Uwa ta saya sabon matashi domin kai na ya huta da kyau.

In Hausa, short subject markers attach to the verb and show person, number, and gender. They are often called subject pronouns or subject concords.

• ta saya

  • ta = 3rd person singular feminine subject (“she”)
  • saya = “to buy”
  • Together: ta saya = “she bought”

• kai na ya huta

  • kai = “head” (grammatically masculine)
  • na = “my” (possessive pronoun; “my head”)
  • ya = 3rd person singular masculine subject (“he/it”)
  • huta = “to rest”
  • kai na ya huta = “my head rests / will rest”

So:

• ta refers back to Uwa (mother – feminine human).
• ya refers to kai (head – grammatically masculine noun).

Hausa marks gender for 3rd-person singular subjects:

• ya = he/it (masc.)
• ta = she/it (fem.)

The sentence has two clauses, each with its own subject:

1. Uwa ta saya sabon matashi

   • Subject: Uwa (“mother”, feminine)
   • Verb: ta saya (“she bought”)

2. domin kai na ya huta da kyau

   • Subject: kai na (“my head”, grammatically masculine)
   • Verb: ya huta (“it rests / will rest”)

Hausa usually repeats the appropriate subject marker for each clause, even if it feels a bit repetitive from an English point of view.

So:

• ta agrees with Uwa (she)
• ya agrees with kai (head, masculine noun)

domin is a subordinating word that can mean:

• “because”
• “for” / “for the sake of”
• “so that / in order that”

In this sentence it clearly has a purpose / result meaning:

… ta saya sabon matashi domin kai na ya huta da kyau.
“… she bought a new pillow so that my head can rest well.”

So you can gloss it as “so that” or “in order that” here.

Related forms you’ll see:

• don – a shorter, very common spoken form
• saboda – often “because”, but context can also give a purpose-like sense

You’re right that most Hausa adjectives follow the noun:

• mota farar → “white car”
• mutum babba → “big man”

However, sabo (“new”) is one of the adjectives that very commonly comes before the noun in everyday speech, especially in the form:

• sabon + masculine noun
• sabuwar + feminine noun

So:

• sabon matashi = “a new pillow”
• sabon gida = “a new house”
• sabuwar mota = “a new car”

Grammatically:

• sabo = “new” (masc. sg., basic form)
• sabon = sabo + -n, with a linking/concord -n used before the noun

You can find noun + sabo in some carefully written or older styles, but sabon X / sabuwar X is the normal, natural everyday pattern.

sabon is made up of:

• sabo = “new” (masculine singular)
• -n = a linking consonant that:
  • marks masculine singular agreement, and/or
  • links an adjective or modifier to the following noun

So:

• sabo (new) → before a masculine noun → sabon matashi (“new pillow”)
• sabo before a feminine noun becomes sabuwar:
  • sabuwar mota (“new car”)

This -n (or -r in feminine forms) shows:

• gender (masc/fem)
• number (sg/pl in some patterns)
• and helps “glue” the adjective to the noun.

Yes, matashi normally means “young man / youth”. That’s the most common meaning you’ll see in textbooks and media.

However, in many dialects, especially in everyday speech, matashi (or more fully matashin kai) is also used for a pillow or head-rest:

• matashi / matashin kai = pillow (literally “resting thing for the head”)
• matashi (person) = youth, young man

So the noun is homonymous:

• matashi (person) – youth
• matashi (object) – pillow / headrest

Context tells you which meaning is intended. Here, with kai na ya huta (“my head can rest”), the “pillow” meaning is clearly the right one.

In basic noun + pronoun possession, Hausa usually puts:

1. the thing owned first
2. the possessive pronoun after it

So:

• kai na = “my head”
• gida na = “my house”
• littafi nata = “her book”
• motarku / motar ku = “your (pl) car”

In kai na:

• kai = “head”
• na = “my” (1st person singular possessive pronoun)

So kai na literally = “head my”.

You’ll also see bound forms, where the pronoun is attached directly:

• kaina = “my head” (closer, more tightly bound form)

Both kai na and kaina are possible; kai na is a bit more explicit and easy to see for learners because the pronoun is separated.

Yes, that’s a very natural alternative:

• Uwa ta saya sabon matashi domin in huta da kyau.
  • in = “that I (should)” (1st person subjunctive marker)
  • Meaning: “Mother bought a new pillow so that I can rest well.”

Difference:

1. Original sentence

   • kai na ya huta = “my head can rest”
   • Focus is on the head as the thing resting.

2. Alternative sentence

   • in huta = “I may rest”
   • Focus is on me as the person resting.

Both are grammatical; they just put the emphasis on different “resters”.

huta means “to rest, relax, take a break”.

• ya huta literally, in isolation, is 3rd person masc. singular perfective:
  • “he/it rested”

But after domin, Hausa often uses a perfective-form verb to express a future or intended result, roughly:

• domin ya huta = “so that he/it will rest / can rest”

So in this sentence:

• ta saya is clearly past (“she bought”)
• ya huta has a future/result sense thanks to domin:
  • “…so that my head can rest / will rest well.”

This is a normal pattern: a perfective form used inside a purpose clause.

da kyau is a very common expression meaning “well, nicely, properly”.

Literally:

• da = “with”
• kyau = “beauty, goodness, goodness of quality”

So, da kyau = “with goodness/beauty” → “well, nicely”.

You’ll see da used similarly in many adverbial expressions:

• da sauri = quickly (“with speed”)
• da hankali = carefully (“with care/sense”)

In ya huta da kyau:

• ya huta = “it rests”
• da kyau = “well / properly”

Together: “(so that) it rests well.”

On its own, Uwa means “mother” in general.

To say “my mother” explicitly, Hausa usually adds a possessive:

• uwata / uwar ta = my mother
• uwar ka = your (sg) mother
• uwarsa = his mother

In everyday use, though, when someone simply says:

• Uwa ta… in a personal context,

it often implicitly refers to “(my) mother”, because it’s their own mother they’re usually talking about. Context decides.

So:

• Strictly: Uwa ta saya… = “Mother bought…”
• In context, it’s normally understood as “My mother bought…”.

If you want to be absolutely explicit in a learning context, you could say:

• Uwata ta saya sabon matashi… = “My mother bought a new pillow…”

Hausa verbs take a subject marker that agrees with the grammatical gender of the subject:

• Uwa (mother) is feminine human noun
  → uses ta:

  • Uwa ta saya… = “Mother (she) bought…”

• kai (head) is a masculine noun
  → uses ya:

  • kai na ya huta… = “my head (it) rests…”

So:

• ta = she / it (feminine)
• ya = he / it (masculine)

Hausa is quite consistent in marking this for 3rd person singular subjects.

Yes, you’ll hear sayo as well:

• saya = to buy
• sayo = to buy and bring / to go buy (often implying movement or bringing it here)

In practice:

• ta saya sabon matashi – “she bought a new pillow”
• ta sayo sabon matashi – “she went and got / bought (and brought) a new pillow”

The difference is subtle and often not strongly felt in casual speech. sayo can add a small nuance that she went somewhere and brought it back, but many speakers use the two almost interchangeably.

Both are grammatical in this sentence.