Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ina so ka tuna cewa kowane tunani da kowane sako yana da tasiri a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu. - I want you masculine to remember that every thought and every message has an effect on other people's relationships and knowledge.

Ina – “I am / I” (progressive form of ni “I” + aspect marker; here it just gives present time: I (now)).
so – “to want / to like.”
ka – 2nd person masculine singular pronoun used here as the subject of the following verb in a “subjunctive”/command-like clause.
tuna – “to remember.”

So “Ina so ka tuna” is literally:
“I want (that) you remember” → naturally: “I want you to remember.”

The ka is not the direct object of so (like English “you” in “I want you”), but the subject of “tuna” (“you remember”). Hausa uses this pattern after verbs like so (want), roƙa (ask), bukata (need), etc.

Why do we need “cewa” in “Ina so ka tuna cewa …”? Is it the same as “that” in English, and can we omit it?

Yes, cewa is a complementizer, like English “that” in sentences such as “I want you to remember that every thought…”

cewa introduces a clause that functions as the content of what you want someone to remember.

In this sentence:

Ina so ka tuna – “I want you to remember”
cewa kowane tunani da kowane sako… – “that every thought and every message…”

You can, in casual speech, sometimes drop cewa, especially when the sentence is short and clear, but keeping it is very natural and clear here. Without cewa, the sentence is still understandable, but “Ina so ka tuna cewa …” is the most standard and explicit pattern.

What does “kowane” mean here, and how is it different from “duk” (“all”)? Could we say “duk tunani da duk sako” instead?

kowane (also written kowanne) means “each / every”.

kowane tunani – “every thought / each thought”
kowane sako – “every message / each message”

Difference from duk:

kowane focuses on each individual item, like English “every / each.”
duk means “all, the whole (group)”, like English “all.”

So:

kowane tunani – “every single thought (individually)”
duk tunani – “all thoughts (as a whole group)”

You could say “duk tunani da duk sako”, but it shifts the nuance a bit toward “all thoughts and all messages” as entire sets, not stressing the impact of each individual one. For the idea “every thought and every message,” kowane is the best choice.

Why is “kowane” repeated: “kowane tunani da kowane sako”? Could we just say “kowane tunani da sako”?

Hausa often repeats words like kowane before each coordinated noun to be very clear and emphatic:

kowane tunani da kowane sako
→ “every thought and every message” (both clearly modified by kowane)

If you say:

kowane tunani da sako

it’s understandable, but it is less natural and can feel a bit incomplete or ambiguous. Native speakers usually prefer to repeat kowane with each noun in this kind of “every X and every Y” structure.

In “kowane tunani da kowane sako yana da tasiri”, why is the verb “yana” singular when there are two nouns (thought + message)? Shouldn’t it be “suna da tasiri”?

Grammatically, we have:

kowane tunani da kowane sako – “every thought and every message”
yana da tasiri – “(it) has an effect / influence”

In strict agreement, you could use plural:

suna da tasiri – “they have an effect.”

However, Hausa often treats such a paired subject as a single combined idea, especially when joined with da and when seen as a unit. So “kowane tunani da kowane sako yana da tasiri” treats the whole phrase as one overall source of influence, and a singular verb is natural.

You may also hear:

kowane tunani da kowane sako suna da tasiri

That is also correct and a bit more explicitly plural. The sentence you have uses the fairly common pattern of singular agreement for a combined subject that’s seen as one conceptual whole.

What exactly does “tasiri” mean, and how does the phrase “yana da tasiri” work?

tasiri means “influence, effect, impact”.

The construction yana da X literally is:

yana – “it is (in the progressive aspect)” / “it has”
da – “with” (here functioning like “having”)
tasiri – “influence / impact”

So “yana da tasiri” is literally “it is with influence” → idiomatically “it has an effect / it has influence / it is influential.”

So in context:

kowane tunani da kowane sako yana da tasiri
→ “every thought and every message has an influence / has an effect.”

What does “a kan” mean in “tasiri a kan zumunta da ilimi …”? Is it the same as “akan”, and what nuance does it have?

a kan is a prepositional phrase meaning:

on / upon (literally), or
on / regarding / affecting (figuratively).

In this sentence:

tasiri a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu
→ “influence on the relationships and knowledge of others.”

“a kan” vs “akan”:

a kan – two separate words; very common in speech.
akan – fused spelling; common in writing.

They are essentially the same expression. It often translates as:

“on / upon” (physical), or
“on / about / concerning / regarding / affecting” (abstract).

Here it expresses the target or area where the influence is felt: on relationships and knowledge.

