Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ina so ka yi tunani kafin ka yanke shawara. - I want you masculine to think before you make a decision.

In this sentence, Ina so ka yi tunani... is best understood as I want you to think...
so is the verb to want / to like / to love, and ina is the 1st person singular continuous marker (I am in a broad sense).

Context decides whether it feels more like want or like. With another verb following (Ina so ka yi...), it almost always means I want (you) to...

Why do we say Ina so ka yi tunani and not something like Ina so kai tunani?

Hausa needs both a subject pronoun and a verb for the second action:

ka = masculine singular you (as a subject pronoun)
yi = a form of the verb to do / make

So:

ka yi tunani ≈ (that) you think, literally you do thought.

You cannot just put kai (the independent pronoun you) before tunani. You must have a verb there (yi), and that verb needs the subject marker ka:

✅ ka yi tunani
❌ kai tunani (ungrammatical in this meaning)

What is the function of ka in ka yi tunani and ka yanke shawara?

ka is the subject pronoun for “you” (masculine singular) in this verb form.

In both:

ka yi tunani – you (should) think
ka yanke shawara – you (should) decide

ka marks who is doing the action: you.
If you were speaking to a woman, you would use ki:

Ina so ki yi tunani kafin ki yanke shawara.
(I want you (fem.) to think before you decide.)

Why is it yi tunani and not just a single verb for to think?

Hausa often uses verb + noun combinations where English uses a single verb.

yi = do / make
tunani = thought / thinking

So yi tunani literally means to do thought, and together they function as to think / to reflect / to consider.

This is very normal in Hausa:
other examples include yi magana (do speech) = to speak, yi aiki (do work) = to work.

What does kafin mean, and how does it work in the sentence?

kafin means before in a time sense.

The structure is:

kafin + (subject pronoun) + verb phrase

In the sentence:

kafin ka yanke shawara
= before you decide (literally: before you cut decision)

So the whole sentence is structured as:

Ina so [ka yi tunani] [kafin ka yanke shawara].
→ I want you to think before you decide.

Why is ka repeated after kafin? Could we drop it?

It is normal and required in standard Hausa to repeat the subject marker in the second clause:

ka yi tunani – you think
kafin ka yanke shawara – before you decide

Each clause has its own subject marker ka. You cannot drop it and say kafin yanke shawara if you mean before you decide.

You can say kafin yanke shawara in some contexts, but then it sounds more like a general phrase (“before deciding / before making a decision”), not clearly tied to you as the subject. For clear, personal address, kafin ka yanke shawara is better.

What does yanke shawara literally mean, and why is it used for to decide?

yanke shawara is another verb–noun combination:

yanke = to cut
shawara = advice / consultation / decision

Literally, it’s something like to cut a decision / to cut advice, but as an idiom it simply means to decide / to make a decision.

So:

ka yanke shawara = you (should) make a decision / you decide.

Is Ina so ka yi tunani kafin ka yanke shawara more like a request or just stating a preference?

In context, Ina so ka yi tunani... often functions as a polite but firm request or advice, very close to:

I want you to think before you decide.
Please think before you decide. (depending on tone and context)

Compared to a bare command:

Ka yi tunani kafin ka yanke shawara. (Think before you decide.)

Adding Ina so softens it and highlights the speaker’s desire or wish, which can sound more polite or caring.

How would this sentence change if I were speaking to a woman instead of a man?

You would change ka (masculine you) to ki (feminine you):

Ina so ki yi tunani kafin ki yanke shawara.

So:

Masculine: Ina so ka yi tunani kafin ka yanke shawara.
Feminine: Ina so ki yi tunani kafin ki yanke shawara.
Plural / polite: Ina so ku yi tunani kafin ku yanke shawara. (to several people)

Can Ina so take other verb phrases the same way as ka yi tunani?

Yes. Ina so can be followed by many verb phrases using the same pattern:

Ina so ka zo. – I want you to come.
Ina so ka ci abinci. – I want you to eat.
Ina so ka karanta littafi. – I want you to read a book.
Ina so ka saurare ni. – I want you to listen to me.

The general pattern is:

Ina so + (subject pronoun) + verb phrase
→ I want (that) X do Y.

How would I say I wanted you to think before you decided in Hausa?

You change Ina so (I want) to Na so (I wanted):

Na so ka yi tunani kafin ka yanke shawara.

Here:

Na so = I wanted
ka yi tunani = you (should) think
kafin ka yanke shawara = before you decided / before you make a decision

This can refer to past time depending on context.

Is there a negative version of this sentence that means Don’t decide without thinking?

To express Don’t decide without thinking, Hausa usually changes the structure rather than just negating Ina so.

A natural version is:

Kar ka yanke shawara ba tare da ka yi tunani ba.
(Masculine “you”)

Literally: Don’t make a decision without you having thought.

For a woman:

Kar ki yanke shawara ba tare da ki yi tunani ba.

This keeps the same idea: make sure you think before you decide.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move kafin ka yanke shawara to the front?

You can put the kafin-clause first for emphasis, and it’s still correct:

Kafin ka yanke shawara, ina so ka yi tunani.

Meaning stays the same: Before you decide, I want you to think.

Both orders are natural:

Ina so ka yi tunani kafin ka yanke shawara.
Kafin ka yanke shawara, ina so ka yi tunani.

Choice depends mainly on what you want to emphasize.