Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yau hakori na bai ji ciwo ba.

bai = ba + ya
- ya is the 3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun “he/it (masc.)” in the past/perfective.
- ba is the negative marker.
The second ba at the end of the clause is obligatory for this kind of negation; it “closes” the negative.

So:

ya ji ciwo = he/it felt pain / it hurt
bai ji ciwo ba = he/it did not feel pain / did not hurt

The pattern for other persons is similar:

na ji → ban ji ba (I felt → I didn’t feel)
ka ji → ba ka ji ba (you (m.sg.) felt → you didn’t feel)
ta ji → bata ji ba (she/it (f.) felt → she didn’t feel), etc.

In short: bai … ba is “he/it didn’t …”, and both ba’s are part of the normal negative structure in the past.

Why do we have bai (3rd person “he/it”) when the subject is already hakori na (“my tooth”)? Isn’t that doubling the subject?

Hausa often allows (and prefers) a pattern like:

[Full noun phrase] + [subject pronoun + verb]

So in:

Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba.

we have:

Hakori na = “my tooth” (full noun phrase, topic)
bai ji ciwo ba = “it didn’t hurt” (clause with pronoun subject)

Literally: “My tooth, it didn’t feel pain.”

The full noun phrase introduces the topic (“as for my tooth”), and the pronoun inside bai is the grammatical subject of the verb. This “doubling” is normal and very common in Hausa.

You could, grammatically, say just:

Bai ji ciwo ba. = “It didn’t hurt.”

but then what “it” refers to must already be clear from the context. Adding hakori na makes it explicit.

Why is it bai and not bata? How do we know that hakori is masculine?

Hausa nouns are grammatically masculine or feminine, and this affects the choice of 3rd person pronouns:

Masculine singular: ya / bai … ba
Feminine singular: ta / bata … ba

The noun hakori (“tooth”) is masculine in Hausa, so the matching negative pronoun is bai, not bata:

✅ Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba. – My tooth didn’t hurt.
❌ Hakori na bata ji ciwo ba. – ungrammatical (wrong gender)

The gender of many inanimate nouns just has to be learned; it’s not predictable from meaning. Dictionaries usually mark it, or you can infer it from how speakers refer to it (with ya/bai or ta/bata).

What do ji and ciwo mean separately, and how do they work together in ji ciwo?

Separately:

ji = “to hear; to feel; to experience (a sensation or emotion)”
ciwo = “pain; soreness; illness; wound”

Together in ji ciwo:

ji ciwo = “to feel pain / to be in pain / to be hurt / to be sick”

So in the sentence:

bai ji ciwo ba = “he/it did not feel pain” → “it didn’t hurt / he was not in pain”.

Other similar patterns:

ji zafi = feel heat / sharp pain
ji daɗi = feel pleasure / enjoyment
jin ƙai = feel pity

So ji is the feeling/experiencing verb, and ciwo is the thing being felt (pain).

Is ciwo a verb here? It looks like “hurt”. Or is it a noun?

In ji ciwo, ciwo is a noun (“pain, sickness”), not a verb.

The structure is:

ji (verb) + ciwo (direct object noun)

Literally: “to feel pain”.
English often expresses this idea with a single verb (“hurt”), but Hausa keeps it as verb + noun.

So:

Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba.
= “My tooth didn’t feel pain.”
≈ “My tooth didn’t hurt.”

Why is it hakori na and not a single word like hakorina for “my tooth”?

Hausa has two main ways to express possession with nouns:

Suffix pronouns (attached):
- hakori (tooth) → hakorina = my tooth
- gida (house) → gidana = my house
- suna (name) → sunana = my name
Separate possessive pronouns (detached):
- hakori na = my tooth
- gida na = my house
- suna na = my name

Both hakorina and hakori na can mean “my tooth”.

Nuance:

hakorina feels more tightly bound, like one word.
hakori na can sound a bit more topical or emphatic in many contexts (“as for my tooth…”), and is also very common in everyday speech.

In your sentence, Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba is natural and idiomatic.

You could also say:

Hakorina bai ji ciwo ba. – also correct.

So is there any real difference in meaning between hakorina bai ji ciwo ba and hakori na bai ji ciwo ba?

For most everyday purposes, they mean the same thing: “My tooth didn’t hurt.”

Hakorina bai ji ciwo ba.
Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba.

