Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau a cikin al'umma.

Abuse is not good in the community.

Breakdown of Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau a cikin al'umma.

• ne: to be
• ba … ba: not
• da kyau: good
• a cikin: in
• al'umma: the community
• cin zarafi: to abuse

Questions & Answers about Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau a cikin al'umma.

What is a literal, word‑for‑word breakdown of Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau a cikin al'umma?

Here is a rough word‑for‑word breakdown:

• Cin – the verbal noun from ci “to eat / to take / to commit”; here it turns the verb into “the act of doing X”.
• zarafi – abuse, violation, mistreatment, harassment, injustice.
• Cin zarafi – literally “the doing/committing of abuse” → “abuse”.
• ba – negative particle.
• ya – “he/it” (3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun), referring back to cin zarafi.
• da – “with / having / possessing”; with kyau it gives “to be good”.
• kyau – goodness, beauty, being good.
• ba ya da kyau – “it does not have goodness” → “it is not good / it is bad”.
• a – preposition “in / at / on”.
• cikin – “inside (of)”.
• al'umma – community, society, (the) people.

So very literally: “Abuse, it is not with goodness in inside society.”
Natural English: “Abuse is not good in society.”

What exactly does cin zarafi mean, and how is it used?

Cin zarafi is a fixed expression meaning roughly “abuse / violation / mistreatment / harassment / assault” — especially where someone’s rights, dignity, or body are violated.

Typical uses:

• An yi musu cin zarafi.
  “They were abused / mistreated.”

• Ya yi mata cin zarafi.
  “He abused / assaulted her.”

• Cin zarafi ga mata ba ya da kyau.
  “Abusing women is not good.”

It is quite broad; depending on context it can cover:

• physical abuse,
• sexual abuse,
• harassment,
• serious bullying or oppression,
• other violations of rights.

On its own here (Cin zarafi) it works like an abstract noun: “Abuse (as a general practice)”.

Does cin always mean “eating”? Why is cin used instead of ci before zarafi?

The base verb ci does mean “to eat”, but in Hausa it appears in many idioms that have nothing to do with literal eating, for example:

• cin nasara – “to win / gain victory”
• cin moriya – “to enjoy a benefit”
• cin amana – “to betray a trust”
• cin hanci – “to take a bribe”

In these combinations, ci has a more general sense of “to take / to commit / to undergo”.

Cin is the verbal noun (like a gerund) formed from ci. In simple terms:

• ci zarafi – “to abuse / to violate”
• cin zarafi – “abuse / the committing of abuse”

So cin here doesn’t mean “eating” in the food sense; it’s the “‑ing” form of the verb being used to create the noun “abuse”.

Is Cin zarafi the subject of the sentence? Where is the verb “to be” in Hausa here?

Yes, Cin zarafi is the subject of the sentence.

Hausa does not normally use a separate verb like English “to be” in simple sentences. Instead, it uses different patterns. Here the “is (not)” meaning is expressed by the structure ba ya da kyau:

• ya – “he/it” refers back to cin zarafi.
• da kyau – “with goodness” → “good”.
• ba … da kyau – “not with goodness” → “not good”.

So the structure is:

• [Subject] + ba + [pronoun referring to subject] + da kyau + …

Applied to this sentence:

• Cin zarafi (Abuse)
• ba ya da kyau (is not good)
• a cikin al'umma (in society).

How does the negative structure ba ya da kyau work? What would the positive version look like?

The pattern here is based on da = “with / having”:

• yana da kyau – “it is good / it has goodness”
• ba ya da kyau – “it is not good / it does not have goodness”

Breaking ba ya da kyau down:

• ba – negative particle.
• ya – 3rd person “he/it”, agreeing with cin zarafi.
• da – “with / having”.
• kyau – “goodness”.

So:

• ya na da kyau → “it is good” (literally “it has goodness”).
• ba ya da kyau → “it is not good”.

In practice, for this type of moral judgement, you will normally hear the negative version (talking about things that are not good), just like in this sentence.

What is the difference between ba ya da kyau, ba shi da kyau, and bai yi kyau ba?

All three can relate to something “not being good”, but they differ slightly in grammar and nuance.

1. ba ya da kyau

   • Uses the short subject pronoun ya “he/it”.
   • Common for general statements about something being bad:
     • Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau.
       “Abuse is not good.”

2. ba shi da kyau

   • Uses the long pronoun shi “he/it”.
   • Many speakers prefer this form in careful speech; it is very common:
     • Cin zarafi ba shi da kyau.
       Also “Abuse is not good.”

   For most everyday purposes, ba ya da kyau and ba shi da kyau are interchangeable ways of saying “it is not good”.

3. bai yi kyau ba

   • Literally something like “it did not make/do goodness”.
   • Often used for a specific action or event that was wrong or inappropriate:
     • Abin da ka yi bai yi kyau ba.
       “What you did was not good / That was wrong.”

