Ni ina da muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa.

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Questions & Answers about Ni ina da muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa.

Why are both Ni and ina used to mean “I”? Isn’t that redundant?

In Hausa, Ni and ina are not doing exactly the same job, even though both relate to “I”.

  • Ni is an independent pronoun: “I / me”.
  • ina here is part of the verb phrase ina da = “I have”.

So:

  • Ina da muradi… = “I have a desire…”
  • Ni ina da muradi… = “As for me, I have a desire…”

Adding Ni puts a bit of emphasis or contrast on the subject:

  • Ni ina da muradin… – “I, personally, have the desire… (maybe others don’t).”
  • Ina da muradin… – a plain statement, “I have the desire…”

You can drop Ni and the sentence is still correct Hausa, just slightly less emphatic:
Ina da muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa.

What does ina da literally mean, and why is it used for “have”?

In this context:

  • ina = “I am (in a state of)”
  • da = “with”

Literally, ina da is like saying “I am with …”, which is how Hausa typically expresses possession.

Examples:

  • Ina da kudi. – “I have money.” (literally “I am with money.”)
  • Ina da yara uku. – “I have three children.”
  • Ina da muradi. – “I have a desire.”

So Ni ina da muradin… = “I have the desire…”

What is muradin exactly? Why does it end in -n?

The base noun is muradi = “desire, wish, ambition”.

When muradi is followed by another word that it “owns” or governs, it usually takes a linking -n (a genitive/possessive linker), forming muradin:

  • muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye
    literally: “the desire of (that) I (should) do travels”

This -n is like the “of” in English when you say “the desire to travel / of travelling”. In Hausa, muradin + clause is a very natural way to say “the desire to do X”:

  • muradin in karanta Hausa – the desire to study Hausa
  • muradin in taimaki mutane – the desire to help people
What does in yi mean? How is it different from zan yi?
  • yi is “to do / to make”.
  • in here is a subjunctive marker meaning roughly “that I (should)…”.

So:

  • muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye
    ≈ “the desire that I should do travels” → “the desire to travel”.

in yi is not a future tense; it’s more like an intended or desired action, often after verbs or nouns of wanting, needing, etc.

Compare:

  • Zan yi tafiye-tafiye. – “I will travel.” (future fact / plan)
  • Ina da muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye. – “I have the desire to travel.” (talks about your wish, not about a decided plan)

So in marks a subordinate clause of desire/purpose, not simple future.

Why is tafiye-tafiye repeated? What’s the difference between tafiyayya / tafiya and tafiye-tafiye?

Hausa often uses reduplication (repeating a word or part of it) to show:

  • plurality
  • repeated / frequent actions
  • a more general or broad sense.

Here:

  • tafiya (also tafiyayya in some dialects) = a (single) journey / trip.
  • tafiye-tafiye = trips, travels, travelling around (more than one, or in general).

So:

  • Ina son tafiya. – “I like (going on) a trip / travelling (in general, but grammatically singular).”
  • Ina son tafiye-tafiye. – “I like travelling around / going on (various) trips.”

In your sentence, in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya suggests multiple journeys / travelling around the world, not just one trip.

What does a duniya mean, and what does a do here?
  • duniya = “the world”.
  • a is a preposition usually meaning “in / at / on (a place)”.

So a duniya = “in the world” / “around the world / worldwide” depending on context.

Examples:

  • a gida – at home, in the house
  • a kasuwa – at the market
  • a duniya – in the world

In this sentence, in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya ≈ “to travel (around) the world”.

What does in ga mean here? Isn’t ga usually a preposition like “to / towards”?

ga can be two different things in Hausa:

  1. As a verb: contracted form of gani = “to see”.
  2. As a preposition: “to, towards, here is/are”.

Here, it is the verb “see”:

  • in = subjunctive “that I (should)”
  • ga = see

So in ga = “that I (may) see” / “to see”.

Full sequence:

  • in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa
    = “to travel around the world to see how people live.”
Why is there no don or domin before in ga (like “in order to see”)?

You can say:

  • …in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya don in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa.

Here, don or domin means “in order to / so that / for the purpose that”.

But Hausa often omits don/domin when the subjunctive clause already clearly expresses purpose, especially when you have a sequence of in + verb:

  • in yi … in ga … = “to do … to see …”

So both are correct:

  • in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya in ga yadda… (more streamlined)
  • in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya don in ga yadda… (makes the purpose even more explicit)

The meaning is practically the same: “travel the world in order to see how people live.”

What does yadda mean in this sentence?

yadda means “how, the way that, the manner in which”.

It introduces a clause describing manner:

  • yadda mutane ke rayuwa = “how people live / the way people live”.

You see yadda often with verbs of seeing, knowing, etc.:

  • Na ga yadda yake aiki. – I saw how he works.
  • Ina son sanin yadda kake rayuwa. – I want to know how you live.

So the part in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa literally is “that I (may) see how people live.”

Why is it mutane ke rayuwa and not mutane suna rayuwa?

Both suna and ke are aspect markers that can go with a verb like rayuwa:

  • mutane suna rayuwa – “people are living / people live”
  • mutane ke rayuwa – also “people live / are living”

But they are used in different structures:

  • suna is the plain progressive/habitual: “are doing / usually do”.
  • ke is often used in focus constructions or relative-like clauses, including those introduced by yadda, inda, lokacin da, etc.

Because your clause is embedded under yadda (“how”), Hausa prefers ke here:

  • yadda mutane ke rayuwa – how people live / the way people live.

If you say yadda mutane suna rayuwa, it can be understandable, but ke is more natural and grammatically aligned with this kind of “how/where/when” clause.

Is rayuwa a noun (“life”) or a verb (“to live”) in this sentence?

rayuwa can function as both:

  • as a noun: “life”
  • as a verbal noun / continuous verb form: “living, to live”

Here, with an aspect marker ke, it functions as a verb:

  • mutane ke rayuwa – people are living / people live.

Compare:

  • Rayuwa ba ta da sauki. – Life is not easy. (noun)
  • Mutane ke rayuwa a wannan gari. – People live in this town. (verb-like use)

So in yadda mutane ke rayuwa, it’s best understood as “how people live”.

Can I drop Ni and just say Ina da muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa?

Yes. That sentence is perfectly correct and very natural.

  • Ni ina da… – slightly more emphatic or contrastive: “As for me, I have…”
  • Ina da… – neutral statement: “I have…”

Use Ni if you want to highlight yourself in contrast to others, or if it’s the start of a more personal statement:

  • Ni ina da muradin… – “Me, I have the desire…”

In everyday conversation, many speakers would simply say:

  • Ina da muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya in ga yadda mutane ke rayuwa.
Could I replace muradin with another word like burin? Would it change the meaning?

Yes, you could say:

  • Ina da burin in yi tafiye-tafiye a duniya…

buri (linking form burin) also means “aim, goal, ambition, aspiration”.

Nuance:

  • muradi – more general desire / wish, can be big or small.
  • buri – often a bit stronger, more like a life goal / ambition.

So:

  • muradin in yi tafiye-tafiye… – “the desire to travel…”
  • burin in yi tafiye-tafiye… – “the ambition / goal to travel…”

Both are natural; buri can sound a bit more serious or long-term.