Learn Hardcore Hausa: Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.

Baba – father
na – of (a genitive linker)
shi – him / he (3rd person masculine singular pronoun)
→ na shi together means his (literally of him).
ne – copula/focus particle used with a masculine singular subject; roughly works like is here.
mafi – most (superlative marker, from the verb fi “to surpass”)
girma – bigness, greatness; in context often means seniority, high rank, age
a – in / at (locative preposition)
cikin – inside / within
iyali – family, household

So a very literal rendering would be something like:
Father of-him is most-big inside family.
Idiomatic English: His father is the oldest / most senior in the family.

What exactly does na shi mean, and is it always translated as his?

Na shi is a possessive phrase:

na – the genitive linker of
shi – him / he

Together: na shi = of him → his.

You will meet na shi in several patterns:

Modifying a noun:
- baba na shi – his father
- motar na shi – his car (depending on dialect and vowel harmony)
On its own, meaning his (one):
- Wannan littafi na shi ne. – This book is his.

It does not always have to be translated exactly as his in every context (sometimes “belonging to him,” “of his,” etc.), but functionally it is the 3rd person masculine possessive form built with na.

How is na shi different from babansa or baban shi? Do they all mean his father?

All of these can mean his father, but they are built slightly differently:

Baba na shi
- Analytic form: baba
  - na shi (father of him).
- Very transparent for learners, often used in careful or formal speech.
Baban shi
- Noun + suffix -n
  - free pronoun:
    - baba
      - n
        shi → baban shi.
- Also “his father,” very common in everyday speech.
Babansa
- Fully suffixed/contracted form:
  - baba
    - n
      - sa → babansa.
- Also “his father,” very common, especially in fast, colloquial speech.

In most contexts, all three are acceptable and mean the same thing. The difference is mainly:

baba na shi – more explicit, good for learners and for emphasis.
baban shi / babansa – more compact, very natural for native speakers.

So you can often rewrite the sentence as:

Babansa ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.
Baban shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.

with essentially the same meaning as Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.

I learned that na can mean my, as in sunana “my name”. Why is na here part of na shi and not my?

There are two different-looking things that both appear as na:

-na as a suffix pronoun:
- It attaches directly to a noun to mean my:
  - suna – name
  - sunana – my name
  - gidana – my house
- Here -na is a bound pronoun (1st person singular).
na as a genitive linker meaning of:
- It stands as a separate word in front of a noun or pronoun:
  - littafin na Audu – Audu’s book (the book of Audu)
  - na shi – of him → his
  - na ta – of her → hers

In Baba na shi, the na is the second type: a genitive linker.
So baba na shi = father of him = his father, not my father.

If you wanted my father, you would say:

baba na (with -na as a suffix to baba, or written separately but functioning as a possessive pronoun)
or baba nawa (emphatic my own father)

How would I say my father or her father in the same pattern?

Using the same type of possessive structure, you get:

My father
- baba na / baba nawa – my father / my own father
- (also baba
  - -na as a suffix in some orthographies: babana)
Your father (singular, male addressee)
- baba naka – your father
- babanka – same meaning, more compact
Her father
- baba na ta – father of her = her father
- baban ta or babanta – same meaning, common in speech

So for example:

Baba na ne mafi girma a cikin iyali. – My father is the oldest in the family.
Babanta ne mafi girma a cikin iyali. – Her father is the oldest in the family.

What is the function of ne in this sentence? Is it just the verb to be?

Ne is a copula/focus particle. In practical terms for a learner, in sentences like this it mostly behaves like is:

It links the subject to a description or identity:
- Baba na shi ne mafi girma…
  → His father *is the oldest…*

More technically:

ne / ce mark focus or identification and agree with gender/number.
They typically come after the subject or the focused element, before the rest of the predicate.

For equational or descriptive sentences (X is Y), you very often need ne/ce if there is no other main verb:

Shi ne ɗalibi. – He is a student.
Uwar sa ce likita. – His mother is a doctor.

So in your sentence, ne is required because there is no ordinary verb; mafi girma is an adjective phrase, and ne does the job that is would do in English.

What is the difference between ne and ce, and why is ne used here?

Ne and ce are the same kind of particle; they differ in agreement:

ne – used with:
- masculine singular subjects
- many plurals
- some clauses ending in certain structures
ce – used with:
- feminine singular subjects

In your sentence:

Baba na shi (his father) is grammatically masculine singular, so:
- Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.

If the subject were feminine, you would use ce:

Uwar sa ce mafi girma a cikin iyali.
– His mother is the oldest in the family.

So ne is chosen because baba (father) is masculine.

Can I leave ne out and say Baba na shi mafi girma a cikin iyali?

For clear, standard Hausa, you should keep ne here.

Without ne, Baba na shi mafi girma a cikin iyali sounds incomplete or at best very colloquial/elliptical, because:

There is no main verb.
Hausa normally uses ne/ce (or a pronoun like shi, ita) as a copula in such nominal/adjectival sentences.

