Ya ce ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi da dama a duniya.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Ya – he (3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun)

• ce – said
  → ya ce = he said

• ilimi – knowledge / education (subject of the next clause)

• yana – it is (currently / generally) doing…

  • ya = he/it (masc)
  • na = progressive / continuous marker
    → together: yana = is (doing), often used for present/habitual
• buɗe – to open / opens
• ƙofofi – doors (plural of ƙofa "door")
• da dama – many, several, plenty of
• a – in, at (preposition)
• duniya – world

So the structure is:

Ya ce | ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi da dama a duniya
He said | knowledge is opening / opens many doors in the world.

• ya = he (3rd person masculine singular)
• ce = said

Together ya ce = “he said”.

This is a typical way to introduce reported speech or a statement someone made. Hausa word order is subject–verb–object, so the subject pronoun ya comes first, then the verb ce:

• Ya ce – He said…
• Sun ce – They said…
• Na ce – I said…

The thing he said follows as a full clause:
Ya ce [ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi da dama a duniya].

Ya ce is grammatically masculine and normally means “he said.”

For “she said”, Hausa uses the feminine pronoun:

• Ta ce – She said.

However, in some contexts, if the gender is not important or is already understood, speakers may not always stress the distinction, but strictly speaking:

• ya = he / it (masc)
• ta = she / it (fem)

So if you specifically mean she, you should use ta ce.

Yes. In the second clause, ilimi is the subject:

• ilimi – knowledge/education
• yana buɗe ƙofofi da dama a duniya – opens many doors in the world.

So the structure is:

• Subject: ilimi (knowledge)
• Verb phrase: yana buɗe (is opening / opens)
• Object: ƙofofi da dama (many doors)
• Adverbial (place): a duniya (in the world)

Even though ya was the subject of ce (he said), ilimi is the subject of the inner statement he said.

• ya buɗe = he/it opened (simple past / completed action).
• yana buɗe = he/it is opening or he/it opens (generally / habitually).

Here, yana marks a progressive / ongoing / habitual aspect:

• ya (he/it) + na (progressive marker) → yana

In this sentence, the idea is a general truth:

• ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi – knowledge opens (habitually) doors.

Using ya buɗe here would sound like a single, completed event:
“Knowledge opened many doors in the world (on one occasion).”
That’s not the intended meaning, so yana is used.

buɗe is a verb meaning “to open / to unlock.”

Common uses:

• buɗe ƙofa – open the door
• buɗe littafi – open a book

In this sentence:

• ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi
  literally: knowledge is opening doors
  idiomatically: knowledge opens doors / creates opportunities.

It’s used transitively here (takes an object: ƙofofi “doors”).

• ƙofa – door (singular)
• ƙofofi – doors (plural)

Hausa often forms the plural by changing the vowel pattern and sometimes adding -i:

• gida – house → gidaje – houses
• mutum – person → mutane – people
• ƙofa – door → ƙofofi – doors

So ƙofofi is simply the plural form used because we are talking about many doors.

In ƙofofi da dama, the phrase da dama together means “many, several, plenty (of)”.

• da on its own often means “and / with / having.”
• dama literally can mean opportunity / chance in other contexts, but in this frozen expression da dama it functions as “many / a lot of.”

So:

• ƙofofi da dama = many doors / lots of doors.

You don’t translate da as “and” here; instead, treat da dama as one chunk: “many.”

• a is a preposition, usually meaning “in, at, on.”
• duniya means “world”, and also more broadly this world / earthly life.

Together:

• a duniya = “in the world.”

So:

• ƙofofi da dama a duniya – many doors in the world.

a here simply marks location, just like English “in.”

Yes, it can stand alone as a complete sentence:

• Ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi da dama a duniya.
  Knowledge opens many doors in the world.

In the original full sentence:

• Ya ce [ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi da dama a duniya].

Ya ce introduces what someone said; the part in brackets is itself a full clause.

yana buɗe is a progressive / continuous or habitual form:

• Literally: is opening
• In context of a general truth, it corresponds to English “opens” (simple present used for general facts).

So:

• ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi
  — literally: knowledge is opening doors
  — idiomatically: knowledge opens doors.

Hausa uses pronoun + na/ta/ke … to mark this kind of ongoing/habitual aspect:

• Yana aiki. – He is working / He works (as a habit).
• Ilimi yana buɗe ƙofofi. – Knowledge opens doors.

These are implosive consonants, different from plain k and d:

• ƙ: an implosive k sound

  • Pull a little air inward while making a k.
  • It’s sharper and “deeper” than normal k.
  • ƙofofi starts with this sound.

• ɗ: an implosive d sound

  • Tongue position like d, but with a slight inward gulp of air.
  • buɗe uses this sound in the middle.

They are distinct phonemes in Hausa, so ƙ ≠ k, and ɗ ≠ d. Mispronouncing them usually doesn’t stop people from understanding you, but it’s good to learn the contrast.