Learn Hardcore Hausa: ’Yar uwata kan soya dankali da safe, amma ni kan ci burodi kawai. - My sister usually fries potatoes in the morning, but I usually eat only bread.

’yar uwa – sister (literally "daughter of mother"), often used for sister / female sibling in general.
With possession:
- ’yar uwata – my sister
- ’yar uwarka – your (m.sg.) sister
- ’yar uwarsu – their sister

There is also:

’yar’uwata (written together by some speakers) – same meaning.
In some regions, people may also say things like ’yar gida for a girl of the same household, but as a learner, ’yar uwa / ’yar uwata is your safest and most widely understood choice for "sister."

What is the apostrophe at the beginning of ’Yar? How do you pronounce it?

In Hausa spelling, the apostrophe in ’yar shows that there is a glottal stop (a tiny catch in the throat) before the y sound.

’yar is pronounced roughly like [ʔyar]:
- Start with a brief stop in the throat (like the break in uh‑oh),
- then say yar.

This is different from a plain yar (without apostrophe), which would start straight with y.

For many learners, especially English speakers, pronouncing ’yar very close to yar is usually understood, but the apostrophe matters in proper Hausa spelling and careful pronunciation.

What does kan mean in kan soya and kan ci? Is it the same as English can?

kan here is not related to English can at all.

In this sentence, kan is a habitual aspect marker. It shows that the action is something that usually / regularly / habitually happens.

kan soya dankali ≈ "usually fries potatoes" / "tends to fry potatoes"
kan ci burodi ≈ "usually eats bread"

So the whole sentence means something like:

My sister usually fries potatoes in the morning, but I (usually) only eat bread.

Think of kan as "typically / normally / usually" attached to the verb, not as "can / be able to".

Where does kan go in the sentence? Can I move it somewhere else?

In Hausa, kan normally comes right after the subject and before the verb.

Patterns:

Ni kan ci burodi. – I usually eat bread.
’Yar uwata kan soya dankali. – My sister usually fries potatoes.
Su kan tafi makaranta. – They usually go to school.

You cannot move it around freely like an English adverb:

❌ Ni ci kan burodi. – incorrect
❌ Kan ni ci burodi. – incorrect

Correct structure:

Subject + kan + verb (+ object / other parts)

Why do we need ni in amma ni kan ci burodi kawai?

The ni here adds contrast and emphasis: "but *I, on the other hand..."*

The sentence contrasts two people:

’Yar uwata kan soya dankali da safe
→ My sister usually fries potatoes in the morning,

versus

amma ni kan ci burodi kawai
→ but I usually eat only bread.

If you said only:

amma kan ci burodi kawai

it would feel incomplete or unclear: who is the one who usually eats only bread? The ni answers that and highlights the contrast.

Hausa often uses independent pronouns like ni, kai, ita, su for exactly this kind of contrast:

Shi kan tafi da wuri, amma ni zan tsaya.
He usually leaves early, but I will stay.

How does kan compare with ina (as in ina cin burodi) for talking about habits?

Both can describe repeated actions, but they focus on different things:

kan + bare verb – neutral or explicit habit / usual practice
- Ni kan ci burodi da safe.
  → I usually eat bread in the morning. (habit as a rule)
ina + verbal noun (…‑n) – present, often right now / ongoing, but can also imply habit from context
- Ina cin burodi.
  → I am eating bread (right now)
  → I eat bread (generally) – if the context is about habits.

In your sentence, using kan makes the habitual meaning very clear:

’Yar uwata kan soya dankali da safe
explicitly says this is something she typically does every morning.

What does da safe mean exactly? Is da the same as in here?

da safe is a common time expression meaning in the morning.

da is a very flexible word in Hausa. It can mean and / with / at / when, depending on context.
In set phrases about times of day, it often translates as "in the ...":
- da safe – in the morning
- da rana – in the afternoon / daytime
- da yamma – in the evening
- da dare – at night

So in your sentence:

…kan soya dankali da safe
→ “…usually fries potatoes in the morning.”

You can keep da safe at the end like in the example, or put it earlier:

Da safe ’yar uwata kan soya dankali.
– In the morning, my sister usually fries potatoes.

What does kawai mean, and where does it usually go in the sentence?

kawai means only / just / merely.

In your sentence:

ni kan ci burodi kawai
→ I usually eat *only bread*.

Typical positions of kawai:

After the word or phrase it limits:
- ni kawai – only me
- burodi kawai – only bread
- da safe kawai – only in the morning
At the very end, referring to the most recent phrase:
- Ni kan ci burodi kawai.
  → I usually eat only bread.

So, kawai normally comes after what it is restricting, often at the end of the clause.

Why is it ci burodi here, but sometimes I see cin burodi?

You are seeing two related but different forms of the verb ci (to eat):

ci – the bare verb (dictionary form)
- Used after markers like kan, za, etc.
- Ni kan ci burodi. – I usually eat bread.
- Zan ci burodi. – I will eat bread.
cin – the verbal noun (masdar) meaning eating
- Often used after ina / kana / suna, or as a noun:
- Ina cin burodi. – I am eating bread / I eat bread.
- Cin burodi da safe yana daɗi. – Eating bread in the morning is nice.

So:

With kan, you use the bare verb: kan ci
With ina, you use the verbal noun: ina cin

What exactly are dankali and burodi? Are they specific kinds of food?

Yes, both are common foods:

dankali
- usually (Irish) potatoes
- In some contexts/dialects it can refer to tubers more generally, but in modern everyday Hausa it most often means the same potatoes you know from English.
burodi
- bread (a loanword from English "bread")
- Can refer to sliced bread, loaves, bread rolls, etc.

In your sentence:

soya dankali – to fry potatoes
ci burodi – to eat bread

So the idea is: > My sister usually fries potatoes in the morning, but I usually only eat bread.