So:

• ba ya / ba shi da kyau → general property: “X is (generally) not good.”
• bai yi kyau ba → judgement of a particular action: “That wasn’t right / You shouldn’t have done that.”

I often see baya as one word. Is ba ya here the same as baya?

No, ba ya in this sentence is not the same as baya written as one word.

• ba ya (two words):

  • ba = negative particle
  • ya = “he/it”
    Together as part of ba ya da kyau they mean “it is not …”.

• baya (one word) can mean:

  • “back / behind”: a baya – “at the back / behind”
  • “no longer / not anymore” in some contexts: Ba ya zuwa. – “He doesn’t come (anymore).”

In Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau, you must write and think of it as ba + ya, not baya.

What does a cikin mean exactly? Could I just say a al'umma or cikin al'umma?

a cikin is a very common combination:

• a – preposition meaning “in / at / on”.
• cikin – “inside (of)”.

Together, a cikin X means roughly “in / within X”, often a bit stronger than just “in”, like “inside, within the bounds of”.

In this sentence:

• a cikin al'umma – “in (within) society”.

About your alternatives:

• a al'umma – not natural; a normally needs a noun directly after it, but here cikin is the usual noun giving the sense “inside of”.
• cikin al'umma – possible in many contexts and can also mean “within society”, but a cikin al'umma is very standard and sounds smoother and more complete.

So the most natural here is exactly what you see: a cikin al'umma.

What does al'umma mean? Is it closer to “society”, “community”, or “nation”?

Al'umma is a broad word that can cover several ideas, depending on context:

• society (in general):
  Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau a cikin al'umma.
  “Abuse is not good in society.”

• community / people:
  Al'ummar kauyen nan suna haɗin kai.
  “The people / community of this village are united.”

• the Muslim community specifically (in some religious contexts).

Rough equivalents:

• “society” when talking about social issues, norms, behaviour;
• “community / people” when talking about a group that lives together or shares identity;
• sometimes “nation” depending on context.

Plural forms like al'ummu or al'ummomi exist, but al'umma is very often used in a collective, mass sense (like “society” in English).

Why is there an apostrophe in al'umma, and how should I pronounce it?

The apostrophe in Hausa spelling usually represents a glottal stop (a brief catch/break in the airflow, like the pause in the middle of “uh‑oh” in English).

So al'umma is pronounced with a little break between al and umma:

• al‑'‑umma → roughly [al-um-ma] with:
  • al as in “all” (short),
  • a slight stop,
  • umma with mm doubled (held a bit longer).

The apostrophe shows that the vowels don’t just run together; there is a separation in the syllables. It’s important for distinguishing some words in Hausa, and it helps get the rhythm and pronunciation right.

Is cin zarafi grammatically masculine or feminine? Is that why the pronoun is ya?

Yes. In Hausa, nouns are often treated as either masculine or feminine for agreement purposes.

• Cin zarafi is treated as masculine, so the pronoun that refers back to it is ya (“he/it” masculine).

That is why we get:

• Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau.
  ya refers to cin zarafi.

If the subject were a grammatically feminine noun, you would see ta instead of ya:

• Damuwa ba ta da kyau.
  “Worry / anxiety is not good.”
  Here damuwa is grammatically feminine, so ta is used.

Can I change the word order, for example to Cin zarafi a cikin al'umma ba ya da kyau?

Yes, you can say:

• Cin zarafi a cikin al'umma ba ya da kyau.

This is still correct Hausa. The difference is mostly about emphasis and flow:

• Cin zarafi ba ya da kyau a cikin al'umma.
  Slightly more focused on the judgement first (“Abuse is not good… in society”).

• Cin zarafi a cikin al'umma ba ya da kyau.
  Slightly more focused on abuse in society as a unit (“Abuse in society is not good”).

Both orders are acceptable and understandable. Native speakers freely move prepositional phrases like a cikin al'umma around for emphasis or style.

How could I say related sentences like “Abusing people in society is bad” or “Abuse in our society is bad”?

Here are some natural variations:

1. “Abusing people in society is bad.”

   • Cin zarafin mutane ba ya da kyau a cikin al'umma.
     Literally: “Abusing people is not good in society.”

2. “Abuse in our society is bad.”

   • Cin zarafi a cikin al'ummarmu ba ya da kyau.
     
     • al'ummarmu = “our society / our community”.

   You could also say:

   • Cin zarafi a cikin al'ummarmu abu ne marar kyau.
     “Abuse in our society is a bad thing.”

3. Using a simpler, very common negative judgement:

   • Cin zarafi bai da kyau a cikin al'umma.
     Here bai da kyau is another common way of saying “it is not good”.

All of these keep the same basic structure and vocabulary as your original sentence, while adding more detail such as mutane (“people”) or al'ummarmu (“our society”).