Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni ina koyo Hausa a makaranta.

Putting both together is like saying: “Me, I’m learning Hausa at school.”
You don’t have to say both; Ni is there mainly for emphasis or contrast (e.g. “I’m learning Hausa (but others aren’t)”).

Can I just say Ina koyo Hausa a makaranta without Ni? Is it still correct?

Yes, and that is the normal neutral sentence.

Ina koyo Hausa a makaranta. – “I’m learning Hausa at school.”

Adding Ni makes it more emphatic or contrastive:

Ni ina koyo Hausa a makaranta. – “I (for my part) am learning Hausa at school.”

You would typically use the version without Ni in most ordinary statements and answers. Use Ni when you want to highlight yourself, e.g.:

Ni ina koyo Hausa a makaranta, amma shi yana koyo Faransanci a gida.
“I’m learning Hausa at school, but he is learning French at home.”

Is ina koyo like the English “I am learning,” or can it also mean “I learn / I study” in general?

ina koyo covers both meanings, depending on context.

Progressive (right now / these days):
Yanzu ina koyo Hausa. – “Right now I’m learning Hausa.”
Habitual / general present (“I study”):
Ina koyo Hausa a makaranta kowace rana. – “I study Hausa at school every day.”

Hausa uses the same form (ina + verbal noun) for both “I am learning” and “I (regularly) learn,” and context tells you which one is meant.

What exactly does koyo mean here? Is it a verb, a noun, or something like “to learn”?

koyo is a verbal noun (sometimes called an infinitive-like form). It comes from the verb koya (“to learn, to be taught”; and with -r da, koyar da, “to teach”).

In the pattern ina + verbal noun, Hausa expresses actions in progress or habits:

ina koyo – “I am learning / I learn”
koyo by itself – “learning,” “the act of learning”

Some related forms:

Na koya Hausa. – “I learned Hausa / I have learned Hausa.” (simple past)
Zan koya Hausa. – “I will learn Hausa.”
Ina koyo Hausa. – “I’m learning / I study Hausa.”

So in your sentence, koyo functions like the English “learning” in “I am learning Hausa.”

Why is there no word for “the” before makaranta? How would I say “at the school”?

Hausa has no separate words for “a” or “the.” There is no article like English a/the or French un/le.

a makaranta can mean “at school” or “at a school” or “at the school,” depending on context.

To make “the school” more explicit or specific, Hausa uses other strategies, such as:

A definite ending: makarantar (“the school” in a genitive/linked form)
Demonstratives: wancan makarantar, waccan makarantar, makarantar nan
– “that school,” “this school”
Possession: makarantar gwamnati – “the government school”
makarantarmu – “our school”

Examples:

Ina koyo Hausa a makarantar nan. – “I’m learning Hausa at this school.”
Ina koyo Hausa a makarantar gwamnati. – “I’m learning Hausa at the government school.”

What does the preposition a mean exactly? When should I use a instead of other words like cikin or zuwa?

a is a very general locative preposition, usually meaning “in, at, on” depending on the noun:

a makaranta – “at school”
a gida – “at home”
a Kano – “in Kano”

Some comparisons:

a – general “in/at/on” (fairly neutral)
cikin – “inside (of)”
- Ina koyo Hausa cikin makaranta. – “I’m learning Hausa inside the school (building).”
zuwa – “to / towards”
- Ina zuwa makaranta. – “I am going to school.”

So a makaranta tells you location (“at school”), while zuwa makaranta would talk about movement towards the school.

Is the word order in Ni ina koyo Hausa a makaranta always Subject–Verb–Object–Place?

Yes, that’s the basic neutral order in Hausa:

Subject: Ni / Ina (“I”)
Verb phrase: ina koyo (“am learning”)
Object: Hausa (“Hausa”)
Place: a makaranta (“at school”)

So the core pattern is:
Subject – (Tense/Aspect) – Verb – Object – Place

You can move the place phrase to the front for emphasis:

A makaranta nake koyo Hausa. – “At school is where I learn Hausa.”

