Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma da safe.

The children want to drink honey water in the morning.

Breakdown of Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma da safe.

• ne: to be
• so: to want
• yaro: the child
• su: they
• da: during
• sha: to drink
• safe: the morning
• ruwan zuma: the honey water

Questions & Answers about Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma da safe.

What does suna so mean here – “like” or “want”?

In this sentence, suna so can mean either “they like” or “they want”, depending on context:

• Like: The children like to drink honey water in the morning.
• Want: The children want to drink honey water in the morning.

Hausa so covers both “to like” and “to want”, so the exact English translation often depends on context or extra information in the conversation.

Why do we have suna and su together: suna so su sha? Isn’t that two “they”s?

Yes, you’re seeing two related pronouns, but they have different jobs:

• suna = continuous/progressive form of su (“they”)
  
  • It marks the subject of the main verb so:
    
    • Yara suna so… = The children (they) want/like…
• su before sha = subject of the second verb sha (“drink”) in the complement clause
  
  • su sha = that they (should) drink

So the structure is:

• Yara suna so → The children want…
• su sha ruwan zuma → …that they (should) drink honey water

Hausa usually repeats the subject pronoun in this kind of verb–verb structure.

Why is it su sha and not su suna sha or just sha?

Because su sha is a kind of “subjunctive” / bare verb form used after verbs like so (“to want/like”) to express what someone wants to do.

• Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma.
  = The children want to drink honey water.

You would use:

• suna sha when “drink” is the main ongoing action:
  
  • Yara suna sha ruwan zuma. = The children are drinking honey water.

Here “drink” is not the main verb; it’s the action they want to do, so Hausa uses su + bare verb (su sha).

What exactly does ruwan zuma mean? Is it “honey water” or just “honey”?

Literally, ruwan zuma is:

• ruwa = water
• -n = linking/possessive marker
• zuma = honey

So it is “the water of honey”, which naturally corresponds to:

• honey water,
• or honey (in its liquid form), depending on context.

In many contexts, zuma alone means honey, while ruwan zuma emphasizes it as a liquid drink or a mixture dissolved in water.

What is the -n in ruwa → ruwan zuma doing?

The -n in ruwan zuma is the genitive/possessive linker:

• ruwa (water) + -n
  • zuma (honey)
    → ruwan zuma = water of honey / honey water

Hausa uses this linker (-n or -r, depending on the word) to express relationships like:

• gidan malami = the teacher’s house / house of a teacher
• ruwan sanyi = cold water
• ruwan lemo = soda / soft drink (literally: water of “lemo”)

There’s no word for “the” or “some” in Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma…. How do I know if it’s “the honey water” or “some honey water”?

Hausa generally does not use articles like “a / an / the / some.”
Definiteness and quantity come from context, not from a separate word.

So ruwan zuma could be:

• honey water
• some honey water
• the honey water

In conversation, tone and previous mention decide which English article is best. The Hausa phrase itself doesn’t change.

What does da safe literally mean, and why is it used for “in the morning”?

Literally:

• da = with / at (here, a time-expression marker)
• safe = morning

So da safe is “(at) morning”, and it’s the standard way to say “in the morning.”

Similar expressions:

• da rana = in the daytime / in the afternoon
• da yamma = in the evening
• da dare = at night

Hausa does not say a safe for “in the morning”; da safe is the idiomatic form.

Can da safe go at the beginning of the sentence, or must it stay at the end?

Both are possible, with a small difference in emphasis:

• Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma da safe.
  = neutral: The children like/want to drink honey water in the morning.

• Da safe yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma.
  = emphasizes the time: In the morning, the children like/want to drink honey water.

Hausa is fairly flexible about placing time expressions, but putting them at the end (as in the original sentence) is very common.

What’s the difference between Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma and Yara suna son shan ruwan zuma?

Both are grammatical, but the structure changes:

1. Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma.

   • so is used as a verb (“to want/like”)
   • su sha is a subordinate verb clause (“that they drink”)
     → The children want to drink / like to drink honey water.

2. Yara suna son shan ruwan zuma.

   • son is a noun (“liking, love”)
   • shan is a verbal noun / gerund from sha (“drinking”)
     → literally: The children have liking of drinking honey water.
     → very naturally: The children like drinking honey water.

Nuance:

• suna so su sha often feels a bit more like “want to drink” (focus on the action they intend to do).
• suna son shan sounds more like a general preference: they enjoy or are fond of drinking it.

Does yara mean “children” in general, or “my/our children” like “kids” in English sometimes does?

Yara means children in a general sense and doesn’t, by itself, say whose children.

• yara = children (any children)
• ’ya’ya = one’s own children / offspring (often “my children,” “your children,” etc., depending on context and possessive pronouns)

So:

• Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma da safe.
  = Children/The children like/want to drink honey water in the morning.
  (context tells you if it’s some specific group or children in general)

How would the meaning change if I said Yara suna shan ruwan zuma da safe instead?

• Yara suna so su sha ruwan zuma da safe.
  = The children want/like to drink honey water in the morning.
  (focus on their desire/liking)

• Yara suna shan ruwan zuma da safe.
  = The children are drinking honey water in the morning
  or The children drink honey water in the mornings (habitually).
  (focus on the action itself, not on wanting it)

You remove so su and make sha the main verb in the continuous/habitual aspect (suna shan).