Ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa a ɗakin girki.

She put a lid on the pot of water in the kitchen.

Breakdown of Ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa a ɗakin girki.

• ruwa: the water
• a kan: on
• a: in
• ɗakin girki: the kitchen
• sa: to put
• tukunya: the pot
• murfi: the lid

Questions & Answers about Ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa a ɗakin girki.

What does Ta mean here, and does it always mean she?

Ta is the 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun in Hausa. In this sentence it means she.

• ya = he / it (masculine)
• ta = she / it (feminine)

For people, ta refers to a female.
For things, the gender is usually not important for learners; you mostly just follow how speakers use it. Here we clearly mean a woman/girl, so ta = she.

How is past tense shown in Ta sa? Where is the “did/put” meaning?

Hausa doesn’t use a separate word like did for the past. Instead:

• ta = she (subject pronoun)
• sa = basic (perfective) verb form “put”

Together, ta sa means she put (completed action in the past).

For comparison:

• ta sa = she put / she has put (completed)
• tanā sa (or tana sa) = she is putting / she puts (ongoing or habitual)

What are the main meanings of the verb sa?

sa is very common and has several meanings, depending on context:

1. to put / place

   • Ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa.
     She put a lid on the pot of water.

2. to wear / put on (clothes, shoes, etc.)

   • Ya sa rigar. = He put on the shirt / He is wearing the shirt.

3. to cause / make (someone do something) in some structures

   • Ya sa ni in tafi. = He made me go.

In this sentence, the meaning is clearly to put/place.

There is no word like a or the before murfi. How do you say the lid in Hausa?

Hausa normally does not use separate words for “a” or “the”. Nouns are bare, and definiteness is understood from context.

• murfi can mean a lid or the lid, depending on the situation.

In this sentence, because we are talking about a specific kitchen situation, an English speaker would naturally translate it as:

• She put the lid on the pot of water in the kitchen.

So context, not an article, tells you whether it feels like a or the in English.

What does a kan mean, and how is it different from akan or kan?

Here, a kan is a prepositional phrase:

• a = in/at/on (general locative preposition)
• kan = top, surface

Together, a kan literally means on (top of), with the idea of physical contact:

• Ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa.
  She put the lid on (top of) the pot of water.

Differences:

• a kan (two words) – usually literal physical on (top of).
• akan (one word) – often more abstract: about, regarding, concerning, generally on/over.
  • Muna magana akan aikin. = We’re talking about the work.
• kan by itself can mean top/surface as a noun, or appear in some idioms/structures.

In your sentence, you want a kan for a literal lid on a pot.

How is tukunyar ruwa built, and why does tukunya change to tukunyar?

tukunyar ruwa is a genitive (possessive/“of”) construction:

• tukunya = pot
• -r (or -ar) = “construct” ending that links the first noun to what follows
• ruwa = water

So:

• tukunyar ruwa = pot of water / water pot

The pattern is:

• noun 1 + construct ending (+r/+n/…)
• noun 2

Because tukunya ends in a vowel, it takes -r:

• tukunya → tukunyar when followed by another noun in this “X of Y” relationship.

Does ruwa here mean “the water” or just “water” in general?

Like murfi, ruwa has no article. It can be:

• water (in general)
• the water (specific water you have in mind)

In tukunyar ruwa, the most natural translation is:

• the pot of water

because we are imagining a specific pot that already has water inside it. Again, Hausa lets context decide the equivalent of a/the in English.

What exactly does ɗakin girki mean, and how is it formed?

ɗakin girki is another genitive (“of”) construction:

• ɗaki = room
• -n = construct ending (links to following noun)
• girki = cooking, food preparation

So literally:

• ɗakin girki = room of cooking → kitchen

Structure:

• ɗaki → ɗakin (because it’s followed by another noun)
• girki stays the same.

So the whole phrase a ɗakin girki = in the kitchen.

Why are there two a prepositions: a kan tukunyar ruwa and a ɗakin girki?

Each a introduces a different locative phrase:

1. a kan tukunyar ruwa
   → on the pot of water (relationship of the lid to the pot)

2. a ɗakin girki
   → in the kitchen (location where the whole action happens)

In English we also pile up prepositions, but sometimes hide this:

• She put the lid on the pot of water in the kitchen.

Hausa simply shows both clearly: a kan … a ɗakin …

Can I move a ɗakin girki earlier in the sentence?

Yes, Hausa word order is flexible for emphasis or style. You could say:

• A ɗakin girki ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa.

This is still natural and correct.
Rough nuance:

• Original: Ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa a ɗakin girki.
  Neutral; tells you action, then where it happened.

• Fronted: A ɗakin girki ta sa murfi a kan tukunyar ruwa.
  Slight emphasis on in the kitchen (not somewhere else).

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The core word order in Hausa is S – V – O (Subject–Verb–Object), with prepositional phrases after that.

Breakdown:

• Ta = Subject (“she”)
• sa = Verb (“put”)
• murfi = Direct object (“lid”)
• a kan tukunyar ruwa = prepositional phrase: “on the pot of water”
• a ɗakin girki = prepositional phrase: “in the kitchen”

So the pattern is:

• Subject – Verb – Object – [place phrase] – [place phrase]

How do you pronounce the letter ɗ in ɗakin, and is it different from d?

Yes, ɗ is different from plain d in Hausa.

• d – a regular “d” sound, like English d in dog.
• ɗ – an implosive d. You pull slightly inward with your tongue/vocal tract when you pronounce it.

A simple learner’s trick:

• Start with a normal d sound but slightly “suck” in air instead of pushing it fully out.
• It will sound a bit “heavier” than English d.

In careful speech, ɗaki sounds different from daki. For learning, it’s important to at least be aware they are distinct letters with different spellings and meanings.

Is there any special stress or tone marking I should know for this sentence?

In everyday writing, Hausa usually does not mark tones, and your sentence is written in that normal way. Learners typically focus on:

• Correct vowels and consonants (including ƙ, ɗ, sh, ts, etc.).
• Vowel length when indicated (double vowels like aa, ee, etc., when they appear).

For this sentence, the main spelling points are:

• murfi (not murifi)
• tukunyar (from tukunya)
• ɗakin (with ɗ, not d)
• girki

Native speakers rely on context and experience for tone; beginners usually learn correct pronunciation through listening rather than from tone marks on the page.