Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu. - The children are exercising now.

Context
- Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu.
  Depending on context this can mean Children are exercising now or The children are exercising now.
A suffix on the noun (often used when you really mean the):
- yaran = the children
- Yaran suna motsa jiki yanzu. = The children are exercising now.

So both are correct:

Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu. → Children / The children are exercising now.
Yaran suna motsa jiki yanzu. → Clearly The children are exercising now.

What exactly does suna mean? Is it just the same as English are?

Suna is a single word that combines:

su = they
-na = a marker for ongoing / present action

So suna roughly corresponds to they are (doing something).

In this sentence:

Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu.
literally: The children – they-are exercising now.

There is no separate verb to be like English are. Instead Hausa uses these special forms:

ina = I am (doing)
kana / kina = you (m/f sg) are (doing)
yana / tana = he / she is (doing)
muna = we are (doing)
kuna = you (pl) are (doing)
suna = they are (doing)

Why do we need both yara and suna? Could I just say Yara motsa jiki yanzu?

You cannot normally drop suna here.

In Hausa, with this kind of present/ongoing meaning, you usually have:

[Subject] + [ina/kana/yana/.../suna] + [verb]

So:

Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu. ✅ natural and correct
Yara motsa jiki yanzu. ❌ sounds wrong / incomplete as a statement

The pattern is:

Yara suna... = The children are …‑ing
Suna motsa jiki yanzu. = They are exercising now. (subject pronoun only)

That second one is fine, because suna itself already carries the subject they.

What does motsa jiki literally mean, and how is it used?

Literally:

motsa = to move / to stir
jiki = body

So motsa jiki literally means “move (the) body”, and idiomatically it means exercise, work out, physical exercise.

Examples:

Ina motsa jiki kowace safiya.
I exercise every morning.
Ya kamata mu yi motsa jiki.
We should do some exercise.

Is motsa jiki one fixed expression? Can I put words between motsa and jiki?

Grammatically, motsa jiki is verb + object (“move body”), but it is also a set phrase meaning exercise.

You normally do not insert words between motsa and jiki when you mean exercise.
You can modify the whole phrase after it:
- motsa jiki na safe = morning exercise
- motsa jiki mai ƙarfi = intense exercise

There is also a very common variant:

yin motsa jiki = doing exercise

For example:

Yara suna yin motsa jiki yanzu. = The children are doing exercise now.
(equivalent in meaning to Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu.)

What does yanzu mean, and can it go in other positions in the sentence?

Yanzu means now.

The usual neutral position is at the end:

Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu. = The children are exercising now.

You can also move yanzu to the front for emphasis on now:

Yanzu yara suna motsa jiki.
Roughly: Right now, the children are exercising.

Both are grammatical. The difference is mostly emphasis, not grammar.

How would I say The child is exercising now (singular), for a boy and for a girl?

You change both the noun and the form of “is” to match singular gender:

For a boy:

Yaro yana motsa jiki yanzu.
The boy / (male) child is exercising now.

For a girl:

Yarinya tana motsa jiki yanzu.
The girl / (female) child is exercising now.

Pattern:

yaro yana ... = the boy / (male) child is …‑ing
yarinya tana ... = the girl / (female) child is …‑ing
yara suna ... = the children are …‑ing

How do I make this sentence negative: The children are not exercising now?

To negate this kind of present/ongoing sentence, you usually:

Replace suna with ba sa, and
Optionally add a second ba at the end of the clause.

So:

Yara ba sa motsa jiki yanzu.
Yara ba sa motsa jiki yanzu ba. (more emphatic / careful)

Both correspond to The children are not exercising now (or The children do not exercise now, depending on context).

Structure:

Yara (children)
ba sa (they are not [doing])
motsa jiki (exercising)
yanzu (now)
ba (optional closing negative)

How do I turn this into a yes/no question: Are the children exercising now?

You can form a yes/no question in a few common ways:

Just use question intonation (very common in speech):
- Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu?
  With rising intonation at the end, this means:
  Are the children exercising now?
Add the question particle shin at the front (more formal / clear):
- Shin yara suna motsa jiki yanzu?
  Are the children exercising now?
Add ko at the front (also used in questions):
- Ko yara suna motsa jiki yanzu?
  Context decides nuance; in many cases it also means
  Are the children exercising now?

Any of these can be understood as a yes/no question.

Does Yara suna motsa jiki yanzu mean specifically are exercising (right now), or can it also mean exercise (regularly)?

It can convey both, depending on context.

With yanzu (now), it strongly suggests a right-now, ongoing action:
The children are exercising now.

Without yanzu, the same pattern can be:

Yara suna motsa jiki.
This can mean:
- The children are exercising (right now)., or
- The children exercise / work out (habitually).

Hausa uses these aspect forms (like suna) for both present continuous and present habitual; adverbs like yanzu (now) or kullum (every day) clarify the meaning.

How should I pronounce the words in this sentence? Where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English-style syllables):

Yara → YA-ra (both a like in “father”)
suna → SU-na (both u/a like in “put” / “father”)
motsa → MOT-sa (short o as in “hot”)
jiki → JI-ki (ji like “gee”, ki like “key”)
yanzu → YAN-zu (yan like “yahn”, zu like “zoo”)

Important notes:

Hausa is a tone language, but tone is not written in the usual spelling, and learners are often taught first with overall rhythm and vowel length rather than detailed tone patterns.
Unlike English, stress is not strongly contrastive; each syllable is usually pronounced quite clearly, without a big stress difference like in English.