Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni ina so in yi kiwo a ƙauye a lokacin rani. - I want to do herding in the village in the dry season.

The basic meaning (that you want to herd animals in the village in the dry season) stays the same.
The difference is mostly in emphasis:
- Ni ina so… = “I want…” (with a bit of focus on “I”)
- Ina so… = neutral “I want…”

If you’re just stating a fact about yourself, Ina so… is perfectly natural and very common.

What exactly is ina doing here? Does it mean “am”, or is it a tense marker?

ina in this sentence combines:

the subject pronoun “I”
with the imperfective/progressive aspect (“am/are …ing”, “usually …”, “currently …”).

So:

ina so = “I (am) want-ing / I want (now, generally)”.

It’s similar to how English “am” is both a copula and part of a progressive tense (“I am doing”). In Hausa, ina + verb often expresses:

something happening now
or a habitual/ongoing state

Here it’s “I want” in a present/ongoing sense.

Does so mean “want”, “like”, or “love”? How do I know which English word to use?

Hausa so covers a range of meanings that English splits into several verbs:

want:
- Ina so in yi kiwo. – “I want to do herding.”
like:
- Ina son kiwo. – “I like herding / I’m fond of herding.”
love (particularly with people or strong feelings):
- Ina sonki. – “I love you.” (to a woman)

Context usually decides the best English translation:

When it’s about wishes/plans/intentions, English often uses “want”.
When it’s about preferences/enjoyment, English often uses “like” or “love”.

The Hausa word itself is broad; you choose the English equivalent that fits the situation.

Why is it in yi and not just yi? What does in mean here?

The in here is a subjunctive subject pronoun meaning essentially “I (should)” after another verb.

Structure:

ina so = “I want”
in yi = “that I (should) do”

So ina so in yi kiwo is like:
“I want (that) I do herding / I want to do herding.”

After verbs like so (“to want”), Hausa often uses a subjunctive clause:

ina so in je – I want to go.
ina so in ci – I want to eat.
ina so in yi kiwo – I want to herd (do herding).

Without in, yi here would be missing its explicit subject, so in is needed.

What’s the difference between “ina so in yi kiwo” and “ina son yin kiwo”?

Both are correct, but the grammar pattern is different:

ina so in yi kiwo
- so
  - subjunctive clause: “I want [that I should do herding].”
- in yi = “that I (should) do”.
ina son yin kiwo
- son (the noun form of so) + verbal noun:
  - yin = verbal noun of yi (“doing”)
  - so literally: “I have a wanting of doing herding” → “I feel like herding / I like herding / I want to herd.”

In everyday usage:

ina so in yi X and ina son yin X often translate similarly as “I want to do X”.
ina son yin kiwo can also sound more like “I enjoy herding / I like the activity of herding”, depending on context.

Both patterns are important to learn; you’ll see and hear both.

What does kiwo mean exactly? Is it only for cattle, or any animals? And why do we say yi kiwo?

kiwo is a noun meaning roughly “herding / animal husbandry / grazing livestock”.

It can refer to herding in general (cows, goats, sheep, etc.), not just cattle.
You can specify the animal:
- kiwon shanu – cattle rearing
- kiwon awaki – goat herding
- kiwon kaji – poultry keeping

The phrase yi kiwo literally means “do herding”, and functions like a verb phrase meaning “to herd (animals) / to graze livestock”. Hausa often uses yi + noun to form a verb phrase:

yi aiki – do work (work)
yi wanka – do bathing (take a bath)
yi kiwo – do herding (herd animals).

Why do we need the preposition a before ƙauye and lokacin rani? Could we drop it?

a is a general locative preposition, usually translated as “in / at / on / during” depending on context.

a ƙauye = “in (a/the) village”
a lokacin rani = “in/during the dry season”

Without a, the phrases would just be noun phrases “village”, “the time of dry season”, not clearly marked as place/time adverbials.

You normally cannot drop a here if you want to say “in the village / during the dry season”:

✔️ a ƙauye – in a village
❌ ƙauye – just “village” (as a bare noun, not “in a village”)

So a is necessary to show those are locative/temporal phrases.

Does ƙauye mean “a village” or “the village”? How is “the” expressed in Hausa?

Hausa does not have a word like English “the”.

ƙauye by itself is indefinite in form and can mean:
- “a village” (non-specific) or
- “(the) village” if the context already makes it clear which one.

Definiteness is usually expressed by:

Context – previously mentioned or obvious:
- If you’ve been talking about your village, a ƙauye will be understood as “in the village”.
Possession or modifiers:
- a ƙauyenmu – in our village
- a ƙauyen nan – in this village

So a ƙauye here most naturally reads as “in a village” or “in the village” depending on what has been mentioned in the wider conversation.

What does lokacin rani literally mean, and could we just say a rani instead of a lokacin rani?

Literally:

lokaci = time/period
lokacin rani = “the time/period of dry season”

So a lokacin rani = “in the time of the dry season” → “during the dry season”.

About a rani:

a rani is also used and means something like “in (the) dry season / in summer / when it’s hot”.
a lokacin rani is a bit more explicit/formal, emphasizing the period.

Both are acceptable; choice depends on style and nuance:

a rani – shorter, common in speech.
a lokacin rani – sounds slightly fuller: “during the dry season (as a season/period)”.

Is there any rule about the order of place and time phrases like a ƙauye and a lokacin rani? Could we move a lokacin rani earlier?

Hausa word order is fairly flexible, but there are preferences.

Your sentence:

Ni ina so in yi kiwo a ƙauye a lokacin rani.
- [subject] [verb] [object] [place] [time]

You can also say:

Ni ina so in yi kiwo a lokacin rani a ƙauye.
Or even move both near the front:
- A lokacin rani a ƙauye, ina so in yi kiwo.

All are understandable. Natural patterns often put:

Core clause: subject + verb + object
Then locative and temporal phrases, in either order, depending on what you want to highlight.

If you want to emphasize the time, starting with A lokacin rani… is common. If not, your original order is perfectly fine.

How would I say this in the past or in the clear future? Does ina so always mean present?

ina so is present/imperfective: “I (now) want / I usually want”.

To change when you wanted it:

Past wanting (I wanted / I used to want):
- Na so in yi kiwo a ƙauye a lokacin rani.
  - na so = I wanted / I liked.
Clear future plan (I will want / I will do herding):
Usually you mark the future on the main action:
- Zan yi kiwo a ƙauye a lokacin rani. – “I will herd (do herding) in the village in the dry season.”
- If you insist on “I will want to…”, you might say:
  - Zan so in yi kiwo… – “I will want to do herding…”, but this is less common in everyday speech than just Zan yi kiwo….

So:

ina so → present/ongoing want
na so → past want
zan so / zan yi → future, more naturally zan yi to express your future activity.