Learn Hardcore Hausa: Malami ya ce mu buɗe shafi na farko a littafi. - The teacher said we should open the first page in the book.

By default it’s understood as male teacher, but it can be used generically if gender isn’t important.
The specifically female form is malama (female teacher).

So:

Malami = male (or unspecified) teacher
Malama = female teacher

Why do we have both Malami and ya? Isn’t that like saying “The teacher he said…”?

In Hausa, you must use a subject pronoun with the verb, even if you already mentioned the noun.

Malami = the teacher (noun)
ya = he (3rd person singular subject pronoun, masculine)
ya ce = he said

So Malami ya ce… is normal and grammatical in Hausa, even though a literal word‑for‑word gloss looks like “The teacher he said…”. English usually drops that extra pronoun, but Hausa does not.

What does ya ce mean, and is this ce the same as the ce that means “is”?

Ya ce here means he said.

There are actually two different words pronounced ce in Hausa:

ce as a verb: to say (in the perfective form used here)
- ya ce = he said
- ta ce = she said
ce as a copula: used like is (feminine form of ne/ce)
- wata mace ce = it is a woman

In Malami ya ce mu buɗe…, the ce is the verb “to say”, not the copula “is”.

Why is there no word for that before we open, like in “The teacher said that we should open…”?

Hausa often does not use a separate word for “that” in reported speech. Instead, it switches into a subjunctive / command-like structure with a pronoun + verb:

Malami ya ce mu buɗe…
= literally: The teacher said we open…
= idiomatically: The teacher said (that) we should open…

There is a word cewa that can mean that, but it’s not required here:

Malami ya ce mu buɗe shafi na farko… (most common)
Malami ya ce mu buɗe shafi na farko… (still natural; no cewa needed)

So English wants that, but Hausa simply uses the pattern [ya ce] + [subjunctive clause].

What is mu doing before buɗe? Does it mean “let’s”?

Mu is the 1st person plural subject pronoun: we.

In this kind of sentence, mu + verb marks a subjunctive / command-like idea:

mu buɗe = (that) we open / we should open

So in context it functions very much like English “that we (should) open” or sometimes “let’s open”, depending on who is speaking and who is being addressed.

Here it’s not the teacher speaking; it’s a report of what he said:

Malami ya ce mu buɗe…
= The teacher said that we should open…

Is buɗe an infinitive, an imperative, or something else?

In this sentence, buɗe is the subjunctive/irrealis form of the verb to open.

Hausa uses the same basic verb form after subjunctive pronouns (like mu) and in many imperative-like contexts:

mu buɗe = (that) we open / we should open
ka buɗe = you (sg. male) open
ki buɗe = you (sg. female) open

It’s not an infinitive in the English sense; it’s the bare verb used after a subject pronoun in this particular mood.

What does shafi mean here? Could it mean “chapter” or something else?

In this context, shafi means page.

shafi na farko = the first page / page one

For chapter, Hausa more commonly uses words like:

babi = chapter
sashe = section / part

So shafi in school-book contexts is “page”, not “chapter”.

What is the function of na in shafi na farko?

Na is a linking/genitive particle that connects two nouns or a noun and an adjective-like word.

In shafi na farko:

shafi = page
farko = first / beginning
na links them: literally “page of first”

This structure is used regularly for ordinals:

shafi na biyu = the second page
shafi na uku = the third page

So na is what lets farko function as “first (one)” modifying shafi.

What’s the difference between na farko and na ɗaya?

Both can appear in similar places, but they’re slightly different in feel:

na farko = the first (in order / at the beginning)
- Very natural for “first page”, “first day”, etc.
na ɗaya = the one that is one (using the cardinal one)
- Can also mean first in many contexts, but more literally “number one”.

In a classroom for page numbers, shafi na farko and shafi na ɗaya can both be understood, but na farko is a very standard way to say first page.

What does a mean in a littafi? Is it the same as “in”, “at”, or “on”?

The preposition a is quite flexible. In English it often translates as in, at, or on, depending on context.

In a littafi it means in a book (or in the book, depending on context):

a gida = at home
a kasuwa = at the market
a tebur = on the table
a littafi = in a book

If you want to emphasize the inside of something, you can say a cikin:

a cikin littafi = inside a book

But in ordinary classroom instructions, a littafi is enough and very natural.

Why is there no separate word for English “to” as in “open to the first page”?

Hausa doesn’t need a separate preposition here. The idea “open to page X” is expressed simply as open page X:

mu buɗe shafi na farko
= literally: we (should) open page one
= English: we should open to page one

The combination of buɗe (open) plus the direct object shafi na farko covers what English spreads across open + to + page one.

How would I make it clear that it’s the book, or our book, not just “a book”?

Hausa doesn’t always use a separate word for the; definiteness is often understood from context or shown with suffixes and pronouns.

Some options:

a littafi
- literally: in a book, but in a real classroom context it could still be understood as “in the book” because everyone knows which book.
a littafin nan
- nan = this/that (nearby, contextually known)
- a littafin nan = in this (particular) book
a littafinku
- littafi
  - -nku (your, plural)
- a littafinku = in your (plural) book

So a very natural classroom version could be:

Malami ya ce mu buɗe shafi na farko a littafinku.
= The teacher said we should open to the first page in your book.