Possible nuance (often very slight):

hakorina: more compact possessive, just “my tooth”.
hakori na: topic + pronoun pattern can make “my tooth” feel a bit more in focus or contrastive, especially in context:
- Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba, amma gwiwa ta tana ciwo.
  “My tooth didn’t hurt, but my knee is hurting.”

But many speakers use these options almost interchangeably. As a learner, treat both as correct and natural.

Can we drop na and just say Hakori bai ji ciwo ba?

Yes, grammatically you can:

Hakori bai ji ciwo ba. = “The tooth didn’t hurt.”

But there is a meaning difference:

Hakori na = my tooth
hakori alone = the tooth / a tooth (not necessarily mine)

So:

Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba. – specifically my tooth.
Hakori bai ji ciwo ba. – some tooth, or “the tooth” (context-dependent).

If you want to be clear you’re talking about your own tooth, keep na (or use hakorina).

Where can yau (“today”) go in the sentence? Is Yau hakori na bai ji ciwo ba the only possible order?

Yau is a time adverb, and Hausa allows some flexibility in its position. These are all acceptable:

Yau hakori na bai ji ciwo ba.
Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba yau.

Both basically mean: “Today my tooth didn’t hurt.”

Common tendencies:

Putting yau at the beginning is very natural and frequent because Hausa often likes time expressions first:
- Yau zan tafi. – Today I will go.
Putting yau at the end is also normal and can sound a bit like you’re adding the time as extra information:
- Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba yau. – My tooth didn’t hurt, today.

For a learner, either position is fine; just don’t split it into the middle of bai ji ciwo ba.

What’s the difference between bai ji ciwo ba and baya jin ciwo?

Both express negation of pain, but they differ in aspect (view of time):

bai ji ciwo ba – negative perfective (completed past)
- Focuses on a completed period or event.
- With yau, it tends to mean “It hasn’t hurt at all today (up to now).”
Example:
- Yau hakori na bai ji ciwo ba.
  “Today my tooth didn’t hurt / hasn’t hurt.”
baya jin ciwo – negative imperfective/continuous
- Expresses an ongoing state: “is not feeling pain / does not feel pain.”
- More like English “isn’t hurting” or “doesn’t hurt (generally).”
Example:
- Hakori na baya jin ciwo.
  “My tooth is not hurting.” / “My tooth doesn’t hurt.”

So, if you mean “all through today it hasn’t hurt”, your original bai ji ciwo ba with yau is good.
If you mean “right now it isn’t hurting”, baya jin ciwo is often better.

How would I say the positive version, “Today my tooth hurt”?

Just remove the negative pattern and use the positive 3rd person masculine perfective ya:

Yau hakori na ya ji ciwo.
= “Today my tooth hurt.”

Structure:

Yau – today
hakori na – my tooth
ya ji ciwo – it felt pain / it hurt

Compare:

Yau hakori na ya ji ciwo. – Today my tooth hurt.
Yau hakori na bai ji ciwo ba. – Today my tooth didn’t hurt.

Is there any separate word for English “did” in “did not hurt”, or is that all inside bai ji?

Hausa does not use a separate “do/did” auxiliary like English.
The information that English expresses with “did” is carried by the subject pronoun form and the verb form.

ya ji ciwo – he/it felt pain / he/it hurt.
bai ji ciwo ba – he/it did not feel pain / did not hurt.

So:

There is no separate word meaning “did”.
The “did” + subject idea is built into ya / bai / ban / ba ka / bata, etc.

When translating:

bai ji ciwo ba → you naturally say “didn’t hurt”,
but in Hausa that “didn’t” is just the negative pronoun + final ba, not an extra verb.

Is ba at the end always required in this kind of sentence? Can I just say Hakori na bai ji ciwo?

For standard Hausa negative clauses of this type, the final ba is required.

Correct:

Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba. – My tooth didn’t hurt.

Incorrect:

❌ Hakori na bai ji ciwo. – sounds unfinished or wrong.

The general rule:

In simple main-clause negation with ba…(pronoun)…Verb…ba, you need both ba’s:
- Ban je ba. – I didn’t go.
- Ba ka gani ba. – You (m.sg.) didn’t see.
- Bata ji ba. – She didn’t hear.
- Hakori na bai ji ciwo ba. – My tooth didn’t hurt.

There are other negative patterns (like ba… ba… for contrast, or ba zan… ba for future), but in this kind of past negative you must keep the final ba.