadanda are relative pronouns that usually replace the noun (like “the one who / those who”), rather than follow it.

So you normally use:

mutumin da ya zo = “the man who came”.
wanda ya zo = “the one who came” (no noun like mutumi before it).

You wouldn’t normally say labarin wanda malami ya ba mu with labarin and wanda together. For your sentence, labarin da malami ya ba mu is the natural form.

What exactly is going on in ya ba mu? Which word is the subject, which is the verb, and which is “us”?

Ya ba mu breaks down like this:

ya = 3rd person singular masculine subject in the perfective (“he”).
ba = the verb “to give”.
mu = 1st person plural object pronoun (“us”).

So ya ba mu = “he gave us”.

The usual word order is:

[subject pronoun] + [verb] + [object pronoun]

Other examples:

ya ba ni = “he gave me”.
ta ba shi = “she gave him”.
sun ba su = “they gave them”.

In your relative clause, the full idea is:

malami ya ba mu (labari)
= “the teacher gave us (the story)”.

But “the story” is already the head noun labarin outside the clause, so it’s not repeated inside.

Where did the word “story” go inside malami ya ba mu? Why isn’t it said again?

It’s understood, not repeated.

The structure is:

labarin … da … malami ya ba mu

Think of it as:

“the story that the teacher gave us (_).”

The blank is understood to be “it”, referring back to labarin. Hausa, like English, normally doesn’t repeat the object inside this kind of relative clause:

English: “the story that the teacher gave us”
(not “the story that the teacher gave us it”)
Hausa: labarin da malami ya ba mu
(not “labarin da malami ya ba mu labarin”)

Does ba mu here mean “we don’t”, like in negative sentences (ba mu … ba)?

No. There are two different patterns:

Positive “give us”:
- ya ba mu = “he gave us”.
- Here ba is the verb “give” and mu is “us”.
Negative “we don’t / we didn’t”:
- Ba mu fahimta ba. = “We don’t/didn’t understand.”
- First Ba at the beginning = negative marker.
- mu = “we”.
- Final ba = closing negative marker.

In your sentence, there is:

no initial Ba at the beginning of the clause,
no final ba at the end,

and ba clearly follows the subject ya, so it is simply the verb “give”:

ya ba mu = “he gave us” (positive).

Can Yanzu appear in another position, like at the end of the sentence?

Yes, Yanzu (“now”) is a time adverb and has some freedom in position. The most natural is at the beginning:

Yanzu na fahimta labarin da malami ya ba mu.

You might also hear, depending on emphasis and rhythm:

Na fahimta labarin da malami ya ba mu yanzu.
(“I understand the story that the teacher gave us now.”)

But this second version can sometimes be heard as “I understand now (as opposed to earlier)” or “the teacher gave us the story now (as opposed to before)”, depending on context. Putting Yanzu at the very start usually makes the meaning “As of now, I understand” very clear.

Are there other natural ways to express the same idea in Hausa?

Yes, several slight variations are possible. For example:

Yanzu na fahimci labarin da malami ya ba mu.
(Using fahimci instead of fahimta; many speakers accept both.)
Yanzu na gane labarin da malami ya ba mu.
(gane = “realize / grasp / understand”.)
Yanzu na fahimta labarin da malaminmu ya ba mu.
(malaminmu = “our teacher”.)

All of these can convey the same practical meaning: that now you understand the story the teacher gave you.