Learn Hardcore Hausa: Malami yana koya mana yadda za mu yi sadarwa da girmamawa, ko kan layi ko a zahiri. - The teacher is teaching us how we will communicate with respect, whether online or in person.

Malami ya koya mana… – this usually sounds like a completed one‑time action: “The teacher taught us…”
Malami koya mana… – incomplete; you normally need a subject pronoun or tense/aspect marker.

So yana koya expresses an ongoing or regular action, while ya koya is more like a finished past event.

Why is it mana and not mu for “us” in yana koya mana?

Hausa distinguishes between subject pronouns and object / indirect object forms.

mu = “we” as subject
- e.g. mu za mu tafi – “we will go”
mana = “to us / for us” as indirect object
- e.g. yana koya mana – “he is teaching (to) us”

In Malami yana koya mana…:

Malami = subject (the teacher)
yana koya = “is teaching”
mana = “to us / for us” (who receives the teaching)

So mana is the correct form because “us” here is not doing the action; we are receiving it.

What does yadda za mu yi sadarwa literally mean, and why do we need yi there?

Literal breakdown:

yadda = “how / the way that”
za mu = “we will / we are going to” (future/irrealis: za
- mu)
yi = “do / make”
sadarwa = “communication” (verbal noun)

So yadda za mu yi sadarwa is literally:

“how we will do communication”

In natural English we say: “how we will communicate”.

Why yi?

Hausa often uses yi (“do”) together with a verbal noun like sadarwa.
yi sadarwa = “to do communication” → “to communicate”

So the structure yi + verbal noun is a common way to form a verb-like phrase:

yi magana – do speech → “to speak”
yi aiki – do work → “to work”
yi sadarwa – do communication → “to communicate”

That’s why yi is needed before sadarwa in this sentence.

Could you say yadda za mu sadarwa or yadda za mu sadar instead of yadda za mu yi sadarwa?

No, yadda za mu sadarwa is ungrammatical, and sadar by itself isn’t the usual simple verb “to communicate”.

Correct patterns are:

Using yi + verbal noun (most common and simple here):
- za mu yi sadarwa – we will communicate
Using a related verb with an object (more specific):
- za mu sadar da juna – we will connect / communicate with each other
  (here sadar da has a causative/“cause to reach” flavor)

So in your sentence, the natural form is exactly:

yadda za mu yi sadarwa – “how we will communicate”

You normally can’t just stick za mu directly in front of sadarwa (a noun) without yi.

What exactly does sadarwa mean? Is it a noun or a verb?

Sadarwa is a verbal noun (a noun derived from a verb).

Root verb: related to sadar da (to cause to reach, to connect, to convey)
Verbal noun: sadarwa = “communication” / “communicating”

So:

As a noun:
- Sadarwa tana da muhimmanci. – “Communication is important.”
With yi to act like a verb:
- mu yi sadarwa – “let’s communicate”
- za mu yi sadarwa – “we will communicate”

In your sentence, it’s this second pattern: yi sadarwa = “to communicate”.

What does da girmamawa add to the meaning? How does da work here?

girmamawa = “respect” / “honoring” (verbal noun from girmama – to respect, to honor)
da in this position often means “with / in a … way”, marking manner.

So yi sadarwa da girmamawa is literally:

“do communication with respect”

Functionally, it means:

“to communicate respectfully / in a respectful way”

This is a common Hausa pattern:

yi magana da nutsuwa – speak with calmness → “speak calmly”
yi aiki da gaskiya – work with truth → “work honestly”
yi sadarwa da girmamawa – communicate with respect → “communicate respectfully”

What part of speech is girmamawa, and is it related to any other common word?

Girmamawa is a verbal noun.

From the verb girmama – “to respect / to honor”
Related to the adjective girama / girma (big, important, great), and girma as a noun meaning “greatness / height / seniority”.

Forms:

girmama (verb) – to respect
girmamawa (verbal noun) – respecting / respect (the act or quality)

Usage:

girmamawa ga iyaye – respect for parents
a yi girmamawa ga malamai – let respect be shown to teachers

What does ko kan layi ko a zahiri literally mean, and what’s the difference between kan and a here?

Literal meanings:

ko … ko … = “either … or … / whether … or …”
kan layi:
- kan = “on (top of)” / “on”
- layi = “line”
- So literally: “on (the) line” → idiomatically: “online”
a zahiri:
- a = “in / at”
- zahiri = outward / visible / obvious → by extension: “in person / physically”
- So literally: “in the visible / in the physical (world)” → “in person / physically”

Difference between kan and a here:

kan usually means “on, on top of, upon”
- kan tebur – on the table
- kan hanya – on the road
- metaphorically: kan layi – on (the) line → online
a is a general preposition for “in/at/on” depending on context:
- a gida – at home
- a kasuwa – in the market
- a zahiri – in (the) physical/outward realm → in person

So ko kan layi ko a zahiri = “whether online or in person”.

Is kan layi the usual way to say “online” in Hausa?

Kan layi is a very common, everyday way to say “online”, especially in informal or semi-formal speech.

You may also see:

a yanar gizo – literally “on the spider’s web” → on the web / online (more technical/formal)
ta/ta hanyar intanet – via the internet

But in normal conversation:

kan layi is widely used and easily understood:
- karatu kan layi – online studies
- taro kan layi – online meeting
- kasuwanci kan layi – online business

Does Malami mean “a teacher” or “the teacher”? There is no word like “the” in Hausa, so how do we know?

Hausa normally doesn’t use articles like “a / an / the”. The bare noun can mean either, depending on context.

Malami can be:
- “a teacher” (indefinite)
- “the teacher” (definite, a known one)
The meaning is inferred from:
- the broader context
- what has been mentioned earlier
- shared knowledge between speakers

In your sentence, English prefers:

“The teacher is teaching us how to communicate respectfully…”

So we translate Malami as “the teacher” because it sounds like we are talking about a particular teacher (e.g., in a class you already know). Hausa itself does not mark that definiteness explicitly here.

How does za mu yi work? Why do we need mu after za?

Hausa future/irrealis is usually built like this:

za + subject pronoun + verb

Examples:

za ni tafi – I will go
za ka tafi – you (m. sg.) will go
za ki tafi – you (f. sg.) will go
za mu tafi – we will go
za su tafi – they will go

In your sentence:

za = future/irrealis marker
mu = “we” (subject pronoun)
yi = do

So:

za mu yi sadarwa – we will do communication → we will communicate

You can’t just say za yi sadarwa without the subject pronoun when the subject is a full noun like Malami earlier; the future marker still wants a pronoun:

Malami zai koya mana… (short form zai = za + ya) – The teacher will teach us…
za mu yi sadarwa… – we will communicate…

So mu is required as the subject pronoun after za.

If I wanted to say “how we should not communicate”, where would the negation go in yadda za mu yi sadarwa?

Negation with za typically surrounds the za … verb … ba part.

Pattern in the positive:

yadda za mu yi sadarwa – how we will communicate

In the negative (standard):

yadda ba za mu yi sadarwa ba – how we will not communicate

Breakdown:

ba … ba – negative “not”
ba … za mu yi sadarwa … ba – we will not do communication

So you generally put:

ba before za,
and ba again at the end of the clause.