Learn Hardcore Hausa: Uwa ta amince mu tafi sinima idan mun gama wanke ɗaki. - Mother agreed that we may go to the cinema if we finish cleaning the room.

Uwa = mother
ta = third‑person singular feminine subject pronoun in the perfective (completed action) aspect
→ roughly “she (has)” in this context
amince = agreed / consented

So Uwa ta amince is literally “Mother she‑agreed,” which in good English is just “Mother agreed / Mother has agreed.”

You cannot normally say *Uwa amince on its own; it sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in standard Hausa. The pronoun ta shows both the subject (she) and the aspect (completed action).

Why is it ta amince and not ta yarda? Don’t both mean “agree”?

Both amince and yarda can involve the idea of “agreeing,” but they have different typical uses:

amince (da):
- to consent, approve of, accept
- often used when someone gives permission or formally agrees to a request.
- e.g. Uwa ta amince mu tafi sinima
  “Mother has approved / consented for us to go to the cinema.”
yarda (da):
- to trust, believe, accept, agree with
- often used for agreeing with a person or idea, or trusting someone.
- e.g. Na yarda da kai – “I trust you / I believe you.”
- e.g. Na yarda da ra’ayinka – “I agree with your opinion.”

In this sentence, we are talking about a parent allowing something, so amince fits very well: she approves us going to the cinema.

What exactly is mu doing in ta amince mu tafi?

Here mu is the first‑person plural subject pronoun (“we/us”), but it also has a special subjunctive / irrealis flavor.

mu tafi literally = “we go”
After a verb like amince (“agree, consent”), mu tafi is understood as:
- “that we go”
- or “for us to go”

So:

Uwa ta amince mu tafi sinima
literally: “Mother has agreed [that] we go to the cinema.”
natural English: “Mother has agreed that we can go to the cinema.”

This mu + bare verb pattern after certain verbs (want, tell, agree, decide, etc.) often corresponds to English “that we …”, “for us to …”, or sometimes “let’s …” in other contexts.

Why is there no word for “can / may” in the Hausa sentence, even though the English meaning is “Mother agreed we can go …”?

The idea of permission is already contained in the verb amince (“to approve, consent”).

Hausa: Uwa ta amince mu tafi sinima…
literally: “Mother has agreed (that) we go to the cinema…”
English normally expresses this with may / can:
- “Mother agreed that we may/can go to the cinema…”

So Hausa does not need an extra word like may or can.
The structure [X] ta amince [mu tafi …] already implies “X allowed us to go …”

What is the difference between tafi and je? Could you say mu je sinima instead of mu tafi sinima?

Both tafi and je are verbs of motion meaning roughly “go,” but there is a nuance:

tafi:
- literally “to leave, to go away, to depart”
- often used when the focus is on leaving where you are.
- takes its destination directly:
  - mu tafi gida – “let’s go home”
  - mu tafi sinima – “let’s go (to) the cinema”
je:
- “to go (to a place)” with more focus on the destination.
- very often followed by zuwa (“to”) or directly by a place:
  - mu je sinima – “let’s go to the cinema”
  - mu je zuwa sinima – also possible, a bit more explicit.

In this sentence, mu tafi sinima is completely natural and common.
You could also hear mu je sinima in everyday speech with very similar meaning.

Why is there no word like “to” or “at” before sinima? Why not mu tafi zuwa sinima?

With motion verbs like tafi and je, Hausa very often drops a preposition and lets the place come directly after the verb.

mu tafi sinima = “let’s go (to) the cinema”
mu tafi gida = “let’s go home”
mu tafi kasuwa = “let’s go to the market”

You can say mu tafi zuwa sinima (“go to the cinema”), but it is longer and less common in everyday speech.
The simple [verb of going] + [place] pattern is the most natural here.

What does idan mean here? Is it “if” or “when”?

idan can mean both “if” and “when,” depending on context.

