Learn Hardcore Hausa: ɗan sanda yana yin aikin tsaro a titi. - The police officer is doing security work in the street.

ɗan sanda – policeman (literally: ɗan = child/son of, sanda = stick/baton → “child of the baton”)
yana – he is (3rd person singular masculine, progressive aspect marker)
yin – doing (verbal noun from yi = to do)
aikin – the work / the job (from aiki = work, + -n linking it to the next noun)
tsaro – security, protection
a – at / in / on (general locative preposition)
titi – street / road

So very literally: “The policeman he-is doing the-work (of) security at street.”
Natural English: “The policeman is doing security work on the street.”

What exactly does ɗan sanda mean, and is it only for men?

ɗa means child or son.
ɗan is the “of”-form: child of / son of.
sanda means stick, rod, or baton.

Historically, ɗan sanda is something like “child of the baton”, i.e. a person associated with the police baton → policeman / police officer.

Gender and usage:

In practice, ɗan sanda is commonly used for any police officer, regardless of gender, especially in casual speech.
If you specifically want female, you can say ’yar sanda (’ya = daughter, ’yar = daughter of).
Plural for police officers is ’yan sanda (often written ’yan sanda or yan sanda).

So:

ɗan sanda – a (male or generic) police officer
’yar sanda – a female police officer
’yan sanda – police officers (plural)

What is yana doing in this sentence? Is it a verb like “to be”?

Yana is a combination of:

ya – he (3rd person singular masculine subject pronoun)
na – a marker often used for the progressive aspect (be doing, be V‑ing)

They join into one word: yana.

Functionally, yana in this context works like “he is” in English continuous tense:

yana yin… → he is doing…
yana tafiya → he is going / he is walking
yana aiki → he is working

So yana is not a full “to be” in all contexts, but here it’s the marker for “is (currently) doing”.

Why is it yana yin and not just yana yi?

Yi is the base verb “to do, to make”. Its verbal noun (gerund-like form) is yin.

In progressive constructions, Hausa often uses:

subject + progressive marker + verbal noun (+ object)

So:

yana yin aiki – he is doing work
suna yin wasa – they are playing (literally: doing play)
ina yin girki – I am cooking (doing cooking)

You can find yana yi in some contexts, but when the verb yi takes a direct object that’s a noun phrase, speakers commonly use yin:

yana yin aikin tsaro (natural)
?yana yi aikin tsaro (much less natural)

Think of yin here as similar to English “doing (the) …” with a noun after it.

What’s the difference between aiki, aikin, and aikin tsaro?

aiki – work, job, task in a basic / indefinite sense.
- zan sami aiki – I will get a job.
aikin – “the work” or “work of …” → it’s aiki plus a genitive/linking ‑n.
- aikin gida – housework (work of the house)
- aikin gwamnati – government work
aikin tsaro – literally “work of security” → security work.

So in the sentence:

yin aikin tsaro = doing the work of security → doing security work.

Could I say ɗan sanda yana tsaro a titi instead of yana yin aikin tsaro?

No, ɗan sanda yana tsaro a titi is not natural Hausa.

Reasons:

tsaro is a noun (“security, protection”), not a verb.
You need a verb like yi (do), tsare (guard), gadi (to guard/watch), etc.

Natural alternatives include:

ɗan sanda yana yin tsaro a titi – the policeman is doing security (slightly shorter).
ɗan sanda yana yin aikin tsaro a titi – the policeman is doing security work on the street.
ɗan sanda yana gadin titi – the policeman is guarding the street.

So you can shorten aikin tsaro to just tsaro, but you cannot drop the verb.

What tense/aspect is yana yin? Is it like English “is doing”?

Yes, yana yin expresses the progressive aspect, similar to English present continuous:

ɗan sanda yana yin aikin tsaro
→ The policeman is doing security work (right now / currently).

Some notes:

It can also describe activities that are ongoing around now, not only at the exact moment.
For a simple completed past, you’d use something like:
- ɗan sanda ya yi aikin tsaro a titi – The policeman did security work on the street.
For a habitual meaning (he usually/regularly does this), you might see:
- ɗan sanda yakan yi aikin tsaro a titi – The policeman usually/typically does security work on the street.

So yana yin ≈ “he is (right now / currently) doing …”.

What does a mean in a titi, and how is it used?

a is a very common locative preposition in Hausa. Its basic meanings are in, at, on depending on context.

Examples:

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

In the sentence, a titi means “on the street / in the street”; English chooses “on”, but Hausa just uses a.

Other locatives:

cikin – in(side)
akan – on top of / on But for a general location, a is the default.

Can the location phrase a titi move to another place in the sentence?

Yes, Hausa allows some flexibility of word order for locative phrases.

Your sentence is:

ɗan sanda yana yin aikin tsaro a titi.

You could also say:

ɗan sanda a titi yana yin aikin tsaro.
(The policeman, on the street, is doing security work.)
a titi ɗan sanda yana yin aikin tsaro.
(On the street, a policeman is doing security work.)

The most neutral and common for learners is the original:

Subject + yana + verb phrase + (optional) location → ɗan sanda yana yin aikin tsaro a titi.

How would I say “The policemen are doing security work on the street”?

You need to change both the subject and the progressive marker to plural:

ɗan sanda → ’yan sanda (police officers)
yana (he is) → suna (they are)

So:

’yan sanda suna yin aikin tsaro a titi.
→ The policemen / the police officers are doing security work on the street.

Do we really need both yin and aikin? It feels like “doing work” is double.

It is a bit like saying “doing the work of security”, but that’s normal in Hausa.

You have several natural options, with slightly different nuances:

ɗan sanda yana yin aikin tsaro a titi.
– he is doing the security work (more explicit, sounds like a specific duty/task).
ɗan sanda yana yin tsaro a titi.
– he is doing security (a bit simpler, still good).
ɗan sanda yana aiki a matsayin ɗan sanda a titi.
– he is working as a policeman on the street (more descriptive).
ɗan sanda yana gadin titi.
– he is guarding the street (using gadi “to guard”).

So yin aikin tsaro isn’t wrong or redundant in Hausa; it’s a natural way to express “doing security work / performing security duties.”

How do I pronounce the ɗ in ɗan? It looks different from a normal “d”.

The letter ɗ represents a special implosive d-sound in Hausa, different from plain d.

Quick guidance:

d – like English d in “dog”.
ɗ – produced with a small inward gulp of air; your tongue is in a d position, but the airflow is slightly inward.

If you can’t produce the implosive yet:

Many learners approximate ɗ with a normal d at first.
So ɗan sanda may sound like dan sanda. Native speakers will typically still understand, though the distinction does matter in some word pairs.

With practice, aim for the proper ɗ sound, but it’s okay if you approximate it while learning.