Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yara suna wasa a bakin kogi. - The children are playing at the riverbank.

Shows who is doing the action – it agrees with the subject Yara (children → plural → su).
Shows aspect (ongoing action) – it tells us the action is happening now or is continuous: are playing (not just play in general).

So Hausa often uses a subject pronoun + aspect marker before a verbal noun:

Yara suna wasa – The children are playing.
Ni ina wasa – I am playing.
Mu muna wasa – We are playing.

Without suna, you would not have a proper present continuous meaning. You’d usually sound incomplete or you’d be saying something more like a title or a label (children, play at the riverside), not a real sentence about what is happening now.

Could you also say Yara na wasa a bakin kogi instead of Yara suna wasa a bakin kogi?

You will hear forms like Yara na wasa in some dialects and casual speech, but for a learner, it is safer and more standard to use Yara suna wasa.

A few notes:

suna is the full 3rd person plural progressive form that learners are usually taught first.
na can function as an aspect marker too, but without su, Yara na wasa can sound more dialectal, reduced, or context‑dependent.
In clear, neutral, learner‑friendly Hausa, Yara suna wasa… is the best choice for “The children are playing…”.

So: understand Yara na wasa if you hear it, but actively use Yara suna wasa.

Is wasa a verb meaning “to play,” or is it something else?

In Hausa, wasa in this structure is a verbal noun. That means:

It can be translated as play / playing in English.
It’s used together with a subject pronoun + aspect marker to form what English expresses as “to be doing something”.

So:

Yara suna wasa
Literally: Children they-are play/playing
Meaning: The children are playing.

Compare with other verbal noun constructions:

Ina karatu. – I am reading / studying. (karatu = reading/study)
Sun fara aiki. – They have started work(ing). (aiki = work)

So in grammar terms, wasa is not a finite verb form; it is a verbal noun used in a progressive construction.

What does the preposition a mean here, and can it mean other things?

In Yara suna wasa a bakin kogi, a is a preposition of location:

a = at / in / on (depending on context)

Here it is best translated as “at”:

a bakin kogi – at the riverbank / at the riverside

Other examples of a:

a gida – at home / in the house
a kasuwa – at the market
a makaranta – at school

So a is very general; English uses different prepositions (in, on, at), but Hausa often just uses a plus the place.

What exactly does bakin kogi mean, word‑for‑word?

Bakin kogi is a noun + linker + noun structure:

baki – mouth; edge; lip; bank (of a river)
‑n – a linker (genitive‑like ending) used when you connect baki to the following noun
kogi – river

So:

baki + ‑n + kogi → bakin kogi
Literal: the mouth/edge of (the) river
Natural English: the riverbank / by the river / the riverside

You will see this linker ‑n / ‑r a lot when one noun modifies another:

gidan malam – the teacher’s house (gida
- ‑n
  - malam)
bakin hanya – the roadside (baki
- ‑n
  - hanya = road)

In bakin kogi, bakin is “edge/mouth-of” and kogi tells you of what: the river.

Why is it bakin kogi and not baki kogi?

In Hausa, when one noun directly modifies another (like “edge of the river”), the first noun usually takes a linker ending:

Masculine nouns often take ‑n.
Feminine nouns often take ‑r (or ‑ar / ‑ar depending on sound).

So:

baki (edge/mouth) + ‑n (linker) + kogi (river)
→ bakin kogi – the edge of the river

Without the linker (baki kogi), it sounds ungrammatical or at least very odd.
Think of ‑n as a little “of” connector built into the first noun.

Is there a difference between bakin kogi and expressions like gabar kogi or gefen kogi?

All three can be used for “the riverbank / the edge of the river,” but there are some nuances:

bakin kogi
- Very common.
- Literally mouth/edge of the river.
- Everyday, general.
gabar kogi
- gaba has meanings like front, edge, side.
- gabar kogi also means riverbank, often with a sense of “by the edge/side of the river.”
- Common, especially in some regions.
gefen kogi
- gefe = side → gefen kogi = the side of the river.
- Also used for “by the river / riverbank.”

In many everyday contexts, all three can be translated simply as “by the river / at the riverbank”. For a basic learner, treat them as near‑synonyms; bakin kogi is a good default.

What is the singular form of yara, and does it always mean “children”?

Yara is the plural form. The main singular forms are:

yaro – boy / child (male or general child in many contexts)
yarinya – girl

So:

yaro → boy / (a) child
yara → boys / children (mixed or general group)
yarinya → girl
‘yan mata → girls / young women (a different pattern)

In this sentence, Yara is best understood as “children” (not only “boys”), unless there is extra context saying it is a group of boys.

Can the word order be changed, like putting the place first: A bakin kogi yara suna wasa?

Yes, Hausa allows fronting the location for emphasis or style:

Yara suna wasa a bakin kogi.
Neutral word order: The children are playing at the riverbank.
A bakin kogi yara suna wasa.
Puts special focus on the place: At the riverbank, the children are playing.

You might also see more elaborate versions with ne/ce and relative forms:

A bakin kogi ne yara suke wasa.
Literally: It is at the riverbank that the children are playing.

For now, the basic neutral pattern you should master is:

Subject – TAM (like suna) – Verbal noun – Location

→ Yara suna wasa a bakin kogi.

Could kogi be definite here, like kogin? When would I say kogin instead of kogi?

Yes, kogi can have a definite form kogin (the river). The ‑n adds a kind of definiteness or “of the” sense, especially in genitive-like constructions.

kogi – a river / river (general)
kogin nan – this river / the river here
a bakin kogin nan – at the bank of this river

In bakin kogi, the definiteness is already partly expressed by the structure:

bakin kogi – the riverbank / the edge of the river (often understood as definite from context)

You might say bakin kogin if you are referring to a specific known river and want to stress that:

Yara suna wasa a bakin kogin Kaduna.
The children are playing on the bank of the Kaduna River.

For general example sentences, bakin kogi is perfectly natural.