Learn Hardcore Hausa: A damina ruwa yana sauka sosai a kan rufi. - In the rainy season rain falls heavily on the roof.

a + time word is a very common way to say “in/at + time”:
- a safiya – in the morning
- a dare – at night
- a damina – in the rainy season
You could also say Lokacin damina (the time of the rainy season), but a damina is shorter and very natural.

Who or what is the subject of the sentence, and why do we use yana?

The subject is ruwa (rain / water).

Yana is 3rd person masculine singular, progressive (literally “he is”).
In Hausa, ruwa is grammatically masculine, so it takes yana.

Structure:

ruwa – rain
yana – he/it is (masculine, continuous/progressive)
sauka – to come down, to fall, to descend

So ruwa yana sauka = the rain is falling.
You do not say ina or suna here, because:

ina = “I am” or “where?” (depending on context)
suna = “they are” (plural)
For a masculine singular noun like ruwa, you must use yana.

What does yana sauka express? Is it like “falls” or “is falling”?

Yana sauka is a continuous/progressive form, so it means “is falling / is coming down”, describing an ongoing action.

Breakdown:

ya sauka – he/it fell, it came down (completed action)
yana sauka – he/it is falling, is coming down (ongoing)

So here, ruwa yana sauka means “the rain is falling” (right now / generally during that time), not just “it fell once.”

What does sauka mean here, and can I use a different verb for “rain falling”?

Sauka literally means to descend / come down / get off / land.
With ruwa, it means to fall (from above), so ruwa yana sauka = the rain is coming down / falling.

Other common verbs with ruwa:

ruwa yana zuba – the rain is pouring / pouring down (often heavier rain)
ruwa yana fāɗi – the rain is falling (also possible, though sauka and zuba are more typical)

All are understandable, but:

sauka emphasizes coming down from above
zuba emphasizes pouring / flowing strongly

What does sosai add to the sentence?

Sosai is an intensifier meaning very, a lot, intensely.

So:

ruwa yana sauka – the rain is falling
ruwa yana sauka sosai – the rain is falling a lot / very heavily

It works like “very” or “a lot” in English, and it typically comes after the verb phrase:

yana gudu sosai – he is running very fast
sun yi aiki sosai – they worked a lot / very hard

What is the function of a kan in a kan rufi? How is it different from just a or just kan?

A kan literally combines:

a – in / at / on (general preposition)
kan – top / surface / on top of

Together a kan means “on (the surface of)” / “on top of”.

In this sentence:

a kan rufi = on the roof

Comparisons:

a rufi – at the roof / on the roof (often understandable, but less specific)
kan rufi – on top of the roof (can be used, but a kan rufi is the very common collocation)

Also note:

a kan (two words) usually means “on (physically)”
akan (one word) often means “about / concerning”
- Muna magana akan wannan batu. – We are talking about this issue.

What does rufi mean exactly? Is it always “roof of a house”?

Rufi means roof / covering / top covering.

In common usage, rufi by itself often means the roof of a building, especially a house, so:

a kan rufi is normally understood as on the roof (of the house/building).

You can be more explicit:

a kan rufin gida – on the roof of the house
- Here rufin is rufi + -n (the “of the” / possessive linker)

But in a simple everyday sentence, a kan rufi already clearly suggests a building’s roof.

Why does the sentence start with A damina? Could it come later in the sentence?

Hausa often puts a time expression at the beginning for emphasis or context.

A damina ruwa yana sauka sosai a kan rufi.
= During the rainy season, the rain is falling heavily on the roof.

You can move it:

Ruwa yana sauka sosai a kan rufi a damina.

That is grammatically okay, but:

Starting with A damina sets the time frame first, which is natural and common in Hausa storytelling and description:
- A dare muna hutawa. – At night we rest.
- A safiya nake tashi. – In the morning I get up.

Is there any article like “the” or “a” in this Hausa sentence? How do I know if it’s “the rainy season” or “a rainy season”?

Hausa normally does not use separate words for “a / an / the” like English.

damina can mean rainy season (in general), and usually is understood as “the rainy season”, because there is only one rainy season in the year in that context.
ruwa can be water or rain, often understood as “the rain” when talking about weather.

So:

A damina ruwa yana sauka sosai a kan rufi.
is naturally understood as:
In the rainy season, the rain falls heavily on the roof.

Context normally tells you whether to interpret it as the or a, but you do not change the Hausa form.

Could I leave out ruwa and just say A damina yana sauka sosai a kan rufi?

No, that would be unnatural or confusing.

In Hausa, yana sauka needs a clear subject in this kind of sentence. Without ruwa, yana would usually refer back to some previously mentioned masculine noun (he/it), and the listener would not automatically understand that it is rain.

Correct:

A damina ruwa yana sauka sosai a kan rufi. – During the rainy season, rain is falling heavily on the roof.

If the rain was already clearly mentioned just before, speakers might then shorten later references, but in a stand‑alone sentence, you must keep ruwa.

Can I change the word order inside the main clause, like ruwa sosai yana sauka a kan rufi?

No. Hausa has a fairly strict basic order Subject – (Aspect marker) – Verb – (Objects / Adverbs).

The natural order here is:

ruwa (S) – subject
yana (A) – aspect/subject marker
sauka (V) – verb
sosai (Adv) – adverb
a kan rufi (PP) – prepositional phrase

So:

ruwa yana sauka sosai a kan rufi – correct and natural
ruwa sosai yana sauka a kan rufi – sounds wrong / ungrammatical

The adverb sosai normally comes after the verb phrase, not before the aspect marker or between subject and aspect.