Learn Hardcore Hausa: Darasi na uku yau kimiyya ce, amma darasi na huɗu hutu ne. - Today the third lesson is science, but the fourth lesson is a break.

darasi na uku = “the third lesson”
- darasi = lesson (masculine noun)
- na = masculine linker
- uku = three → with na it means “third”
darasi na huɗu = “the fourth lesson”
- huɗu = four → with na it means “fourth”

So na + number after a masculine noun gives “X‑th [masculine noun]”.

What is the difference between “darasi na uku” and “darasi uku”?

They mean different things:

darasi na uku = “the third lesson” (ordinal)
- a single lesson, specifically the one in third position in a sequence
darasi uku = “three lessons” (cardinal)
- the number of lessons is three; no idea about their order

So:

Add na/ta → you’re talking about position/order.
No na/ta, just a number → you’re talking about quantity.

Why is “yau” (today) placed where it is? Can it move?

The sentence has:

Darasi na uku yau kimiyya ce…

Literally: “Lesson the third today science is.”

Here yau (today) is sitting between the subject phrase and the predicate:

Subject: Darasi na uku yau (“the third lesson today”)
Predicate: kimiyya ce (“is science”)

You can usually move yau a bit without changing the meaning too much:

Yau darasi na uku kimiyya ce…
Darasi na uku kimiyya ce yau… (more like “the third lesson is science today”)

All of these are understandable. Common, natural options:

Yau darasi na uku kimiyya ce, amma darasi na huɗu hutu ne.
Darasi na uku yau kimiyya ce, amma… (as given)

Hausa time words like yau are quite flexible in position, but you’ll often hear them near the beginning of the clause.

What do “ce” and “ne” mean in “kimiyya ce” and “hutu ne”?

ce and ne are forms of the copula — words that often correspond to “is/are” in English when the predicate is a noun or adjective.

In the sentence:

kimiyya ce ≈ “(it) is science”
hutu ne ≈ “(it) is a break”

Structure:

Darasi na uku yau (the third lesson today)
kimiyya ce (is science)
amma darasi na huɗu (but the fourth lesson)
hutu ne (is a break)

So you can think of ce/ne here as the “is” that links the subject with what it is identified as.

Why is it “kimiyya ce” but “hutu ne”? When do I use “ce” vs “ne”?

The choice between ce and ne mainly depends on grammatical gender and number of the noun they refer to:

ce is used with feminine singular nouns.
ne is used with masculine singular nouns and with most plurals.

In this sentence:

kimiyya (science) is feminine, so: kimiyya ce
hutu (break/holiday) is masculine, so: hutu ne

Some useful pairs:

motar nan sabuwa ce – “this car is new” (mota = feminine)
littafin nan sabo ne – “this book is new” (littafi = masculine)

So you need to know the gender of the noun and then choose ce or ne accordingly.

Could you leave out “ce” and “ne” and just say “kimiyya” and “hutu”?

In careful, standard Hausa, you normally keep ce/ne in this kind of sentence.

Darasi na uku yau kimiyya ce – natural and complete.
Darasi na uku yau kimiyya – feels incomplete/elliptical in normal speech.

In fast or very informal speech people might drop them occasionally, but as a learner you should always include ce/ne in sentences like:

X kimiyya ce – “X is science”
X hutu ne – “X is a break”

What exactly does “amma” mean here, and does it affect the word order?

amma means “but”.

Darasi na uku yau kimiyya ce, amma darasi na huɗu hutu ne.
= “The third lesson today is science, but the fourth lesson is a break.”

It works just like English “but”:

It links two clauses that contrast with each other.
It does not change the word order of the clauses on either side.

So you can treat amma as a straightforward coordinating conjunction: “but/however”.

How do you pronounce “huɗu”? What is that special letter “ɗ”?

huɗu (four) is pronounced roughly:

hu – like “hoo”
ɗu – similar to “doo”, but with a special implosive d sound

The letter ɗ represents an implosive “d”:

Put your tongue where you’d put a normal d.
At the same time, slightly pull air inward (or at least don’t push it out strongly).
It sounds like a “soft” or “swallowed” d.

So huɗu is not exactly “hoodoo”, but that’s not a terrible approximation for a beginner. Native speakers will understand you even if your ɗ sounds like a normal d, but it’s good to know there is a difference.

Does “kimiyya” here mean the school subject “Science” or just “science” in general?

In this context — talking about lessons (periods) in a timetable — kimiyya is understood as the school subject “Science”.

Darasi na uku yau kimiyya ce
→ “The third lesson today is (the subject) Science.”

But kimiyya can also mean science in general:

Kimiyya tana da muhimmanci. – “Science is important.”

So the exact nuance comes from context; with timetables and “lessons,” it’s naturally read as the subject.

Why is there no word for “the” in “darasi na uku”, even though the English translation has “the third lesson”?

Hausa normally does not use separate words like English “the” or “a”.

darasi na uku can mean:
- “the third lesson”, or
- “a third lesson”, depending on context.

Definiteness is shown by:

context (a known schedule → “the third lesson”),
pronouns or demonstratives (e.g. wancan darasin na uku – “that third lesson”),
or sometimes by word order and emphasis.

So even though English needs “the”, Hausa just uses darasi na uku and leaves it to context to specify whether it’s “the” or “a”.