What does “zumunta” mean here? Is it just “friendship,” or something broader?

zumunta is broader than just “friendship.” It refers to relationships, kinship, social bonds, connections between people.

Nuances:

Family relationships (kinship ties)
Social relationships and bonds
General sense of connection between people

In this sentence:

tasiri a kan zumunta
→ “effect on relationships / social bonds (between people).”

It can include friendship, but it’s not restricted to friends; it can also cover family ties and community relationships.

How is “ilimi na wasu” structured, and how is it different from “ilimin wasu”?

Breakdown of ilimi na wasu:

ilimi – “knowledge / education / learning.”
na – possessive / genitive linker, roughly “of.”
wasu – “others / some people.”

So:

ilimi na wasu – literally “knowledge of others” → “other people’s knowledge / the knowledge that others have.”

Difference from ilimin wasu:

ilimin wasu is the contracted genitive form (ilimi + n
- wasu).
Both ilimi na wasu and ilimin wasu can mean “the knowledge of others.”

Subtle points:

ilimin wasu is slightly tighter and more compact; very standard.
ilimi na wasu sounds a bit more explicit or slightly heavier, partly because na stands out as a separate word.

In everyday usage, you will often hear ilimin wasu, but ilimi na wasu is also correct and clear.

What exactly does “wasu” mean here? Is it “some people” or “others”? Could we say “sauran” instead?

wasu means “some, others”, depending on context.

In ilimi na wasu, the understood noun is “people,” so:

ilimi na wasu ≈ “the knowledge of others / other people.”

You could expand it to be more explicit:

ilimi na wasu mutane – “the knowledge of some/other people.”

About sauran:

sauran usually means “the rest, the remaining, the other(s)” (of a known group).
wasu is more like “some / certain / others (unspecified).”

So ilimi na sauran would feel more like “the knowledge of the rest (the remaining ones)”, which implies a known group from which some have already been mentioned. For this general idea “others” in a broad sense, wasu is more natural than sauran.

If I want to say this to a woman instead of a man, how would “Ina so ka tuna” change? And what if I’m talking to more than one person?

Hausa marks gender and number in these pronouns.

For one man (2sg masculine):

Ina so ka tuna … – “I want you (male) to remember …”

For one woman (2sg feminine):

Ina so ki tuna …

For more than one person (2pl), regardless of gender:

Ina so ku tuna …

So the full sentence would change as follows:

To one man: Ina so ka tuna cewa kowane tunani da kowane sako …
To one woman: Ina so ki tuna cewa kowane tunani da kowane sako …
To a group: Ina so ku tuna cewa kowane tunani da kowane sako …

What tense or aspect does “Ina so” convey? How would the meaning change if we said “Na so ka tuna …”?

Ina so uses the progressive/imperfective aspect:

Ina so – “I (now) want / I want (generally).”

It expresses a present, ongoing desire.

If you say Na so ka tuna …:

Na so is past/perfective: “I wanted.”
Na so ka tuna cewa … – “I wanted you to remember that …” (i.e., at some time in the past).

So:

Ina so ka tuna … – current request or instruction: “I want you to remember … (now / from now on).”
Na so ka tuna … – refers to a previous desire: “I wanted you to remember … (then).”

Could we drop “Ina so” and just say “Ka tuna cewa kowane tunani …”? How does the tone change?

Yes, you can say:

Ka tuna cewa kowane tunani da kowane sako yana da tasiri a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu.

This is more of a direct imperative:

Ka tuna … – “Remember …” (you-masculine singular).
- Ki tuna … – to a woman.
- Ku tuna … – to more than one person.

Tone difference:

Ina so ka tuna cewa … – softer, more polite/indirect: “I want you to remember that …”
Ka tuna cewa … – more direct / commanding: “Remember that …”

Both are grammatically correct; the choice depends on how strong or gentle you want your instruction to sound.

Is there anything important about the word order in “kowane tunani da kowane sako yana da tasiri a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu”? Could we move “a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu” earlier in the sentence?

The word order here is very typical and natural:

Subject: kowane tunani da kowane sako
Verb + complement: yana da tasiri
Prepositional phrase: a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu

So it goes:
[Every thought and every message] [has an effect] [on relationships and others’ knowledge].

You generally would not move “a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu” in front of the verb, for example:

✗ a kan zumunta da ilimi na wasu kowane tunani da kowane sako yana da tasiri – this is awkward and not natural.

The most natural pattern is:

Subject – Verb – Object/Complement – Prepositional phrase(s)

So the original ordering is good and should be kept.