But the unmarked, everyday order is like your sentence: … koyo Hausa a makaranta.

Why is Hausa directly after koyo with no extra word like “of” or “to”? In English we say “learn Hausa” or “the learning of Hausa.”

In Hausa, the thing you are learning is usually put right after the verbal noun, with no extra preposition:

ina koyo Hausa – “I’m learning Hausa”
ina koyo lissafi – “I’m learning mathematics”
ina koyo tukin mota – “I’m learning (the) driving of a car” → “I’m learning to drive.”

More formally, especially in writing, you often see a linking -n (construct form) between the verbal noun and its object:

ina koyon Hausa – literally “I am in the learning of Hausa.”

So functionally, koyo Hausa ≈ “learning Hausa,” and koyon Hausa ≈ “the learning of Hausa.” Both appear in real usage; see the next question for the difference.

I’ve also seen koyon Hausa written with -n at the end of koyo. Should it be koyo Hausa or koyon Hausa in this sentence?

The more strictly standard written form is:

Ina koyon Hausa a makaranta.

Here, koyon = koyo + -n, a linker (genitive/construct marker) that ties the verbal noun to its object:
koyon Hausa – “the learning of Hausa.”

However, in everyday speech, many speakers do not clearly pronounce the -n, and you will hear things that sound like koyo Hausa. In informal writing you may also see koyo Hausa.

For a learner, it’s safest (especially in writing or exams) to aim for:

Ina koyon Hausa a makaranta.

But you will certainly hear both forms in real life.

Does makaranta only mean “school,” or can it mean other things like “lesson” or “religious school”?

makaranta basically means “school” in a broad sense:

Regular (secular) school: makaranta primare / sakandare – primary / secondary school
Quranic / Islamic school: makarantar Islamiyya, makarantar allo

By extension, it can also refer to schooling/education in some contexts, but its core meaning is “school (as an institution/place).”

It is not normally used to mean a single “lesson.” For “lesson / class,” you might see:

darasi – lesson, class
aji – class (group of students / grade level)

So your sentence clearly means you are learning at a school, not just “in a lesson.”

Is Hausa as a language grammatically masculine or feminine in Hausa, and does that matter for this sentence?

Grammatically, Hausa (the language) is treated as feminine. You can see this in sentences that need agreement:

Hausa ce sabuwa a gare ni. – “Hausa is new to me.”
(ce is the feminine form of the copula; masculine would be ne.)

However, gender does not affect anything in your sentence Ni ina koyo Hausa a makaranta, because:

There is no adjective modifying Hausa here.
There is no copula that would need to agree in gender.

So it’s good to know that Hausa is feminine for future agreement, but it doesn’t change this sentence.

How would I say “I am not learning Hausa at school” using this pattern?

To negate ina koyo, you generally use ba … ba plus a negative form of the aspect marker. The most natural version here is:

Ba na koyo Hausa a makaranta.
“I am not learning Hausa at school.” / “I don’t study Hausa at school.”

Breakdown:

Ba … ba – negative frame (the second ba can be dropped in short answers or casual speech).
na – negative form corresponding to ina (“I [am not] doing”).
koyo Hausa a makaranta – “learning Hausa at school.”

A fully explicit version with both ba’s would be:

Ba na koyo Hausa a makaranta ba.

Can I replace Hausa with other languages or subjects in exactly the same pattern?

Yes. You can plug in other subjects directly after koyo / koyon:

Ina koyon Turanci a makaranta. – “I’m learning English at school.”
Ina koyon Faransanci a makaranta. – “I’m learning French at school.”
Ina koyon lissafi a makaranta. – “I’m learning mathematics at school.”
Ina koyon kiɗa a makaranta. – “I’m learning music at school.”

So the template is:

(Ni) ina koyon [SUBJECT] a makaranta.
– “I am learning [SUBJECT] at school.”