Learn Hardcore Hausa: Budurwa ta rufe kanta da bargo. - The young woman covered her head with a blanket.

Budurwa means a young unmarried woman, often with the sense “maiden” or “virgin,” depending on context.
It’s more specific than just “girl” (yarinya) and usually implies she is of marriageable age but not yet married.

What is ta doing in this sentence?

Ta is the 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun in the perfective aspect.
In ta rufe, it means “she (has) covered / she covered.”
It agrees in gender and number with budurwa (which is grammatically feminine), so you use ta, not ya or suka.

Is ta rufe past tense?

Hausa grammars usually call ta rufe the perfective aspect, which presents the action as completed.
In English, it’s most naturally translated with a past tense:

Budurwa ta rufe kanta da bargo. → “The young woman covered her head with a blanket” or “The young woman has covered her head with a blanket.”
Context decides whether you use simple past or present perfect in English, but Hausa just shows it’s a completed action.

What does rufe mean, and how is it used?

Rufe means “to close” or “to cover.”
Common uses:

rufe ƙofa – to close a door
rufe idanu – to close/cover the eyes
rufe kai – to cover the head

The pattern rufe X da Y means “to cover X with Y,” which is exactly what we have: rufe kanta da bargo – “cover her head with a blanket.”

What does kanta literally mean?

The base noun is kai – “head.”
To say “her head”, Hausa adds a possessive suffix.

kai (head) + -nta (her) → kanta (her head)

So kanta literally is “her head,” and it also ends up functioning like “her(self)” in this kind of expression.

Why is it kanta and not a separate word for “her,” like in English?

In Hausa, possession is often shown by suffixes on the noun instead of separate words:

kaina – my head
kanka – your (m.sg.) head
kanta – her head

So instead of saying “head her”, Hausa fuses “head + her” into one word: kanta.
That’s why you don’t see a separate word for “her” before kai.

Could kanta here be understood as “herself”?

Literally, kanta is “her head,” but Hausa often uses body-part expressions where English would say “herself.”
Ta rufe kanta can feel like “she covered herself,” but it is more specific: it says she covered her head.
So you should keep the “head” idea in mind, even if the overall image is “she wrapped herself up.”

What does da mean in da bargo?

Da is a very common preposition/conjunction. One of its meanings is “with (using)”.
Here it’s instrumental:

rufe kanta da bargo – “cover her head with a blanket.”

So in this sentence, da is not “and,” but “with.”

What is bargo, and is it a specific kind of blanket?

Bargo means blanket, often a thick, warm one used for covering yourself, especially when it’s cold.
It’s a general word for a blanket; it doesn’t point to a special ceremonial or decorative type—just the usual blanket you sleep or wrap yourself with.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The word order is straightforward S–V–O (+ prepositional phrase):

Budurwa – Subject (“the young woman”)
ta rufe – Verb phrase (“covered”)
kanta – Direct object (“her head”)
da bargo – Prepositional phrase (“with a blanket”)

So: Subject – Verb – Object – with-phrase, which lines up quite well with English.

How would the sentence change if the subject were masculine, like “The young man covered his head with a blanket”?

You change the subject noun and the agreeing pronoun and possessive:

Saurayi ya rufe kansa da bargo.
- saurayi – young man
- ya rufe – he (masc.) covered
- kansa – his head

Compare:

Feminine: Budurwa ta rufe kanta da bargo.
Masculine: Saurayi ya rufe kansa da bargo.

How would I make this sentence negative or turn it into a yes/no question?

Yes/no question (just by intonation):

Budurwa ta rufe kanta da bargo? – “Did the young woman cover her head with a blanket?” (rising intonation)

More explicit question (often with ne):

Budurwa ta rufe kanta da bargo ne? – Something like “So, did she cover her head with a blanket?” (seeking confirmation/emphasis).

Negative:
Hausa uses ba … ba for many negatives and repeats the pronoun:

Budurwa ba ta rufe kanta da bargo ba. – “The young woman did not cover her head with a blanket.”