Na cire takalmina kafin in hau katifa.

I took off my shoes before I climbed onto the mattress.

Breakdown of Na cire takalmina kafin in hau katifa.

• kafin: before
• takalmi: the shoe
• katifa: the mattress
• cire: to take off
• hau: to climb

Questions & Answers about Na cire takalmina kafin in hau katifa.

What exactly does Na mean in Na cire takalmina?

Na here is both:

1. the subject pronoun “I”, and
2. the perfective (completed‑action) marker.

So Na cire… means “I removed / I took off …” with a sense of a finished action, roughly like English simple past: I took off my shoes. It does not mean “I am taking off” (that would use Ina cire…) or “I will take off” (which would use Zan cire…).

How is takalmina built, and what does it literally mean?

Takalmina is made of:

• takalmi – shoe
• -na – possessive suffix for my

So takalmi + na → takalmina, literally “my shoe.”

In real use, though, speakers very often use takalmina to mean “my shoes” (the pair) when context makes it obvious we’re talking about more than one.

Is takalmina singular or plural? How do I say “shoe” vs. “shoes” in Hausa?

Base forms:

• takalmi – a shoe (singular)
• takalma – shoes (plural)

With “my”:

• takalmina – literally my shoe, but commonly used for my shoes as a pair.
• You may also see takalma na for my shoes (plural noun + separate “my”).

So in this sentence, takalmina is best understood as “my shoes”, even though the form is grammatically singular.

What does cire mean, and is it specifically “take off clothes/shoes”?

Cire means “remove, take off, take out.”

It’s quite general:

• cire takalmi – take off a shoe / shoes
• cire hula – take off a cap
• cire kudi daga jaka – take money out of a bag
• cire hoton – remove the picture

So yes, it’s very natural for removing clothes, shoes, etc., but not limited to those.

Why is there no word for “on” before katifa? Why not something like “hau kan katifa”?

The verb hau already carries the idea of getting onto / mounting / climbing onto something, so in many contexts Hausa does not need an extra word for “on.”

• in hau katifa = before I get on the mattress

You can say hau kan katifa (literally “mount on the mattress”), and many speakers do, especially when they want to be explicit. But hau katifa by itself is completely natural and already implies onto the mattress.

What does hau literally mean, and where else is it used?

Hau literally means “mount, climb, get on (top of)” and is used with many things you get onto:

• hau keke – get on a bicycle
• hau doki – mount a horse
• hau mota – get in / onto a car, bus, or vehicle
• hau matakala – go up the stairs
• hau gado / katifa – get on a bed / mattress

So in this sentence it is exactly the right verb for physically getting up onto the mattress.

What does kafin mean and how is it used in this sentence?

Kafin means “before” as a conjunction introducing a clause:

• Na cire takalmina – I took off my shoes
• kafin… – before …
• in hau katifa – I (should) get on the mattress

So kafin in hau katifa = “before I get on the mattress.”

Structure: [main clause] + kafin + [clause with a verb]
You can also put the kafin-clause first (see below).

What is in in kafin in hau katifa? Is it another word for “I”?

Yes. In here is a special 1st‑person subject form used in many subordinate / dependent clauses, especially after words like kafin (before), don / domin (so that), ko (if / whether), etc.

• Main clause, perfective: Na hau – I got on / I mounted
• Subordinate after kafin: kafin in hau – before I (should) get on

So in corresponds to “I” in this subordinate, “hypothetical / not-yet-done” context.

Could I say “Na cire takalmina kafin na hau katifa” instead of “kafin in hau katifa”?

You might hear kafin na hau from some speakers, but:

• The most common and standard pattern after kafin is to use the subjunctive form, so: kafin in hau katifa.
• kafin na hau sounds more like you are using the same perfective form as in the main clause; many speakers would find it less natural or would avoid it in careful speech.

For a learner, it’s safer and more idiomatic to treat:

• kafin + [subjunctive] → kafin in hau katifa

What’s the tense/aspect difference between Na cire and in hau in this sentence?

• Na cire – perfective: completed action in the past (I took off / I have taken off).
• in hau – subjunctive / non‑past in a dependent clause: an action that is subsequent to, or only intended relative to, the first one (I (then) get on).

So the structure is:

1. Completed: Na cire takalmina – I took off my shoes,
2. Anticipated / next: kafin in hau katifa – before I (then) get on the mattress.

How would I change the sentence if the subject were “he” instead of “I”?

You’d change both the main‑clause subject and the subject inside the kafin‑clause:

• Ya cire takalmansa kafin ya hau katifa.
  
  • Ya cire – he took off
  • takalmansa – his shoes
  • kafin ya hau katifa – before he got on the mattress

Note that for he, the form ya is the same in both the main clause and the subordinate clause after kafin.

How do I say “I will take off my shoes before I get on the mattress”?

Use zan for future in the main clause, but keep in after kafin:

• Zan cire takalmina kafin in hau katifa.

Breakdown:

• Zan cire takalmina – I will take off my shoes
• kafin in hau katifa – before I get on the mattress

Can I put the “before…” part first, like in English: “Before I got on the mattress, I took off my shoes”?

Yes. Hausa allows both orders. You can say:

• Na cire takalmina kafin in hau katifa.
• Kafin in hau katifa, na cire takalmina.

Both mean the same; putting kafin in hau katifa first just changes the emphasis slightly, as in English.