Questions & Answers about A ƙungiyarmu muna raba aiki: wasu suna rubutu, wasu suna zane.
What does “A” at the beginning (“A ƙungiyarmu”) mean, and could I leave it out?
A here is a preposition meaning roughly “in / at / within.”
So:
- A ƙungiyarmu ≈ “In our group / In our team.”
If you remove A and just say “Ƙungiyarmu muna raba aiki”, it is understandable, but it sounds less natural and less clearly locative. A nicely anchors the sentence: within the context of our group, we divide work…
How is “ƙungiyarmu” built up, and why is it written as one word?
ƙungiyarmu is made of three parts:
- ƙungiya – group, association, team
- -r – a linking/genitive ending (from ƙungiyar = the group of…)
- mu – we / our
So ƙungiyar mu → ƙungiyarmu = “our group.”
In writing, Hausa often joins this kind of combination (noun + -r/-n + pronoun), so “ƙungiyarmu” as one word is standard.
If “ƙungiyarmu” already means “our group,” why do we still need “muna” with mu in it?
Good observation:
- ƙungiyarmu = our group (possessive)
- muna = we are / we (do) (1st person plural subject marker)
In “A ƙungiyarmu muna raba aiki”:
- ƙungiyarmu is inside a prepositional phrase (a ƙungiyarmu = in our group).
- The actual grammatical subject of the verb is mu (inside muna).
So structure-wise it’s like English:
“In our group, we divide work.”
You still need a subject (we = mu- in muna), even though ƙungiyarmu also contains mu in a possessive role.
What does “raba aiki” literally mean, and is it a set expression?
Literally:
- raba – to divide, split, share
- aiki – work, job, task
So raba aiki ≈ “divide work / share work / distribute tasks.”
Yes, raba aiki is a very common way to say “we divide up the work / we share the workload.”
You might also hear:
- raba ayyuka – divide the tasks (plural)
But using the singular aiki in this generic sense (“work” as an uncountable idea) is very natural.
What tense/aspect is “muna raba aiki”? Does it mean right now, or usually?
muna raba aiki uses the continuous / progressive form:
- muna (we-are / we-do) + verbal noun raba / raba aiki in context
In Hausa, this form often covers both:
- present continuous: We are dividing the work (now).
- habitual: We (usually/typically) divide the work.
Here, with a general statement about how the group operates, it is best read as habitual:
“In our group, we divide the work (as a rule).”
What exactly does “wasu” mean, and how is it used here?
wasu means “some (people/things)” and it behaves like an indefinite plural pronoun/adjective.
In the sentence:
- wasu suna rubutu – some (people) do the writing
- wasu suna zane – some (people) do the drawing
The word “people” is understood from context, so you don’t have to say mutane explicitly.
Hausa often uses wasu + 3rd plural verb to mean “some (of them) …”
Why is it “wasu suna rubutu” instead of just “wasu rubutu”?
You need a verb to say what those “some” are doing.
- wasu = some (people)
- suna = they are / they do (3rd person plural subject marker)
- rubutu here = writing (verbal noun)
So wasu suna rubutu = “some (people) do writing / some are writing.”
If you just said “wasu rubutu”, it would sound like “some writing” (noun phrase), not a full sentence with an action.
Why is it “suna rubutu” and not “suna rubuta”?
This is a key pattern in Hausa:
- rubuta – the perfective verb form: to write / wrote (as a complete action).
- e.g. sun rubuta – they have written / they wrote
- rubutu – the verbal noun / gerund: writing.
With the continuous/habitual series (ina, kana, yana, muna, kuna, suna), Hausa typically uses the verbal noun:
- suna rubutu – they are writing / they (do) writing.
So “suna rubutu” is the normal way to say “they are writing / some do writing” here.
Does “zane” work the same way as “rubutu” in “suna zane”?
Yes.
- zane can mean drawing, design, pattern, sketching, and also the activity of drawing.
- With suna, it functions like a verbal noun: “(they are) drawing / doing design work.”
So “wasu suna zane” ≈ “some (people) do drawing / some are drawing / some do the design work.”
Could “suna zane” also mean they have drawn (completed action)?
Normally, no. For a completed action, you’d use the perfective:
- sun zana – they (have) drawn (finished).
suna zane is progressive or habitual:
- they are drawing (now), or
- they (usually) do drawing (as their role).
So the sentence is talking about who does which kind of ongoing work, not about one finished drawing session.
Is the colon “:” after “raba aiki” something special in Hausa, or just normal punctuation?
It’s basically normal punctuation, very similar to English.
- A ƙungiyarmu muna raba aiki: wasu suna rubutu, wasu suna zane.
→ First clause: In our group we divide work
→ Colon introduces the specific breakdown: some do writing, some do drawing.
You could also write it with a comma or semicolon in less formal styles, but the colon is a clear and correct choice in standard writing.
Could I drop the second “wasu” and just say “… wasu suna rubutu, suna zane”?
Grammatically, “wasu suna rubutu, suna zane” is possible and understandable:
- some write, (they) draw.
But it is less clear that two different subsets are being contrasted.
By repeating wasu:
- wasu suna rubutu, wasu suna zane
Hausa makes it explicit: one group does the writing, another group does the drawing. The repetition is natural and stylistically good here.
Does “aiki” here mean “job,” “work,” or “tasks”? How should I feel it in English?
aiki is broad and can mean:
- work / labor
- a job / employment
- a task / assignment, depending on context.
In “muna raba aiki”, the sense is more like “we divide up the work / tasks.”
So in natural English:
- In our group, we divide the work: some do the writing, some do the drawing.
More from this lesson
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning HausaMaster Hausa — from A ƙungiyarmu muna raba aiki: wasu suna rubutu, wasu suna zane to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions