Learn Hardcore Hausa: Kusan duk talakawa a garinmu suna son karatu don su samu nasara. - Almost all poor people in our town like studying so that they can get success.

duk
- Often used before a plural noun or pronoun:
  - duk talakawa – all (the) common people
  - duk su – all of them
duka
- Often used more independently, close to “all of it / all of them” as a pronoun-like form:
  - Na ci duka. – I ate it all.
dukkan / dukan
- Usually comes before a noun with a possessive or genitive, like “all of the …”:
  - dukkan talakawan garinmu – all the common people of your town
  - dukkan mutanen nan – all these people

In kusan duk talakawa, duk is simply modifying talakawa (“all the common people”).

What exactly does talakawa mean? Is it just “people”?

talakawa is not a generic word for “people”.

Singular: talaka – a commoner, an ordinary person, often with the sense “poor / non-elite person”
Plural: talakawa – commoners, ordinary people, the masses

So talakawa carries a social-class nuance: ordinary / poor people as opposed to the rich, powerful, or elite. It isn’t just “people” in general (that would be mutane).

How is a garinmu built, and why isn’t it a gari mu?

a garinmu means “in our town” and is built like this:

a – preposition: in / at
gari – town
-n – linker (genitive marker)
mu – our

Spoken and written, these often merge into a single word:

gari + n + mu → garinmu (town-of-us = our town)

So a garinmu literally is “in town-of-us”, but in Hausa that is the natural way to say “in our town.”

Could I also say talakawan garinmu instead of talakawa a garinmu?

Yes, but the nuance is slightly different:

talakawa a garinmu – the common people in our town
- Focuses on where they are (those commoners who are in our town).
talakawan garinmu – the common people of our town
- More like “the commoners belonging to / associated with our town.”

In many contexts they overlap in meaning, and both are grammatically correct. The original sentence just chose the locative style (a garinmu).

Why is it suna son karatu instead of suna so karatu?

In Hausa, many verbs use a verbal noun after “to like / want” or similar verbs.

The verb: so – to like, to love, to want
Its verbal noun: son – the liking / love / desire

The pattern is:

suna son X – they like X
Ina son karatu. – I like studying / I like to study.

So suna son karatu literally means “they are in (a state of) liking of study”, which is how Hausa commonly says “they like studying”.
*suna so karatu is not the normal pattern.

What does suna express here—present tense or something else?

suna is the 3rd person plural subject pronoun in the imperfective aspect.

In practice here it indicates a general / habitual meaning:

suna son karatu – They like studying / They (tend to) like to study.

It can also mean a current ongoing action in other contexts, but with verbs like so (“like”) and with karatu (“study, schooling”), the default reading is habitual: what they generally do or feel, not just at one moment.

Does karatu mean “reading” or “studying” or “school”?

karatu is quite flexible. It can mean:

reading (the act of reading)
studying / learning in general
schooling / education (especially in some contexts)

In suna son karatu, the most natural English is “they like studying / they like to go to school / they like education.”
The exact English translation depends on context, but all are covered by karatu.

Why do we need su in don su samu nasara when “they” is already mentioned?

In Hausa, when you introduce a purpose clause with don (“in order to / so that”), you usually:

Repeat the subject inside that clause with a subject pronoun, and
Put the verb in a form that often looks like the bare stem or a subjunctive form.

So:

suna son karatu don su samu nasara
- suna – they (imperfective)
- don – in order that
- su – they (subject of the subordinate clause)
- samu – get / achieve
- nasara – success

Literally: “They like studying in order that they get success.”
You don’t normally drop su; it’s needed to mark the subject of the don-clause.

Could I say don samun nasara instead of don su samu nasara?

Yes, both are possible but not identical:

don su samu nasara – so that they may get success
- Full clause with its own subject (su).
- Emphasizes their action of achieving success.
don samun nasara – for getting success / for the achievement of success
- Uses the verbal noun samun (“getting / obtaining”).
- More like a noun phrase: “for success-getting / for success.”

Both can translate as “in order to succeed”, but:

don su samu nasara feels more personal and dynamic (what they will do).
don samun nasara is a bit more abstract / nominal.

What does samu nasara mean as a phrase?

samu means “to get / obtain / receive”, and nasara means “success / victory”.

Together, samu nasara is a common expression meaning:

to succeed,
to be successful,
sometimes to win (depending on context).

So don su samu nasara is best translated as “so that they can succeed” rather than the more literal “so that they can get success.”

Can don also mean “because” here, or only “in order to”?

don can mean both “for / in order to” and “because of / due to”, depending on context and structure.

In this sentence:

suna son karatu don su samu nasara
→ The structure with don + subject pronoun + bare verb (don su samu) is a purpose clause.
→ Here, don clearly means “in order to / so that”.

If you wanted a more “because” sense, you might use saboda or a different structure:

suna son karatu saboda nasara – They like studying because of success (less natural).
suna son karatu saboda suna son samun nasara – They like studying because they like achieving success.

In the original, don is definitely purpose, not plain reason.