A darasin kimiyya yau, malama ta auna tsawo da nisa na tebur a ɗaki.

In the science lesson today, the female teacher measured the length and distance of the table in the room.

Breakdown of A darasin kimiyya yau, malama ta auna tsawo da nisa na tebur a ɗaki.

• da: and
• yau: today
• na: of
• a: in
• ɗaki: the room
• tebur: the table
• ta: she
• darasi: the lesson
• malama: the female teacher
• kimiyya: the science
• auna: to measure
• tsawo: the length
• nisa: the distance

Questions & Answers about A darasin kimiyya yau, malama ta auna tsawo da nisa na tebur a ɗaki.

What does A mean in A darasin kimiyya yau and a ɗaki? Is it the same word?

Yes, it’s the same word a in both places. It’s a very common preposition that usually means “in / at / on”, depending on context.

• A darasin kimiyya yau = In/at the science lesson today
• a ɗaki = in the room

So:

• a + time / event → at, during
  
  • a darasi – at/ during the lesson
• a + place → in, at
  
  • a ɗaki – in the room

English uses different prepositions, but Hausa often just uses a for both time and place.

Why is it darasin kimiyya and not darasi kimiyya?

Darasin kimiyya is a genitive (possessive) construction, meaning “lesson of science” → science lesson / science class.

In Hausa, the first noun in such a phrase usually takes a linking ending:

• darasi (lesson) → darasi + n = darasin
• Then add the second noun: darasin kimiyya (lesson of science)

Other examples:

• gida (house) → gidan malam – the teacher’s house
• littafi (book) → littafin Hausa – a Hausa book

So darasin just shows that darasi is linked to what follows (kimiyya).

Does darasin kimiyya literally mean “lesson of science”? Is this how you say “science class”?

Yes, literally darasin kimiyya is “the lesson of science”, but in normal English we’d say “science lesson” or “science class”.

In real usage:

• darasin kimiyya = science lesson / science class
• darasin Turanci = English lesson
• darasin lissafi = math lesson

So you can safely treat darasin kimiyya as “science class” in most contexts.

What is the difference between malama and malami?

They both mean teacher, but they show gender:

• malami – male teacher (or generic in some contexts)
• malama – female teacher

Plurals:

• malamai – teachers (can be mixed or all male; often the default plural)

In your sentence, malama tells you the teacher is female.

In malama ta auna, what exactly is ta? Is it just the pronoun “she”?

Ta is both:

1. The 3rd person feminine singular subject pronoun (she), and
2. The verbal marker that shows who did the action in this tense/aspect.

Hausa finite verbs usually need this pronoun before the verb:

• ta auna – she measured
• ya auna – he measured
• sun auna – they measured

So malama ta auna literally is something like “the teacher, she measured”, but in English we simply say “the (female) teacher measured”.

What tense or aspect is ta auna? Could it also mean “is measuring” or “measures”?

Ta auna is in the completive (perfective) aspect, which normally corresponds to a finished action:

• Most naturally: “she measured” or “she has measured”

Whether you translate it as past simple or present perfect in English depends on context, but the key idea is that the measuring is complete.

It does not normally mean:

• “she is measuring” (progressive) – you’d usually say ta na auna or tana auna, or use a different construction.
• “she measures” (habitual) – you’d use a habitual form like ta kan auna or something similar, depending on context.

In your sentence (with yau “today” and a specific event), “she measured” fits best.

What does the verb auna mean, and how is it used?

Auna means “to measure” (physically measuring length, weight, distance, etc.).

Usage with subjects:

• Na auna tsawo. – I measured the length.
• Malami ya auna nisa. – The (male) teacher measured the distance.

It often takes a direct object that is the thing being measured or the dimension:

• auna tsawo – measure the length/height
• auna nisa – measure the distance/width
• auna nauyi – measure the weight

In your sentence, ta auna tsawo da nisa na tebur = she measured the length and width of the table.

What is the difference between tsawo, nisa, and faɗi? Which one is length, width, or distance?

These all refer to dimensions or spatial extent, but with slightly different usual uses:

• tsawo – length / height

  • Vertical height of something, or sometimes length.
  • tsawon mutum – a person’s height
  • tsawon tebur – the length of a table

• nisa – distance (how far apart two things are)

  • nisan gari biyu – the distance between two towns
    In some educational contexts, you might see tsawo da nisa used for two dimensions (like length and breadth), as in your sentence.

