Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni kan rubuta buri na a takarda kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara. - I usually write my goals on paper before the new year starts.

Ni rubuta buri na… – I write my goals… (simple present / right now, in general)
Ni kan rubuta buri na… – I usually / I tend to write my goals… (something I do habitually, as a routine)

So kan adds the idea of “usually / habitually / as a rule” to the verb. It does not mean can (ability).

Why is it Ni kan rubuta and not Ina rubuta?

Both are grammatical but they express different aspects:

Ni kan rubuta buri na… – emphasizes habit: I usually write my goals…
Ina rubuta buri na… – ina is a progressive/continuous form from ni (I), so this is more like: I am writing my goals… or I write my goals (generally), without the clear “habit” nuance that kan gives.

Use:

Ni kan rubuta… when talking about a regular custom (every year, every day, etc.).
Ina rubuta… when focusing on the ongoing action or a more neutral present.

What is the meaning and nuance of buri in buri na?

Buri means something like goal, ambition, wish, aspiration, desire.

In this sentence, buri na is best understood as “my goals / my aspirations / my resolutions” for the new year.

buri – goal / ambition / wish
buri na – my goal(s) / my ambition(s)

Context (writing them before the New Year) makes “goals” or “resolutions” the most natural translation.

Why is it buri na and not just burina? Are both correct?

Yes, both forms buri na and burina are used in Hausa.

buri na – noun buri
- detached possessive na (my).
burina – buri with the possessive pronoun -na attached as a suffix.

They both mean “my goal / my ambition”. Often, burina sounds a bit more compact and is very common in speech and writing. Splitting it as buri na is also fine and can sound a bit more careful or slower.

In this sentence you could also say:

Ni kan rubuta burina a takarda kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara.

What does a takarda mean exactly? Could I say a kan takarda instead?

A takarda literally means “on paper / in a paper” and is the standard way to say “in writing / on a piece of paper”.

a – a general preposition, often in / on / at depending on context
takarda – paper, document, letter, sheet

So rubuta buri na a takarda = “write my goals on paper”.

You can also say:

a kan takarda – literally “on top of paper”; this is also acceptable but slightly more literal and physical.
In everyday usage, a takarda is very natural for “in writing / on paper”, not focusing on the physical surface.

What does kafin mean, and does it change the verb form that comes after it?

Kafin means “before” (in the sense of time).

kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara – before the new year starts

It is followed by a clause: sabuwar shekara ta fara (the new year starts). Kafin itself does not force a special verb tense or form; you just use a normal verb phrase after it.

Some patterns:

kafin in tafi – before I go
kafin ka yi barci – before you sleep
kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara – before the new year starts

Why is it sabuwar shekara and not sabon shekara?

In Hausa, adjectives agree in gender with the noun they modify.

shekara (year) is feminine.
The adjective sabo (new) has:
- Masculine form: sabon (for masculine nouns)
- Feminine form: sabuwar (for feminine nouns)

Because shekara is feminine, we must use the feminine adjective:

sabuwar shekara – new year (feminine agreement)
If we used sabon shekara, that would be incorrect, because sabon is the masculine form.

Why does the sentence say sabuwar shekara ta fara and not ya fara?

The pronoun ta refers back to shekara (year), which is a feminine noun in Hausa.

Subject pronouns in Hausa agree with the gender of the subject:

ya – he / it (masculine)
ta – she / it (feminine)

Since shekara is feminine, the correct agreement is:

sabuwar shekara ta fara – the new year (she/feminine) started / the new year starts

Using ya fara would be wrong here because ya is for masculine subjects.

What tense/aspect is ta fara here? Is it “has started” or “will start”?

Ta fara is in the perfective aspect (completed action), so its core meaning is “it has started / it started”.

However, in the sentence:

kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara

we normally translate it as “before the new year starts / begins” in English, because English prefers the present when talking about a future event in a time clause (before the new year starts).

So structurally in Hausa it is perfective “has started”, but the overall expression kafin … ta fara naturally corresponds to English “before … starts”.

Could I say Ina rubuta buri na a takarda kafin sabuwar shekara and drop ta fara?

You can say kafin sabuwar shekara, and people will understand “before the new year” from context, but:

kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara is clearer and more complete: before the new year starts.
Just kafin sabuwar shekara can sound somewhat truncated or more colloquial; you are implying “before the new year (comes/starts)” without stating the verb.

For accurate, learner‑friendly Hausa, it is better to keep ta fara in this sentence.

Is the word order in Hausa here similar to English? Could I change it?

The basic order is:

Subject – (habitual marker) – Verb – Object – Prepositional phrase – Time clause

So:

Ni (subject)
kan (habitual)
rubuta (verb)
buri na (object)
a takarda (prepositional phrase)
kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara (time clause)

You could move the time clause to the beginning:

Kafin sabuwar shekara ta fara, ni kan rubuta buri na a takarda.
Before the new year starts, I usually write my goals on paper.

Both orders are fine. The original is the most typical for everyday speech, with kafin… at the end.