Uwa ta ce tana so ki nuna tarbiya a gaban baƙi.

Mother said she wants you (feminine) to show good manners in front of guests.

Breakdown of Uwa ta ce tana so ki nuna tarbiya a gaban baƙi.

• ne: to be
• so: to want
• nuna: to show
• uwa: the mother
• ki: you (feminine)
• ce: to say
• a gaban: in front of
• baƙo: the guest
• tarbiya: the good manners

Questions & Answers about Uwa ta ce tana so ki nuna tarbiya a gaban baƙi.

In Uwa ta ce…, does uwa mean mother in general, or specifically my mother / the mother?

Uwa is the common noun mother. On its own it can mean:

• a/the mother in a neutral way, or
• Mum / my mother in everyday speech, when it’s clear from context (like using “Mum” as a name in English).

If you want to be explicit, you can say:

• uwata or uwa ta – my mother
• uwar sa – his mother
• uwar ta – her mother

In many real-life contexts, Uwa ta ce… is naturally understood as Mum said… about your own mother.

What exactly is ta ce doing here, and why is the order ta ce (she said) and not ce ta?

Ta ce is:

• ta – 3rd person singular feminine subject marker (she)
• ce – verb to say

So ta ce = she said.

Hausa word order in a normal verb clause is Subject marker + Verb, so:

• ta ce = she said
• ya ce = he said
• sun ce = they said

Putting ce ta would be ungrammatical in this context. (There is another ce used as a copula, but that’s a different function and not what’s happening here.)

What does tana in ta ce tana so… actually mean?

Tana is a combination of:

• ta – 3rd person feminine subject marker (she)
• na – imperfective/progressive aspect

So tana so literally is she is wanting / she wants / she likes.

In this sentence:

• ta ce tana so… ≈ she said she wants…

The imperfective tana so is the normal way to talk about present or general desire/liking in Hausa. You don’t need a separate word for “is” here; na already gives that ongoing/general sense.

In tana so ki nuna, what does ki mean and why is it there?

Ki is the 2nd person singular feminine subject marker. Here it marks the subject of the verb nuna (to show):

• ki nuna = that you (fem.) should show

The structure is:

• tana so – she wants
• ki nuna tarbiya – you (fem.) to show good behaviour

So the whole bit tana so ki nuna… is she wants you (female) to show….

If the person being addressed were male, you would use ka instead:

• tana so ka nuna tarbiya – she wants you (male) to show good behaviour.

Is ki definitely feminine here? How would it change if the speaker was talking to a boy instead of a girl?

Yes, ki is clearly 2nd person singular feminine.

Hausa subject markers for you (singular) are:

• ka – you (male)
• ki – you (female)

So:

• To a girl: tana so ki nuna tarbiya a gaban baƙi.
• To a boy: tana so ka nuna tarbiya a gaban baƙi.

This gender distinction is obligatory in standard Hausa; native speakers notice immediately whether you used ka or ki.

Is ki nuna functioning like a command? How is it different from a direct command in Hausa?

Ki nuna here is not a direct command; it’s part of a reported desire:

• tana so ki nuna tarbiya – she wants you to show good behaviour

Grammatically, ki nuna is in the jussive/subjunctive form: that you should show.

Compare:

• Ki nuna tarbiya! – direct command to a girl: Show good behaviour!
• Uwa ta ce ki nuna tarbiya. – Mother said you should show good behaviour.
• Uwa ta ce tana so ki nuna tarbiya. – Mother said she wants you to show good behaviour.

So ki nuna here is softer and more indirect than a bare imperative; it’s embedded under tana so (“wants”).

What does tarbiya mean? Is it just manners, or something broader?

Tarbiya is broader than just “please” and “thank you”. It includes:

• good upbringing / proper training at home
• good behaviour, discipline, moral conduct
• respectfulness, politeness, self-control

So nuna tarbiya is like show that you’ve been well brought up; behave properly. It’s a culturally loaded word that covers manners, respect, and general good conduct.

Is nuna tarbiya an idiomatic expression? How else could you say behave yourself or show good behaviour?

Yes, nuna tarbiya is a very natural, idiomatic phrase meaning show good upbringing / behave properly.

Other close expressions include:

• ki yi halin kirki – behave well / show good character
• ki yi hankali – be sensible / be careful how you act
• ki zauna da ladabi – behave with respect/politeness
• ki nuna ladabi – show politeness/respect

But nuna tarbiya specifically highlights the idea that your behaviour reflects your upbringing.

What does a gaban literally mean in a gaban baƙi?

Breakdown:

• a – preposition at / in / on / in the presence of
• gaba – front
• gaban X – the front of X / in front of X

So a gaban baƙi is literally at the front of the guests, idiomatically in front of the guests / in the presence of the guests.

Other examples:

• a gaban mahaifinka – in front of your father
• kar ka yi ƙarya a gaban kowa – don’t lie in front of everyone

What does baƙi mean here, and how is it different from other words spelled like baki?

Here baƙi (with ƙ) means guests (plural).

Hausa has several similar-looking words:

• báki – mouth
• báƙi – guests (plural of baƙo “guest/stranger”)
• bàkì – black (adjective, sometimes written the same as baki)

In standard writing, they are usually not distinguished by tone marks, so context is crucial. In this sentence, a gaban baƙi can only reasonably mean in front of guests, not “in front of mouths” or “in front of blacks”.

Could we say a gabansu instead of a gaban baƙi? Would it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say a gabansu, and it is very close in meaning.

• a gaban baƙi – in front of (the) guests
• a gabansu – in front of them

If it’s already clear from context who they are (the guests), a gabansu is natural:

• Uwa ta ce tana so ki nuna tarbiya a gabansu.

Both are fine; a gaban baƙi explicitly names them as guests, while a gabansu just uses a pronoun.

Are ta ce and ta faɗa interchangeable? Could I say Uwa ta faɗa tana so…?

Both ce and faɗa can mean to say, but they are used a bit differently.

• ta ce – very common, especially in reported speech.
• ta faɗa – also “she said / she told (it)”, but faɗa can feel a bit more like utter / state / tell; in some contexts it sounds slightly more formal or emphatic.

You can say:

• Uwa ta ce tana so ki nuna tarbiya… – Mother said she wants you to show good behaviour…
• Uwa ta faɗa cewa tana so ki nuna tarbiya… – Mother stated/said that she wants you to show good behaviour…

If you use faɗa, you very often add cewa (“that”): ta faɗa cewa…. With ce, cewa is optional and often omitted.

Could we drop tana so and just say Uwa ta ce ki nuna tarbiya a gaban baƙi? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

• Uwa ta ce ki nuna tarbiya a gaban baƙi.

This is perfectly correct and a bit more direct. Compare:

• Uwa ta ce ki nuna tarbiya… – Mother said you should show good behaviour… (a direct reported instruction)
• Uwa ta ce tana so ki nuna tarbiya… – Mother said she wants you to show good behaviour… (reported desire; slightly softer/indirect)

Both are natural; the version with tana so sounds a bit more like sharing her wish, not just passing on an order.