Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ya kamata mu yi amfani da shafukan sada zumunta don ƙarfafa zumunta, ba don cin zarafin mutane ba. - We should use social media to strengthen relationships, not to abuse people.

ya is historically a perfective marker (3rd person masculine), but in this fixed phrase it doesn’t change with gender or number.
kamata means appropriateness / suitability.

Together ya kamata behaves like an impersonal modal expression:

Ya kamata mu… = We should… / It is proper that we…
Ya kamata ka tafi. = You should go.

In everyday speech, learners can treat ya kamata as a single chunk meaning should / ought to.

Why do we have both mu and yi in mu yi amfani da? Aren’t they both “we”?

In mu yi amfani da…, mu and yi have different roles:

mu = we, but here it also marks subjunctive/jussive (a kind of “let’s / should” form).
yi is the bare verb to do / to make.

The pattern is:

mu
- (bare verb) = let’s / we should [verb]
  - mu tafi = let’s go / we should go
  - mu karanta = let’s read / we should read
  - mu yi amfani da… = let’s use / we should use…

So mu is the subject + mood marker, and yi is the actual verb “do”.

How does yi amfani da mean “to use”? Is there a single verb for “use” in Hausa?

Hausa often uses light verb constructions instead of a single verb.

yi = to do / to make
amfani = use, benefit, usefulness
da = with

So yi amfani da X literally is “do/make use with X”, i.e. to use X / to make use of X.

Examples:

Ina yin amfani da wayata. = I am using my phone.
Mu yi amfani da wannan dama. = Let’s use this opportunity.

There are other verbs that can mean “use” in specific contexts, but yi amfani da is the most general and common way to say to use.

What exactly are shafukan sada zumunta? How is this phrase built?

Shafukan sada zumunta is a noun phrase meaning social media sites/pages.

Breakdown:

shafi = page (webpage, book page, etc.)
shafuka = pages (plural)
shafuka-n = the pages of… (the -n links it to what follows, like of)
sada = from a verb meaning roughly to connect / to communicate
zumunta = kinship, relationship, social ties

So:

shafukan sada zumunta ≈ pages/sites of social connecting, i.e. social media platforms.

It’s a standard modern Hausa way to refer broadly to social media or social networking sites.

What does sada zumunta literally mean, and why does it refer to social media?

Literal meaning:

sada = connecting / communicating / linking
zumunta = relations, social/kinship ties

So sada zumunta is literally something like connecting relationships / connecting social ties.

In modern usage, this expression has been extended to digital contexts:

shafukan sada zumunta = social networking / social media sites
manhajojin sada zumunta = social media apps

So learners can remember sada zumunta as the Hausa way of saying social networking / social connection, both offline and online, but in this sentence it clearly targets social media.

What form is ƙarfafa? Is it a verb, and how is it related to ƙarfi?

ƙarfafa is a verb meaning to strengthen, to reinforce, to encourage.

It is derived from:

ƙarfi = strength, power
ƙarfafa = to give strength / to make strong / to strengthen

So in don ƙarfafa zumunta:

ƙarfafa = to strengthen
zumunta = relationships, social ties

Together: don ƙarfafa zumunta = in order to strengthen relationships / to strengthen our social ties.

What does zumunta mean in this context?

Zumunta refers to social ties or relationships, often with a feeling of closeness or kinship. It can cover:

Family relations
Friendships
Community connections

In this sentence ƙarfafa zumunta means to strengthen relationships / social bonds, not just with blood relatives but with people we are socially connected to.

What does cin zarafin mutane literally mean, and how does it end up meaning “abusing people”?

Breakdown:

ci = to eat, but also used idiomatically in many expressions.
cin = the act of eating / taking / committing (verbal noun of ci).
zarafi = oppression, abuse, violation, insult, humiliation.
mutane = people.
mutane-n or mutane (here) = of people / people’s.

So cin zarafi is a fixed idiom that means abuse, oppression, violation, mistreatment (literally something like “eating/committing zarafi”).

Then:

cin zarafin mutane = the abusing/mistreating of people / abusing people.

So the sentence contrasts:

don ƙarfafa zumunta = to strengthen relationships
ba don cin zarafin mutane ba = not to abuse people.

Why is ba used twice (before and after) in ba don cin zarafin mutane ba?

The pattern ba … ba is a common way to mark negation in Hausa.

In this phrase:

don cin zarafin mutane = for / in order to abuse people
ba don cin zarafin mutane ba = not for abusing people / not for the purpose of abusing people

Putting ba at the beginning and at the end of the phrase wraps the whole purpose phrase in negation and gives it emphasis. It’s similar in feel to:

“not for abusing people (at all)”

So here, the negative ba … ba applies specifically to the purpose introduced by don.

What role does don play in don ƙarfafa zumunta and don cin zarafin mutane?

don (often from older domìn) is a preposition that commonly means:

for
for the sake of
in order to
sometimes because of

In this sentence it introduces the purpose:

don ƙarfafa zumunta = in order to strengthen relationships
(ba) don cin zarafin mutane (ba) = (not) in order to abuse people

So don + verbal noun / verb-like form is a very typical way to express purpose / reason, like to / in order to in English.

Could we say Ya kamata a yi amfani da shafukan sada zumunta… instead of Ya kamata mu yi amfani da…? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is possible, and it slightly changes the nuance.

Ya kamata mu yi amfani da…
- Literally: We should use…
- Explicitly says “we”; inclusive and direct.
Ya kamata a yi amfani da…
- a here is an impersonal/passive-like marker.
- Roughly: It should be used… / One should use… / People should use…
- Less direct, more general; it doesn’t point specifically to us.

In advice or moral statements aimed at everyone, both forms are common. The original sentence is more explicitly self-including (we).

Is the word order fixed? Could we move ba don cin zarafin mutane ba earlier in the sentence?

Hausa word order is relatively flexible for purpose phrases, though the most natural position is often after the main clause.

Original:

Ya kamata mu yi amfani da shafukan sada zumunta don ƙarfafa zumunta, ba don cin zarafin mutane ba.

You could also say, for example:

Ya kamata mu yi amfani da shafukan sada zumunta, ba don cin zarafin mutane ba, sai don ƙarfafa zumunta.
(We should use social media not to abuse people, but to strengthen relationships.)

However:

You normally keep ya kamata + [clause] together.
The ba … ba negative purpose phrase usually stays close to the don phrase it is contrasting with.

So while you can reorder the two don phrases for emphasis, splitting them too far apart or placing ba don cin zarafin mutane ba at the very beginning would sound marked or awkward in everyday speech.