Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo, amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta a gari.

Usually villagers do herding, but some go to school in town.

Breakdown of Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo, amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta a gari.

• ne: to be
• makaranta: the school
• amma: but
• yi: to do
• a: in
• gari: the town
• zuwa: to
• yawanci: usually
• wasu: some
• baƙauye: the villager
• kiwo: the herding

Questions & Answers about Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo, amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta a gari.

What does each word in "Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo, amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta a gari." literally mean?

Word‑by‑word:

• Yawanci – usually, generally, most of the time
• ƙauyawa – villagers (people from the village)
• suna – they are (3rd person plural subject pronoun su
  • aspect marker na)
• yin – doing (verbal noun of yi = to do)
• kiwo – herding / animal husbandry (looking after livestock)
• amma – but
• wasu – some (of them)
• suna – they are
• zuwa – going to / to (directional preposition/verb)
• makaranta – school
• a – in / at (preposition)
• gari – town

Natural English: "Usually villagers herd animals, but some go to school in town."

Why is it "suna yin kiwo" and not just "suna kiwo"?

• yi kiwo is a verb phrase meaning to herd / to do herding.

• When Hausa forms a continuous or habitual action, it often uses the verbal noun:

  • yi (to do) → yin (doing)
  • suna yin kiwo = they are doing herding / they (usually) do herding.

You can sometimes hear "suna kiwo" in speech, but "suna yin kiwo" is the more standard and explicit form, especially in careful or written Hausa. It keeps the pattern: subject + aspect marker + verbal noun + object/complement.

What exactly does "Yawanci" mean, and how is it used?

Yawanci means "usually / in most cases / generally". It’s an adverbial word that talks about frequency or typical situations.

In sentences it usually comes:

• At the beginning:
  
  • Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo. – Usually villagers herd animals.

It can also come after the subject, but initial position (as in your sentence) is very common and sounds natural.

Related form:

• Yawancin ƙauyawa – most villagers (adjectival, modifying a noun)
  
  • Yawancin ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo. – Most villagers herd animals.

What is the difference between "Yawanci ƙauyawa" and "Yawancin ƙauyawa"?

They are close, but not identical:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo.

  • Focus: How things usually are.
  • Meaning: As a rule / typically, villagers herd animals.

• Yawancin ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo.

  • Focus: Quantity (most of them).
  • Meaning: Most villagers herd animals.

So:

• Yawanci = usually / generally (adverbial)
• Yawancin = most (of) (quantifier, attaches to a noun)

What does "ƙauyawa" mean exactly, and what is the singular form?

ƙauyawa means villagers, i.e. people who live in a village.

Forms:

• ƙauye – village
• Baƙauye – a villager (singular person, often with the Ba‑ prefix)
• ƙauyawa – villagers (plural people)

So:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo. – Usually villagers herd animals.

How do you pronounce the "ƙ" sound in "ƙauyawa" and how is it different from "k"?

Hausa distinguishes:

• k – a regular k sound, like in English "kite".
• ƙ – an implosive k. It’s made by slightly "pulling" the sound inward in the throat rather than just pushing air out.

Imperfect but useful tip for learners:

• Say k, but with your throat a bit tighter and with a slight inward movement of the glottis. It’s voiced or partly voiced, unlike plain k which is voiceless.

In "ƙauyawa", you start the word with that special ƙ sound, not a plain k. It’s phonemic: k and ƙ can change meaning in Hausa.

Why do we use "suna" here? What does it tell us about the tense/aspect?

suna is:

• su – they (3rd person plural subject pronoun)
• na – continuous / progressive / habitual aspect marker

Written together as suna, it usually expresses:

• an action happening right now (progressive), or
• something that happens regularly / habitually, especially when supported by an adverb like Yawanci.

In this sentence:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo = Villagers usually (habitually) herd animals.

So suna here is effectively "they usually do / they are (in the habit of) doing".

Could this sentence mean right now ("villagers are herding now"), or is it only habitual?

By itself, "ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo" can mean:

• They are herding (right now), or
• They herd (regularly / usually).

But Yawanci at the start strongly pushes the meaning toward habitual/generic:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo is naturally understood as
  "Usually / In general, villagers herd (they keep livestock)."

If you wanted to emphasize right-now action, you’d normally leave out Yawanci or add a time expression like yanzu (now):

• Yanzu ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo. – Right now the villagers are herding.

What does "amma" mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

amma means "but".

Usage:

• It normally comes at the start of the second clause, just like English "but":
  • Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo, amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta a gari.
    – Usually villagers herd animals, but some go to school in town.

You can also begin a new sentence with it:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo. Amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta a gari.

Who does "wasu" refer to here, and how is it used generally?

In this sentence:

• wasu = some (of them)
• It refers back to ƙauyawa (villagers).

So:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo, amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta…
  – Usually villagers herd animals, but some (of the villagers) go to school…

Generally:

• wasu means some / some people / some (of a group).
• It can stand alone (Wasu suna zuwa. – Some are coming.) or modify a noun (wasu mutane – some people).

Why is it "zuwa makaranta" and not "a makaranta"?

Two different prepositions:

• zuwa – to / towards (direction, movement)

  • suna zuwa makaranta – they are going to school

• a – in / at / on (location)

  • suna a makaranta – they are at school

In your sentence the focus is the movement:

• suna zuwa makaranta = they go to school (they travel there).

What does "a gari" add? Why not just say "makaranta"?

"a gari" means "in town" / "in the town".

• makaranta alone = school (no location specified).
• makaranta a gari = the school (which is) in town.

So:

• …suna zuwa makaranta a gari.
  – …they go to school in town (i.e. they leave the village and go to the town to attend school there).

It emphasizes the contrast: village life (kiwo) vs town life (schooling in town).

What is the basic word order in this sentence, and is it typical for Hausa?

The structure follows the normal Hausa S–V–O pattern:

1. Subject:

   • ƙauyawa – villagers
   • wasu – some (of them)

2. Verb phrase (with aspect marker and verbal noun):

   • suna yin kiwo – they are doing herding
   • suna zuwa makaranta – they are going to school

3. Locative phrase:

   • a gari – in town

So the pattern is:

• Yawanci [Subject] [suna + verbal noun + complement], amma [Subject] [suna + verb + complement + location].

This is a very typical and natural Hausa word order.

How would you negate this sentence in Hausa?

To negate, you use ba … ba, and adjust the verb phrase. One natural negated version:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa ba sa yin kiwo, amma wasu suna zuwa makaranta a gari.
  – Usually villagers do not herd animals, but some go to school in town.

Changes:

• suna yin kiwo → ba sa yin kiwo (they are not/herd not)
  
  • ba … sa construction is a common present/habitual negative for plural subjects.

If you wanted to negate the second part instead:

• Yawanci ƙauyawa suna yin kiwo, amma wasu ba sa zuwa makaranta a gari.
  – Usually villagers herd animals, but some do not go to school in town.

Is "makaranta" only "school," or can it mean something else?

Primarily:

• makaranta = school, place of learning.

Depending on context, it can also mean:

• education / schooling in an abstract sense:
  • Na yi makaranta a Kano. – I went to school / was educated in Kano.

But the core, default meaning is "school (building/institution)", as in your sentence.