Idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum, za mu cimma nasara.

If we make an effort every day, we will achieve success.

Breakdown of Idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum, za mu cimma nasara.

• yi: to do
• idan: if
• mu: we
• ƙoƙari: the effort
• kullum: every day
• nasara: the success
• cimma: to reach

Questions & Answers about Idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum, za mu cimma nasara.

Can you break down the sentence word by word and show the literal meaning?

Yes. The sentence is:

Idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum, za mu cimma nasara.

Word-by-word:

• idan – if / when / whenever
• mu – we (independent pronoun, here fused with ka)
• -ka – focus/relative marker attached to mu → muka (“we [focused]”)
• yi – to do / to make
• ƙoƙari – effort, trying
• kullum – always / all the time / every day
• za – future marker (“will / going to”)
• mu – we (subject pronoun with the future marker)
• cimma – to reach, to attain, to achieve
• nasara – success, victory

So the structure is roughly:

If we (indeed) do effort always, we will achieve success.

Why is it muka yi and not mun yi?

Both forms exist, but they are different:

• mun yi – normal perfective: “we did / we have done”.
• muka yi – focused / relative perfective: “we (and not someone else) did”.

In conditional and similar subordinate clauses, Hausa very often uses this focus form:

• Idan mun yi ƙoƙari… – If we try… (grammatical)
• Idan muka yi ƙoƙari… – If we (for our part) try… (very common; slight emphasis on we)

So in your sentence, muka yi is a stylistic/grammatical choice that:

1. Fits a common pattern after idan.
2. Adds a bit of emphasis on the subject “we”.

You will hear both idan mun yi… and idan muka yi…, but muka yi is extremely natural here.

What exactly does “yi ƙoƙari” mean? Is ƙoƙari a verb too?

ƙoƙari is a noun meaning “effort”, not a verb.

Hausa often makes complex verbs by using yi (“do/make”) with a noun:

• yi ƙoƙari – to make effort, to try
• yi magana – to speak (literally “do speech”)
• yi shiri – to prepare (literally “do preparation”)

So:

• yi = “do / make”
• ƙoƙari = “effort”
• yi ƙoƙari = “to make effort / to try”

In the sentence, muka yi ƙoƙari = “we (indeed) made effort / we tried”.

What does kullum mean, and why is it placed after ƙoƙari?

kullum means:

• always
• all the time
• every day (often the most natural translation)

It behaves like an adverb of time/frequency.

Word order:

• You can say muka yi ƙoƙari kullum – “we make effort every day / we always try.”
• You could also hear kullum muna yin ƙoƙari – literally “we are always making effort.”

So kullum is flexible. Here it comes right after the verb phrase yi ƙoƙari, which is very normal:

muka yi ƙoƙari kullum
we-make-effort always

You can think of it as modifying the entire action “making effort.”

Can I reverse the clauses, like in English: “We will achieve success if we try every day”?

Yes. Both orders are fine in Hausa:

1. Idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum, za mu cimma nasara.
   If we try every day, we will achieve success.

2. Za mu cimma nasara idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum.
   We will achieve success if we try every day.

The meaning is the same; only the emphasis shifts slightly:

• Starting with idan… gives more weight to the condition.
• Starting with za mu cimma nasara… foregrounds the result.

How does the future za mu work here? Why not just mu cimma nasara?

za is the future marker in Hausa. It combines with subject pronouns:

• zan – I will
• za ka – you (m.sg) will
• za ta – she will
• za mu – we will
• za su – they will

So:

• cimma nasara – to achieve success
• za mu cimma nasara – we will achieve success

Without za, mu cimma nasara would usually be interpreted as subjunctive / jussive:

• mu cimma nasara – “let us achieve success / may we achieve success”

So za mu is needed if you want a plain future prediction (“we will…”), not a wish or exhortation.

Why is it “cimma nasara” without a preposition like “to success” or “for success”?

