Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru.

The students are studying in silence.

Breakdown of Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru.

• ne: to be
• karatu: to study
• dalibi: the student
• cikin shiru: in silence

Questions & Answers about Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru.

What does each word in Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru literally mean?

Word by word:

• dalibai – students (dalibi = student, dalibai = students)
• su – they
• -na – continuous / habitual aspect marker
• suna (su + na) – they are (doing something)
• karatu – reading / studying (a verbal noun from karanta “to read”)
• cikin – in, inside (literally “inside of”)
• shiru – silence, quiet

So the literal structure is: Students they-are study/reading in silence.

Why is there no separate word for are in this sentence?

The idea of are is built into suna.

In Hausa, you don’t use a separate verb like English to be with actions. Instead, you use a subject pronoun plus an aspect marker:

• su + na → suna = “they are (doing something)”
• ya + na → yana = “he is (doing something)”
• ta + na → tana = “she is (doing something)”

So suna karatu already means they are studying / they are reading. You don’t add an extra word for are.

Is suna a verb, or is it a pronoun?

Structurally, suna is a combination of:

• su = they (subject pronoun)
• -na = continuous / habitual aspect marker

In practice, learners can treat suna as the Hausa equivalent of “they are” before an action:

• suna tafiya – they are going / they go
• suna cin abinci – they are eating / they eat

So it behaves a bit like a fused pronoun + “be” + aspect unit.

Why does dalibai mean students when it doesn’t end in -s like English plurals?

Hausa does not form plurals by adding -s like English. Nouns usually have specific plural forms that you have to learn.

Here:

• dalibi = student (singular)
• dalibai = students (plural)

Other examples:

• yaro (boy) → yara (boys)
• littaafi (book) → littattafai (books)

So dalibai is already plural; you don’t add anything else to mark the plural.

How would I say the students instead of just students?

Hausa often leaves definiteness (a / the) to context, but if you explicitly want the students, you typically add a definite ending:

• dalibai – students (general / non-specific)
• daliban – the students (specific group already known in context)

So you could say:

• Daliban suna karatu cikin shiru. – The students are studying in silence.

Both Dalibai suna… and Daliban suna… are grammatically correct; the difference is how specific the group is in context.

Does suna karatu mean they are studying or they study?

Suna karatu can mean either, depending on context:

• They are studying (right now) – present continuous
• They study / they usually study – habitual present

Hausa aspect is more about whether the action is ongoing/habitual versus completed, not strictly about English-style tense. Suna karatu tells you it’s non-completed / ongoing or characteristic, and context decides whether you translate it as are studying or study.

Is karatu a verb here, or a noun?

Formally, karatu is a verbal noun (“reading / studying”), from the verb karanta (“to read”).

The pattern is:

• suna (they-are, continuous aspect) + karatu (reading / study)

So structurally it’s like saying “they are (in a state of) study”. For learners, it’s fine to think of suna karatu as the standard way to say they are studying / they are reading.

What does cikin shiru literally mean, and can I drop cikin?

Literally:

• ciki – inside
• -n – linking suffix (“of”)
• cikin shiru – inside (of) silence → in silence

So cikin shiru is an adverbial phrase meaning in silence / quietly.

You normally should not drop cikin here.

• suna karatu cikin shiru – they are studying in silence (natural)
• suna karatu shiru – sounds odd / unidiomatic in most contexts

If you just want to say they are quiet, you’d use a different structure (for example suna shiru), but that doesn’t mean studying in silence.

Can I say Dalibai suna shiru instead of Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru?

Dalibai suna shiru is grammatical, but it means something different:

• Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru. – The students are studying in silence.
• Dalibai suna shiru. – The students are quiet / The students are being silent.

The second sentence does not say they are studying; it only describes their state (they are silent). To keep the idea of studying in silence, you need karatu and cikin shiru.

Can I change the word order, like Dalibai cikin shiru suna karatu?

The normal, neutral word order is:

• Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru.

You can sometimes move adverbial phrases (like cikin shiru) around for emphasis, but the version you suggested:

• Dalibai cikin shiru suna karatu

sounds unusual or marked, and is not the basic, learner-friendly pattern.

For clear, standard Hausa, keep:

Subject + “suna” + verb (or verbal noun) + extra details

→ Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru.

How would I change the sentence to the singular: The student is studying in silence?

You need to change both the noun and the pronoun:

• dalibai (students) → dalibi (student)
• suna (they are) → yana (he is) or tana (she is), depending on gender

Examples:

• Dalibi yana karatu cikin shiru. – The (male) student is studying in silence.
• Daliba tana karatu cikin shiru. – The (female) student is studying in silence.

(daliba is a common feminine form of dalibi.)

How do I make this sentence negative: The students are not studying in silence?

For the negative continuous with suna, Hausa normally uses ba sa for 3rd person plural.

So:

• Positive: Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru.
• Negative: Dalibai ba sa karatu cikin shiru.

Breakdown of the negative:

• ba – negative marker
• sa – 3rd person plural negative continuous form (corresponds to positive suna)
• karatu cikin shiru – studying in silence

So ba sa here works like “are not (doing)”.

Can I use suke instead of suna in this sentence?

Not in exactly the same way. suke is generally used in relative or focus constructions, not as the basic continuous form.

Compare:

• Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru. – The students are studying in silence. (neutral statement)
• Dalibai ne suke karatu cikin shiru. – It is the students who are studying in silence. (focused on “students”)
• Dalibai suna karatu ne cikin shiru. – It’s in silence that the students are studying. (focus on the manner)

As a beginner or intermediate learner, use suna for normal “are doing” sentences, and learn suke later in the context of focus/relative clauses.

Is there any gender agreement for dalibai and suna?

No. In the plural, Hausa uses su / suna for they regardless of gender.

So:

• Dalibai suna karatu cikin shiru.

works for:

• all-male group
• all-female group
• mixed group

Gender only affects the 3rd person singular:

• yanaa karatu – he is studying
• tanaa karatu – she is studying

But in the plural, suna is used for everyone.

How should I pronounce dalibai, cikin, and shiru?

Approximate English-like pronunciations (not perfect, but helpful):

• dalibai – da-LEE-bai

  • da as in dad
  • li like lee
  • bai like English bye

• cikin – CHEE-keen (or CHI-kin, with a short i)

  • c in standard Hausa is a ch sound (as in church)
  • both i vowels are close to English ee but can be shorter

• shiru – SHEE-roo

  • shi like she
  • ru like roo in kangaroo, but with a tapped/rolled r if you can

Hausa stress is often fairly even compared to English; learners commonly put a bit more stress on the second syllable in dalibai (da-LEE-bai), which is acceptable.