Learn Hardcore Hausa: Kar ki gudu a kan matakala domin haɗari yana da yawa. - Do not run on the stairs because there is a lot of danger.

Kar is a negative imperative marker, basically meaning “don’t”.
Ki is the 2nd person singular feminine pronoun used in commands: “you (fem.)”.

So:

kar ki gudu = “don’t (you, female) run”
Literally: kar (don’t) + ki (you, fem.) + gudu (run)

On its own, kar doesn’t make a full command; it normally needs a pronoun:

kar ka gudu – don’t (you, male) run
kar ki gudu – don’t (you, female) run
kar ku gudu – don’t (you, plural) run

So kar ki is specifically telling one female not to do something.

Why is the form ki used here? What would it look like for a man or for more than one person?

Ki is used because the speaker is addressing a single female. Hausa changes the pronoun in negative commands depending on who is being spoken to:

kar ka gudu – don’t run (to one man)
kar ki gudu – don’t run (to one woman)
kar ku gudu – don’t run (to several people, mixed or same sex)

So if you said this to a boy, you’d say:

Kar ka gudu a kan matakala domin haɗari yana da yawa.

I also see kada used in books. What is the difference between kar and kada?

Kar is basically a shortened, colloquial form of kada. Both introduce negative commands/prohibitions:

Kada ki gudu a kan matakala…
Kar ki gudu a kan matakala…

Both mean “Don’t run on the stairs…”.

You’ll often see combined forms in writing and especially in speech:

karka = kada ka
karki = kada ki
karku = kada ku

In careful or very formal speech/writing, kada is more common. In everyday speech, kar (often fused as karka, karki, karku) is extremely common.

Can I drop the ki and just say Kar gudu a kan matakala?

That would sound incomplete or off in normal Hausa. Negative commands typically need the pronoun:

✅ Kar ki gudu a kan matakala.
✅ Kar ku gudu a kan matakala.
❌ Kar gudu a kan matakala. (feels unfinished, like “Don’t run…” without saying who)

There are some fixed phrases where kada/kar appears without an explicit pronoun (like proverbs or notices), but the natural everyday way is to include ki/ka/ku.

What is the literal meaning of a kan matakala? Why not just a matakala?

Literally:

a – at / in / on (general preposition)
kan – top / surface / head
a kan – “on (top of)”, “upon”

So a kan matakala is “on (top of) the steps/stairs.”

You can say a matakala in some contexts, but a kan matakala is clearer and more idiomatic for “on the stairs,” because you are talking about being on their surface, where you step and run.

Compare:

a cikin ɗaki – in the room
a bakin ƙofa – at/by the door
a kan tebur – on the table
a kan matakala – on the stairs

Sometimes I see akan as one word. Is a kan matakala different from akan matakala?

Both spellings appear:

a kan (two words)
akan (one word)

In practice:

For physical “on top of” (on the table, on the stairs), a kan is very common and clear.
akan is also widely used, but often has an extra meaning of “about / regarding / concerning”:
- Za mu yi magana akan wannan batu. – We will talk about this issue.

In your sentence, a kan matakala is the straightforward “on the stairs.”
Akan matakala would be understood, but many speakers prefer a kan for literal physical location.

What exactly does matakala mean? Is it “stairs” or “steps”? What is the singular form?

Matakala usually refers to the set of steps / stairs as a whole – the thing you go up and down.

Usage:

matakala – stairs / steps (as a unit)
You can still hear matakala ɗaya (“one step”), so in real usage it can function like a singular noun too.

In many learners’ materials you may see:

mataki – step, stage (more general word for “step / level”)
matakala – stairs / staircase (built structure)

In everyday speech, context does a lot of work. Saying:

Kar ki gudu a kan matakala.

naturally means “Don’t run on the stairs,” not just any random “steps.”

What does domin mean here? Could I use saboda instead?

Domin here means “because” / “since”:

… domin haɗari yana da yawa.
– “… because the danger is great / because there’s a high risk.”

You can often swap it with saboda:

Kar ki gudu a kan matakala saboda haɗari yana da yawa.

Rough guideline:

domin – often slightly more formal, also used for purpose (“so that…”)
- Na yi haka domin in taimake ka. – I did this so that I can help you.
saboda – very common everyday “because / due to / because of”

In this sentence, both are fine and natural.

How should I understand haɗari yana da yawa structurally? It looks different from English.

Literally:

haɗari – danger / risk (of accident, mishap)
yana – he/it is (progressive/continuous form of ya “he/it”)
da – with / has
yawa – much / a lot / plenty

So:

haɗari yana da yawa
≈ “the danger is with much” → “the danger is a lot” / “there is a lot of danger” / “the risk is high.”

You’ll see the same pattern with other nouns:

ruwa yana da yawa. – there is a lot of water.
aiki yana da yawa. – there’s a lot of work.

An alternative you might hear is:

Haɗari ya yi yawa. – The danger has become a lot (the danger is too much).

Both express that the level of danger/risk is high.

Is there a difference between haɗari and hatsari? Which should I use?

Both haɗari and hatsari are used in Hausa and can overlap in meaning, but there are tendencies:

haɗari
- more general danger / risk
- risk of something bad happening (accident, injury, etc.)
hatsari
- more specifically an accident (like a road accident, crash, incident)
- also used more broadly as “danger” in some dialects

In your sentence, haɗari works very well, because we are speaking about the risk/danger of running on the stairs, not one specific accident that already happened.

You could hear:

Kar ki gudu a kan matakala, hatsari ne sosai. – Don’t run on the stairs, it’s very dangerous / it’s an accident waiting to happen.

But haɗari is particularly natural for “risk” here.

Does Kar ki gudu a kan matakala… sound very harsh? How would I make it more polite?

As it stands, it’s a clear, direct prohibition: “Don’t run on the stairs…”
It can sound like something a parent or teacher would say to a child. Not rude, but definitely firm.

To soften it, you can add polite elements such as don Allah / dan Allah (“please, for God’s sake”) or gentle wording:

Don Allah, kar ki gudu a kan matakala, domin haɗari yana da yawa.
– Please don’t run on the stairs; the danger is great.

Or even:

Ki daina gudu a kan matakala, don Allah, haɗari yana da yawa.
– Please stop running on the stairs; it’s very dangerous.

So kar ki… itself is neutral-direct; adding don Allah or a softer verb choice makes it explicitly polite.

If I wanted to talk about people generally (not just “you”), how could I say “One shouldn’t run on the stairs because it’s dangerous”?

A natural way is to use ba a… passive/impersonal style, or plural a kan… style. Some options:

Impersonal / general statement:
- Ba a kamata a gudu a kan matakala ba, domin haɗari yana da yawa.
  – One should not run on the stairs because the danger is great.
Using ana (people in general):
- Ba a son a gudu a kan matakala, domin haɗari yana da yawa.
  – It’s not liked/approved to run on the stairs, because there’s a lot of danger.
Plural “people”:
- Mutane ba su kamata su gudu a kan matakala ba, domin haɗari yana da yawa.
  – People should not run on the stairs because the risk is high.

Your original sentence with kar ki is specifically addressing one female listener, but these forms make it a general rule.