In Hausa, cimma (“to reach, to attain, to achieve”) takes its object directly, with no preposition:

• cimma nasara – to achieve success
• cimma buri – to achieve an aim
• cimma matsaya – to reach a decision/position

So:

• cimma = verb
• nasara = its direct object (a noun)

English uses a bare object too (“achieve success”), so cimma nasara closely parallels that structure. No preposition is needed.

What’s the difference between nasara and nasarar?

Hausa marks definiteness with a suffix on many nouns.

• nasara – success (general, indefinite)
• nasarar – the success (definite, specific)

In this sentence:

• cimma nasara – “to achieve success (in general / as a concept)”

If you said:

• za mu cimma nasarar da muke so
  we will achieve the success that we want

Here nasarar is specific: that particular success.

In your sentence, the general idea of success is meant, so nasara (indefinite) is the natural choice.

What is the difference between ƙ and k in words like ƙoƙari?

Hausa distinguishes two different “k” sounds:

• k – a normal voiceless velar stop (like English k in “cat”).
• ƙ – an implosive or glottalized k (pronounced with a slight inward airflow or glottal “catch”).

They change meaning:

• kowa – everyone
• ƙowa – (different word; dialectal/less common, but in many pairs the contrast is crucial)
• kasa – earth, ground / to be unable
• ƙasa – bottom / below (depending on context)
• kokari vs ƙoƙari – only ƙoƙari is correct for “effort/trying”.

In standard Hausa orthography, ƙoƙari must be written with ƙ, not plain k.

Why is the first verb in a “past-like” form (muka yi) when the whole sentence talks about the future?

Hausa often uses the perfective form in the if-clause even when the result is in the future.

Pattern:

• Idan [perfective], za [future]…

So:

• Idan muka yi ƙoƙari… – If we (indeed) make effort…
• za mu cimma nasara. – we will achieve success.

This is roughly like English “if we do / if we make effort”, even though the Hausa looks “past-like” to an English speaker.

Think of muka yi here less as “we did” and more as “we (successfully) do” in the context of conditions. It’s a normal, productive pattern, not a mistake.

How is muka yi different from mu yi?

They look similar but they are different grammatical forms:

1. muka yi

   • mu (independent pronoun) + ka (focus marker) + yi
   • focused/relative perfective.
   • Used here after idan: “if we (indeed) do / when we do”.

2. mu yi

   • mu
     • yi in the subjunctive/jussive.
   • Often means “let us do / may we do / that we should do”.
   • Example: mu yi ƙoƙari! – “let’s make an effort!”

So:

• Idan muka yi ƙoƙari… – If we try… (with focus / normal conditional)
• Mu yi ƙoƙari! – Let’s try! (a suggestion/command)

They are not interchangeable; they signal different moods and structures.

How would I negate this sentence in Hausa?

You negate both clauses with ba … ba:

1. Negating the condition:

• Idan ba mu yi ƙoƙari kullum ba, za mu kasa cimma nasara.
  If we do not make effort every day, we will fail to achieve success.

Notes:

• In the negative perfective with mu, you use ba mu … ba (not muka):
  • ba mu yi ƙoƙari ba – we did not make effort / we don’t make effort.

2. Negating the result:

• Idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum, ba za mu kasa nasara ba.
  Literally: If we try every day, we will not fail (regarding success).
  More naturally: …we will not fail / we will surely succeed.

For a straightforward “we will not achieve success”:

• Idan ba mu yi ƙoƙari kullum ba, ba za mu cimma nasara ba.
  If we don’t try every day, we will not achieve success.

Is idan more like “if” or more like “when/whenever”?

idan can cover all of these English meanings, depending on context:

• if (real condition):

  • Idan ka zo, zan tafi.
    If you come, I will go.

• when / whenever (repeated/general situation):

  • Idan rana ta fito, sai zafi ya fara.
    When/Whenever the sun rises, then the heat begins.

In your sentence, English “if” is a natural translation:

Idan muka yi ƙoƙari kullum, za mu cimma nasara.
If we try every day, we will achieve success.

But you could also feel a “whenever we consistently try” nuance from idan here. Both ideas are compatible in Hausa.