In:

idan mun gama wanke ɗaki

you can understand it as:

“if we finish cleaning the room”
(a condition – maybe we won’t finish) or
“when we’ve finished cleaning the room”
(a time clause – it’s expected we will finish)

In this specific kind of sentence – a parent giving a condition for permission – English usually says:

“Mother agreed we can go to the cinema when we finish cleaning the room.”

So idan here is very naturally translated as “when”, but grammatically it is the same word that also covers “if.”

Why is it mun gama and not muna gama or muka gama?

All three forms exist, but they express different aspects or focus:

mun gama
- mun = 1st person plural perfective pronoun
- meaning: “we have finished / we finished”
- completed action with no special focus.
muna gama
- muna = 1st person plural imperfective pronoun
- would mean: “we are finishing / we are in the middle of finishing / we usually finish”
- not appropriate inside idan here, because the condition is about having finished, not being in the process of finishing.
muka gama
- specialized focus/narrative perfective; often used in relative and focus constructions, storytelling, or to emphasize “we.”
- e.g. Lokacin da muka gama wanke ɗaki, sai muka tafi sinima.
  “When we finished cleaning the room, then we went to the cinema.”

Inside an idan “if/when” clause giving a straightforward condition, idan mun gama… (“when/if we’ve finished…”) is the natural choice.

What does gama mean, and why is it followed by another verb wanke?

gama = “to finish, complete”
It often takes another verb or verbal noun after it to say what is being finished.

In mun gama wanke ɗaki:

mun gama – “we have finished”
wanke ɗaki – “washing the room”

So mun gama wanke ɗaki = “we have finished washing the room.”

This is similar to English patterns like:

“We finished cleaning the room.”
“We have completed washing the room.”

What does wanke mean exactly, and is there a difference between wanke and “clean”?

wanke = “to wash” (with water, and often soap)
- e.g. wanke hannu – “wash (your) hands”
- wanke kaya – “wash clothes”

In wanke ɗaki, the idea is “to wash/clean the room,” probably involving water, mopping, etc. In everyday translation, English might just say “clean the room,” even though the Hausa verb is literally “wash.”

So:

mun gama wanke ɗaki
literal: “we’ve finished washing the room”
natural English: “we’ve finished cleaning the room.”

What is the letter ɗ in ɗaki, and how is it different from d?

The letter ɗ represents a different sound from simple d in Hausa:

d – a regular voiced d sound (like in English “day”)
ɗ – a voiced implosive d, produced by slightly “sucking in” air while making a d‑like sound.

The word ɗaki (room) must be written with ɗ, not d, in correct Hausa spelling.

ɗaki = room
daki would be considered misspelled or, in some dialects, might be heard as a different pronunciation.

So wanke ɗaki = “wash/clean the room.”

Why is it ɗaki and not ɗakin or ɗakinmu (“our room”)? Isn’t it a specific room?

Hausa does not always mark definiteness (“the”) or possession (“our”) the same way English does.

ɗaki = “a room / the room (from context)”
ɗakin = “the room” (explicitly definite)
ɗakinmu = “our room”

In many everyday contexts, just ɗaki is enough, because the situation makes it clear which room is meant (for example, the children’s room or the living room at home). So:

mun gama wanke ɗaki
can be understood as
“we’ve finished cleaning the room (e.g. our room).”

If you wanted to be more explicit, you could say:

mun gama wanke ɗakinmu – “we’ve finished cleaning our room.”

Could the sentence be reordered, for example Uwa ta amince idan mun gama wanke ɗaki mu tafi sinima? Is that still correct?

Yes, Hausa allows some flexibility in clause order.

Your original sentence:

Uwa ta amince mu tafi sinima idan mun gama wanke ɗaki.

An alternative order:

Uwa ta amince idan mun gama wanke ɗaki mu tafi sinima.

Both are understandable.
The meaning stays essentially the same:

“Mother agreed we can go to the cinema when we’ve finished cleaning the room.”

The original order (… amince mu tafi … idan mun gama …) is slightly more common and feels a bit more straightforward: first we hear what she agreed to (mu tafi sinima), then under what condition (idan mun gama wanke ɗaki). The reordered version puts the condition closer to amince, but both are grammatical.