A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa.

In the room there are pictures with many colours.

Breakdown of A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa.

• da yawa: many
• a: in
• ɗaki: the room
• akwai: there is
• masu: having
• hoto: the picture
• launi: the colour

Questions & Answers about A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa.

What is the word‑for‑word breakdown of A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa?

Here is a close, literal breakdown:

• a – in / at (preposition marking location)

• ɗaki – room
  → a ɗaki = in (the) room

• akwai – there is / there are, exists

• hoto – picture
  hotuna – pictures (plural)

• mai – one that has / that possesses (singular)
  masu – ones that have / that possess (plural, agreeing with hotuna)

• launi – color
  launuka – colors (plural)

• yawa – abundance, plenty, much/many (a noun)
  da yawa – with plenty → many / a lot (used after nouns)

So the structure is roughly:

In room there‑is pictures ones‑that‑have colors with‑plenty.
Idiomatic English: There are many colorful pictures in the room.

What does a mean here, and why is there no separate word for the in a ɗaki?

• a is a basic preposition meaning in, at, on depending on context.
• ɗaki just means room.

Hausa normally has no separate articles like English the or a/an. Whether you understand ɗaki as a room or the room depends on context, not on an article.

So:

• a ɗaki can mean in a room or in the room.
• If you really want to point to a specific room, you might say:
  • a ɗakin nan – in this room
  • a ɗakin can – in that room (over there)

What exactly is akwai? Is it a verb like is/are?

akwai functions as an existential verb, similar to English there is / there are:

• It states that something exists or is present.
• It does not change for singular/plural:
  • akwai hoto – there is a picture
  • akwai hotuna – there are pictures
• It is typically used for:
  • existence: akwai littafi a tebur – there is a book on the table
  • availability: akwai ruwa? – is there water? / do you have water?

It is not used like the English be in sentences such as he is tall. For that, Hausa uses different structures (often with ne/ce or adjective + pronoun), not akwai.

Why does the sentence start with A ɗaki? Could I say Akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa a ɗaki instead?

Yes, you can say both:

1. A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa.
2. Akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa a ɗaki.

Both are grammatical and mean essentially the same thing. The difference is in emphasis and style:

• Starting with a ɗaki puts slight emphasis on the location:
  As for in the room, there are many colorful pictures.
• Starting with akwai hotuna is a bit more neutral and common in many contexts:
  There are many colorful pictures in the room.

So word order is somewhat flexible here, but fronting a ɗaki is a natural way to highlight where something exists.

What is the difference between hoto and hotuna, and do adjectives change for plural in Hausa?

• hoto = picture (singular)
• hotuna = pictures (plural)

This is a common plural pattern in Hausa: adding -una (or another suffix) and sometimes changing the internal vowel.

Regarding adjectives:

• Adjectives themselves do not normally change form for plural.
• Instead, plurality is shown mostly by the noun (like hoto → hotuna), not by the adjective.

Example:

• hoto mai kyau – a good picture
• hotuna masu kyau – good pictures

Here kyau (goodness) stays the same; only the noun and the mai/masu marker change.

What does masu mean in hotuna masu launuka da yawa?

masu literally means ones that have / those that possess and is used:

• with plural nouns
• to express “having X” or “with X” as a description

Compare:

• hoto mai launi – a picture that has color / a colorful picture
  (mai is the singular form)
• hotuna masu launuka – pictures that have colors / colorful pictures
  (masu is the plural form, matching hotuna)

So in the sentence:

• hotuna masu launuka da yawa
  = pictures that have many colors
  = pictures with many colors
  = colorful pictures

Why do we say launuka da yawa? What is the role of da and yawa here?

Breakdown:

• launuka – colors (plural of launi)
• yawa – abundance / a lot / much / many (a noun)
• da – here functions like with, forming an idiomatic quantifier.

da yawa together means many / a lot when placed after a noun:

• mutane da yawa – many people
• ruwa da yawa – a lot of water
• launuka da yawa – many colors

So in masu launuka da yawa:

• masu launuka da yawa = ones that have many colors
  → multi‑coloured, with lots of colors.

Here da is not a simple and between two equal items; it is part of the fixed pattern X da yawa = many X / a lot of X.

Is there any difference between “colorful” and the more literal “having many colors” in Hausa?

In Hausa, the structure masu launuka da yawa is literally “ones that have many colors”, but in practice it covers the same idea as English colorful / multicolored.

You could express colorful in a few ways:

• masu launuka da yawa – having many colors (very clear and explicit)
• masu launi-launi – having varied colors; launi-launi is a reduplication that suggests variety of colors

Example:

• A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launi-launi.
  – In the room there are colorful (multi‑coloured) pictures.

Both are natural; masu launuka da yawa is a bit more literal and explicit about many colors.

How would I say “There are many pictures in the room” without mentioning colors?

You can simply drop the color phrase:

• A ɗaki akwai hotuna da yawa.
  – There are many pictures in the room.

or with the other word order:

• Akwai hotuna da yawa a ɗaki.

Here:

• hotuna – pictures
• da yawa – many / a lot (after the noun)

How is ɗ in ɗaki pronounced? Is it the same as d?

No; ɗ and d are different sounds in Hausa:

• d – an ordinary d sound (as in English day).
• ɗ – an implosive d:
  • You slightly draw air inward while making a d‑like sound.
  • There is no direct English equivalent, but learners often start with a regular d and gradually adjust.

Minimal example:

• da – with / and
• ɗa – son

Pronouncing ɗaki with a plain d will usually still be understood, but formally it is ɗ, not d.

Why is there no ne/ce (the copula) in this sentence?

The copula ne/ce is used mainly in equational or identification sentences, like:

• Wannan hoto ne. – This is a picture.
• Wannan mota ce. – This is a car.

Our sentence is not identifying one thing as another; it is stating existence / presence:

• A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa.
  – In the room there are many colorful pictures.

For this kind of “there is / there are” statement, Hausa uses akwai, not ne/ce. So ne/ce is not appropriate here.

Is A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa a natural way to say this, or would a native speaker say something different?

The sentence is grammatical and natural. A native speaker might use it as is, especially in a descriptive context.

You might also hear small variations, for example:

• A ɗakin nan akwai hotuna masu launi-launi da yawa.
  – In this room there are many colorful pictures.
• Akwai hotuna masu launi-launi a ɗaki.
  – There are colorful pictures in the room.

But your original sentence:

• A ɗaki akwai hotuna masu launuka da yawa.

is perfectly acceptable, clear, and idiomatic.