So the natural forms are:

Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.
Or a rephrasing with a verb:
Baba na shi ya fi kowa girma a cikin iyali.
(His father surpasses everyone in age/seniority in the family.)

As a learner, treat omission of ne here as incorrect or very non‑standard.

What does mafi girma literally mean, and why does it translate as oldest / most senior?

Literally:

mafi – most (superlative marker from fi, to surpass)
girma – bigness, greatness, stature

So mafi girma = the most big / the greatest.

In Hausa, girma and the adjective babba (big, elder) extend naturally to:

size – big vs small
rank/status – more important, higher status
age/seniority – older/eldest

So in a family context:

mafi girma ≈ the most senior / the eldest member.

Depending on context, mafi girma can be translated as:

the biggest (size)
the greatest / most important
the oldest / most senior, especially among relatives or colleagues

Is mafi girma one fixed word/unit, or can I put things in between mafi and girma?

Mafi girma is two words but acts as one superlative phrase:

mafi must come directly before the adjective or describing noun:
- mafi girma – biggest / greatest
- mafi kyau – most beautiful / best
- mafi tsada – most expensive

You generally do not insert other words between mafi and the adjective. So:

✔ mafi girma a cikin iyali
✘ mafi sosai girma (wrong)

If you want to modify the superlative, you usually put adverbs or other material around the phrase, not inside it, e.g.:

shi ne mafi girma sosai a cikin iyali. – he is very much the most senior in the family
(here sosai comes after the whole mafi girma phrase)

How would I express a comparative like “His father is older than his brothers” instead of a superlative with mafi?

For comparatives, Hausa normally uses the verb fi (to surpass) instead of mafi.

A natural way to say His father is older than his brothers is:

Baba na shi ya fi ’yan’uwansa girma.

Breakdown:

Baba na shi – his father
ya fi – he surpasses (3rd person masc. singular + fi)
’yan’uwansa – his siblings/brothers
girma – in greatness/seniority (here: age)

Literally: His father surpasses his brothers in seniority/age.

Compare with your original sentence:

Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.
– His father is the most senior (eldest) in the family.
(superlative, using mafi)

vs.

Baba na shi ya fi sauran ’yan’uwa girma.
– His father is older than the other siblings.
(comparative, using fi)

What does a cikin iyali mean exactly, and can I say just cikin iyali?

A cikin iyali literally means:

a – in / at (locative preposition)
cikin – inside / within
iyali – family

So a cikin iyali ≈ inside the family / in the family.

About variants:

a cikin iyali – very common and clear.
cikin iyali – also used and understood; a can be dropped in many contexts.
a iyali – less specific, more like at/among the family, without the “inside” nuance.

In your sentence, both of these are natural:

Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.
Baba na shi ne mafi girma cikin iyali.

For a learner, a cikin iyali is a safe, very natural choice.

Is iyali singular or plural? How do I talk about my family?

Iyali is singular grammatically but refers to a group – it’s a collective noun meaning family/household.

To say my family, you add possessive marking:

iyalina – my family (suffix -na = my)
iyalinmu – our family
iyalinsa – his family

So you could say, for example:

Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyalinsu.
– His father is the eldest in their family.

When you want several different families, you can use a plural like iyalai:

A wannan unguwa akwai iyalai da yawa.
– There are many families in this neighborhood.

How would the sentence change if we talked about his mother instead of his father?

You need to change the subject noun and also switch ne to ce because uwa (mother) is feminine.

One natural version:

Uwar sa ce mafi girma a cikin iyali.
– His mother is the oldest in the family.

Breakdown:

Uwar sa – his mother (from uwa “mother” + genitive/suffix -r sa)
ce – feminine singular copula/focus
mafi girma a cikin iyali – the most senior in the family

You could also see:

Uwar shi ce mafi girma a cikin iyali.
Uwa na shi ce mafi girma a cikin iyali.

In each case, ce is required because the subject (his mother) is feminine singular.

Can I move the pieces around, like saying Shi ne baba na shi mafi girma a cikin iyali, or is that wrong?

You need to be careful with word order; some rearrangements change or confuse the meaning.

Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.
– Clear: His father is the oldest in the family.

If you say:

Shi ne baba na shi mafi girma a cikin iyali.

this becomes awkward and confusing, roughly like:

He is his father the eldest in the family.

It sounds odd because:

shi ne baba na shi can suggest He is his father (a strange statement),
and mafi girma a cikin iyali is then just tacked on.

More natural alternatives if you want shi ne at the beginning:

Shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali, baba na shi.
– He is the oldest in the family, his father. (appositive explanation)
Or simply stay with the original order, which is the best for the intended meaning.

For the straightforward statement His father is the oldest in the family, keep:

Baba na shi ne mafi girma a cikin iyali.