Ni zan karɓi saƙo daga uwa ta a waya.

I will receive a message from my mother by phone.

Breakdown of Ni zan karɓi saƙo daga uwa ta a waya.

• ni: I
• daga: from
• uwa: the mother
• waya: the phone
• a: on
• saƙo: the message
• karɓi: to take

Questions & Answers about Ni zan karɓi saƙo daga uwa ta a waya.

Why is Ni used at the beginning if zan already means “I will”?

Ni is an independent pronoun meaning “I / me”.
In zan, the -n already comes from ni, so zan by itself already means “I will”.

Putting them together (Ni zan karɓi…) adds emphasis to the subject, a bit like saying:

• “I’m the one who will receive the message…”

You could also say simply:

• Zan karɓi saƙo daga uwa ta a waya.

That is grammatically fine, just less emphatic than with Ni in front.

Can the word order in this sentence be different?

The basic order here is:

• Ni (subject) + zan (future marker) + karɓi (verb) + saƙo (object) + daga uwa ta (prepositional phrase) + a waya (prepositional phrase).

Some natural variants:

• Zan karɓi saƙo daga uwa ta a waya. (drop Ni; still fine)
• Daga uwa ta zan karɓi saƙo a waya. (front “from my mother” for emphasis)

What you cannot do is break up the verb and its object in strange ways, e.g.:

• ✗ *Zan saƙo karɓi daga uwa ta a waya. (wrong)

So the verb + object order (karɓi saƙo) should stay together, and prepositional phrases like daga uwa ta, a waya normally come after the object, unless moved to the front for emphasis.

What exactly does zan mean, and is it always used for the future tense?

Zan is za + ni:

• za = future marker (“will, going to”)
• ni = “I”

In modern spelling they’re usually written together: zan.

Other persons work the same way:

• za ka → you (m.sg) will
• za ki → you (f.sg) will
• zai → he will
• za ta → she will
• za mu → we will
• za ku → you (pl) will
• za su → they will

Yes, za… is the regular way to mark a clear future (“will / going to”), although Hausa can also use a present-like form with context to mean near future, e.g. na tafi gobe “I go tomorrow / I’m going tomorrow.”

What is the difference between karɓi and karɓa?

Both forms come from the same root karɓ‑, “to receive / accept / take”.

• Karɓa is often the dictionary / base form (and also used as the verbal noun, “receiving, acceptance”).
• Karɓi is an inflected verb form that is very common in real sentences, especially with tense markers like zan:
  
  • Zan karɓi saƙo. – I will receive a message.

Many Hausa verbs alternate their final vowel ‑a / ‑i depending on tense, aspect, and pronoun. For now, just remember that in this exact pattern zan karɓi saƙo is the natural form, not *zan karɓa saƙo.

Does saƙo always mean “message”?

Saƙo most commonly means “message”, especially a verbal or written message being sent from one person to another.

It can also extend to related ideas like:

• an errand you send someone on
• a mission / assignment
• sometimes goods or something being sent / delivered

In this sentence, because it’s “receive saƙo … on the phone”, the most natural reading in English is “message”.

What does daga do here, and how is it different from other prepositions?

Daga is a preposition meaning “from” (source, origin):

• Daga gida – from home
• Daga Lagos – from Lagos
• Daga uwa ta – from my mother

It does not mean “about” or “since”; for those you’d use other expressions like game da (about) or tun (since, from a certain time).

So daga uwa ta is literally “from my mother”.

Why is it uwa ta (mother my) and not ta uwa (my mother) like in English?

In Hausa, possessives follow the noun:

• uwa ta – mother my
• gida na – house my
• littafinsa – book his

So where English has “my mother”, Hausa literally says “mother my”.

The general pattern is:

• [noun] + [possessive pronoun]

Examples:

• uwa ta – my mother
• uwarka – your (m.sg) mother
• gidanku – your (pl) house
• yaransu – their children

So uwa ta is just the normal “noun + possessor” order in Hausa.

Should uwa ta really be written as two words, or is uwata more correct?

Both styles are seen:

• uwata (one word)
• uwa ta (two words)

Functionally they are the same thing: my mother.

In more formal / standard writing, possessive pronouns are very often attached to the noun:

• uwata – my mother
• gidana – my house
• motarka – your (m.sg) car

Some teaching materials separate them (like uwa ta) because it makes it easier for beginners to see the noun and the pronoun as two pieces.

So uwa ta in your sentence is fine; just be aware you will frequently see uwata as a single word in other texts.

Could uwa ta also mean “her mother” instead of “my mother”?

In this exact form, uwa ta is understood as “my mother”.

To say “her mother”, Hausa normally uses a linking consonant ‑r‑ between uwa and ta:

• uwar ta or uwarta – her mother

So:

• uwa ta → my mother
• uwarta / uwar ta → her mother

Because your sentence has uwa ta (without that linking r), and the overall context is 1st person (Ni zan…), the intended meaning is “my mother”.

Why is it a waya and not ta waya or da waya for “on / by phone”?

Hausa has several prepositions that can appear with waya (phone):

• a waya – literally “on/at the phone”; often used for being on the phone / via phone.
• ta waya – literally “through the phone”; very commonly used for “by phone / over the phone” as a means.
• da waya – literally “with a phone”; can mean using a phone as an instrument.

In everyday speech, both a waya and ta waya can translate as “on the phone / by phone”, with only a slight nuance:

• a waya leans a bit toward location / situation (“on the phone”).
• ta waya leans toward means / channel (“by phone”).

Your sentence with a waya is natural and easily understood as “on the phone / by phone”.

What does the special letter ƙ in saƙo represent, and how do I pronounce it?

Hausa distinguishes between k and ƙ:

• k – an ordinary [k] sound (like in English “cat”).
• ƙ – a glottalic / ejective k sound, written with a dot below.

To approximate ƙ:

• Start as if you will say k,
• But build up more pressure and release it more sharply, a kind of “popping” k.

For many English speakers, pronouncing ƙ as a very strong k is close enough at first.

The difference can change meaning:

• sako vs saƙo – different words
• kasa vs ƙasa – ground vs country, etc.

In saƙo, you want the strong ejective k-sound in the middle.

How would the sentence change if I wanted to say “You (singular) will receive a message from your mother on the phone”?

For “you (male) will receive…”:

• Kai za ka karɓi saƙo daga uwarka a waya.

For “you (female) will receive…”:

• Ke za ki karɓi saƙo daga uwarki a waya.

Breakdown of the first one:

• Kai – you (male, emphatic)
• za ka – you (m.sg) will
• karɓi saƙo – receive a message
• daga uwarka – from your (m.sg) mother
• a waya – on the phone

You can also drop Kai / Ke for a less emphatic version:

• Za ka karɓi saƙo daga uwarka a waya.
• Za ki karɓi saƙo daga uwarki a waya.