• faɗi – width

  • faɗin tebur – the width of the table
  • faɗin ɗaki – the width of the room

So more strictly for a table:

• tsawo – length
• faɗi – width
• nisa – distance between things, but here it’s being used as the second dimension of the table (length and distance/width).

Teachers or textbooks might vary a bit in how they pair these words in simple school science contexts.

How does the phrase tsawo da nisa na tebur work grammatically? Why is na used there?

Break it down:

• tsawo da nisa – length and distance
• na tebur – of (the) table

Putting them together: tsawo da nisa na tebur = the length and width/distance of the table.

About na:

• Hausa has a free genitive linker na that connects a whole phrase to what follows.

• Because you have a coordination (tsawo da nisa) as one unit, you can’t just stick the usual -n or -r ending on it, so Hausa uses na:

  • single head: tsawon tebur – length of the table
  • coordinated head: tsawo da nisa na tebur – length and width of the table

So na links the whole phrase tsawo da nisa to tebur.

Does na in na tebur agree with anything (gender/number)? When do you use na vs ta?

Hausa has different forms of this linker that can agree with the possessee (the thing that “has” the other thing):

• na – default/masculine or general
• ta – feminine singular in some constructions
• na / masu – other forms depending on number and structure

In everyday speech, na is extremely common and often used quite generally.

For dimensions like tsawo da nisa, you typically just use na:

• tsawon tebur or tsawo na tebur – length of the table
• tsawo da nisa na tebur – length and distance/width of the table

You’ll see ta more clearly when the head noun is clearly feminine and singular, in certain patterns, but it’s safer at your level simply to note that na is the common “of” linker, especially with inanimate nouns and technical phrases like this.

Why is it a ɗaki and not a cikin ɗaki? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

• a ɗaki – in the room / at the room

  • Short, very common.
  • Can mean simply in the room in a neutral way.

• a cikin ɗaki – literally “in the inside of the room”

  • Feels a bit more explicitly inside or within the room.
  • Often used when you want to emphasize being inside something.

In your sentence, a ɗaki is perfectly natural: the focus is just that this happened in the room, not outside it.

Where can yau (“today”) go in this sentence? Could I say Yau a darasin kimiyya, malama ta auna …?

Yes, yau is quite flexible in position. All of these are possible and natural, with small differences in emphasis:

1. A darasin kimiyya yau, malama ta auna…
   – At the science lesson today, the teacher measured…

2. Yau a darasin kimiyya, malama ta auna…
   – Today, in the science lesson, the teacher measured…

3. Malama ta auna tsawo da nisa na tebur a ɗaki yau.
   – The teacher measured the table’s dimensions in the room today.

Position mainly affects what you emphasize (the “today” or the “science lesson”), but the basic meaning is the same.

How would the sentence change if the teacher were male instead of female?

You would change malama to malami and ta to ya:

• A darasin kimiyya yau, malami ya auna tsawo da nisa na tebur a ɗaki.
  – In the science lesson today, the (male) teacher measured the length and width of the table in the room.

So:

• female: malama ta auna
• male: malami ya auna

How would you make “the table” more clearly definite, like “that table in the room”?

Hausa often relies on context for definiteness, but you can make it more explicit. Some options:

1. Add ɗin after tebur or after the whole phrase:

   • tsawo da nisa na tebur ɗin a ɗaki
   • tsawo da nisa na tebur ɗin nan a ɗaki – of that table there in the room

2. Use a demonstrative:

   • tebur nan – this/that table (depending on pointing/context)
   • Then: tsawo da nisa na tebur nan a ɗaki – the dimensions of this table in the room.

So a more “pointed” version could be:
A darasin kimiyya yau, malama ta auna tsawo da nisa na tebur ɗin nan a ɗaki.
– Today in the science lesson, the (female) teacher measured the length and width of that table in the room.

How do you pronounce ɗaki, and what is the difference between ɗ and d in Hausa?

ɗaki is pronounced roughly like “DAH-kee”, but the ɗ is not the same as English d.

• d – an ordinary “d” sound, like in dog.

• ɗ – an implosive d:

  • You make a “d” sound while slightly drawing air inward (into your mouth) instead of pushing it out.

  • It’s a distinct consonant in Hausa, and it can change word meaning:

    • daki (with plain d, if written that way) would be different from ɗaki (room).
    • da (and/with) vs ɗa (son).

So ɗaki with ɗ specifically means “room”.