Ka zauna a cikin gida, in ba haka ba za ka ji sanyi.

Stay inside the house, otherwise you will feel cold.

Breakdown of Ka zauna a cikin gida, in ba haka ba za ka ji sanyi.

• gida: the house
• zauna: to sit
• ka: you (masculine)
• ji: to feel
• sanyi: cold
• a cikin: inside
• in ba haka ba: otherwise

Questions & Answers about Ka zauna a cikin gida, in ba haka ba za ka ji sanyi.

What is the function of ka at the beginning of Ka zauna a cikin gida?

Sentence‑initial ka here marks a 2nd person singular masculine imperative. It’s like saying “(you) sit / stay” to one male person.

Roughly:

• Zauna! = Sit! / Stay! (bare imperative, can sound a bit more direct)
• Ka zauna. = You (male) should sit / please sit / stay (often feels a bit softer or more “complete”)

So ka identifies the subject (you, male, singular) and turns the verb into a personal, directed instruction.

Why do we have ka twice in the sentence: Ka zauna … za ka ji sanyi?

There are actually two different uses of ka here:

1. Ka zauna

   • ka = you (2sg masc, imperative form)
   • zauna = sit / stay

2. za ka ji sanyi

   • za = future marker
   • ka = you (2sg masc, subject pronoun)
   • ji sanyi = feel cold

Hausa repeats the pronoun when you start a new clause. So even though it’s the same “you,” each clause needs its own subject:

• Clause 1: Ka zauna a cikin gida – (You) stay in the house.
• Clause 2: za ka ji sanyi – you will feel cold.

You can’t just drop the second ka in standard Hausa; za ji sanyi on its own would be incomplete (it would need some subject: ya, su, ka, etc.).

Why is it za ka ji and not ka za ji? Can the order of za and ka change?

The order za + pronoun + verb is fixed in Hausa:

• za ka ji – you (masc sg) will feel
• za ki ji – you (fem sg) will feel
• za su ji – they will feel
• za mu ji – we will feel

You cannot say ka za ji. The future marker za always comes before the subject pronoun in this pattern. Think of za as “will” that locks onto the pronoun:

• za ka ji ≈ “you will feel”
• ba za ka ji ba ≈ “you will not feel”

Does zauna mean “sit” or “stay” in this sentence?

Literally, zauna means “sit”, but in Hausa it is very commonly extended to mean “stay, remain, live, dwell”, depending on context.

• In this sentence, Ka zauna a cikin gida is most naturally “Stay inside the house” (not just “briefly sit down”).
• In other contexts:
  • Ya zauna a Kano. – He lives in Kano.
  • Zauna nan. – Sit / stay here.

So for practical purposes, you can read zauna here as “stay (indoors)”.

How is a cikin gida built, and how is it different from just a gida?

Breakdown:

• a = at / in (general locative preposition)
• ciki = inside
• cikin = inside of (ciki + linking -n)
• gida = house / home

a cikin gida literally: “in the inside of the house” → inside the house / indoors.

Compare:

• a gida – at home / at the house (more general location)
• a cikin gida – inside the house (more specifically indoors, not outside the building)

So a cikin gida emphasizes being indoors, which matches the idea of avoiding the cold.

Could we say cikin gida without a? What’s the difference?

Yes, both can occur:

• a cikin gida – in / inside the house
• cikin gida – inside the house, inside the home

The a is the general locative preposition “in/at.” When you drop it, cikin itself still carries a strong “inside” sense, so:

• In many everyday contexts, a cikin gida and cikin gida are close in meaning.
• a cikin gida is a bit more explicit grammatically (preposition + noun phrase).
• cikin gida can feel slightly more compact or colloquial in some dialects.

In your sentence, a cikin gida is very natural and standard.

What does the expression in ba haka ba literally mean, and how is it used?

in ba haka ba is a very common fixed expression meaning “otherwise / or else”.

Literally:

• in = if
• ba … ba = negative frame
• haka = like this / so / this way

So: “if (it is) not like this, (then)… ” → if not / otherwise / or else.

Usage:

• Ka zauna a cikin gida, in ba haka ba za ka ji sanyi.
  Stay inside, otherwise you’ll feel cold.
• Ka gama aikinka, in ba haka ba malam zai yi fushi.
  Finish your work, otherwise the teacher will be angry.

You can think of in ba haka ba as the usual way to say “otherwise / or else” in Hausa conditionals like this.

What exactly does ji sanyi mean? Doesn’t ji mean “hear”?

Yes, ji primarily means “hear”, but it also means “feel, sense, experience (a sensation or emotion)”.

In ji sanyi:

• ji = feel / experience
• sanyi = cold, coolness (also “cold weather” or “a cold” in some contexts)

So za ka ji sanyi literally is “you will feel coldness”, i.e. “you will feel cold”.

Other common uses of ji in this “feel” sense:

• Na ji zafi. – I feel heat / pain.
• Na ji daɗi. – I feel pleased / I enjoyed it.
• Ta ji tsoro. – She felt fear / she was afraid.

Is this sentence specifically addressed to a man? How would it change for a woman or for more than one person?

Yes, as written it address one male person (2nd person singular masculine):

• Ka zauna … za ka ji sanyi.

For a female singular, you change ka → ki:

• Ki zauna a cikin gida, in ba haka ba za ki ji sanyi.
  (You, female, stay inside, otherwise you will feel cold.)

For plural “you”, you use ku:

• Ku zauna a cikin gida, in ba haka ba za ku ji sanyi.
  (You all stay inside, otherwise you will feel cold.)

So the pattern is:

• masc sg: ka … za ka …
• fem sg: ki … za ki …
• plural: ku … za ku …

Is Ka zauna… more or less polite than just Zauna…?

Often:

• Zauna! – a bare imperative; can sound more direct or commanding.
• Ka zauna. – tends to sound slightly softer or more like “you should sit / please sit”, especially when combined with polite words.

You can make it explicitly polite by adding something like:

• Don Allah ka zauna a cikin gida… – Please (for God’s sake) stay inside…
• Dan Allah ka zauna nan. – Please sit here.

Context, tone of voice, and relationship matter a lot, but in many situations ka zauna comes across as less abrupt than zauna alone.

Does gida mean “house” or “home” here?

Gida can mean both “house (building)” and “home”, depending on context.

• Na tafi gida. – I went home.
• Gidan nan babba ne. – This house is big.

In a cikin gida, given the talk about feeling cold, the sense is “inside the house / indoors”, but it naturally also overlaps with the idea of being at home, inside the home. Hausa doesn’t always sharply separate “house” and “home” the way English does.

What tense or aspect is za ka ji sanyi? How would it change if I wanted a present meaning like “you are feeling cold”?

za ka ji sanyi uses za + pronoun + verb, which is the future (or “prospective”) construction:

• za ka ji sanyi – you will feel cold / you are going to feel cold.

If you want a more present / ongoing sense like “you are feeling cold”, you typically use the progressive:

• Kana jin sanyi. – You (masc sg) are feeling cold.
  • ka- (here kana) = you (masc sg)
  • -na = progressive marker
  • jin sanyi = feeling cold

So:

• Ka zauna a cikin gida, in ba haka ba za ka ji sanyi.
  Stay inside, otherwise you will feel cold (future / potential).

• Kana jin sanyi.
  You are feeling cold (right now, ongoing).