Kare mai ƙarfi yana tsaye a bakin ƙofa.

A strong dog is standing at the doorway.

Breakdown of Kare mai ƙarfi yana tsaye a bakin ƙofa.

• ne: to be
• ƙofa: the door
• tsaya: to stand
• kare: the dog
• a bakin: at the side of
• mai ƙarfi: strong

Questions & Answers about Kare mai ƙarfi yana tsaye a bakin ƙofa.

Does kare mean a dog or the dog?

Hausa does not have separate words for a and the the way English does. A bare noun like kare can usually be understood as either a dog or the dog, depending on context.

• In isolation, kare mai ƙarfi yana tsaye a bakin ƙofa can be translated as either:
  • A strong dog is standing at the door, or
  • The strong dog is standing at the door.

If you really need to make it clearly definite, you can add something like nan (here/this), for example:

• Karen nan yana tsaye – This/the dog here is standing.

What exactly does mai ƙarfi mean, and how is it working in the sentence?

mai ƙarfi literally means one who has strength or possessor of strength, but in use it functions like the adjective strong.

So:

• kare mai ƙarfi – a strong dog
• mace mai ƙarfi – a strong woman

This mai + noun pattern is very common in Hausa to create describing words:

• mai hankali – sensible, reasonable (lit. having sense)
• mai kyau – beautiful / good-looking (lit. having goodness/beauty)
• mai arziki – rich (lit. having wealth)

Can I put mai ƙarfi before the noun, like mai ƙarfi kare, the way English says strong dog?

No. In Hausa, modifiers like mai ƙarfi follow the noun they describe:

• Correct: kare mai ƙarfi – strong dog
• Incorrect: ✗ mai ƙarfi kare

So the normal pattern is: noun + describing phrase.

How would I say Strong dogs are standing at the door?

You need to pluralize both the noun and the agreeing verb phrase:

• Karnuka masu ƙarfi suna tsaye a bakin ƙofa.

Breakdown:

• kare → karnuka – dogs
• mai ƙarfi → masu ƙarfi – plural of mai (those who have strength → strong (plural))
• yana tsaye → suna tsaye – they are standing (3rd person plural)

So:

• Karnuka masu ƙarfi suna tsaye a bakin ƙofa.
  Strong dogs are standing at the door.

What does yana tsaye literally mean, and why do we need both words?

yana tsaye is the usual way to say he/it is standing in Hausa.

• ya – he (3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun)
• na – marking continuous / progressive aspect
• yana is ya + na, usually written together
• tsaye – in a standing/upright state

So yana tsaye is literally something like he is in a standing state.
The -na part (inside yana) tells you the action/state is ongoing or current, similar to English is vs was or stands vs is standing depending on context.

What is the difference between yana tsaye and ya tsaya?

They are related but not the same:

• yana tsaye – he is (currently) standing

  • Focuses on the present state or ongoing situation.
  • Used for describing position: standing, upright.

• ya tsaya – he stopped / he stood (up)

  • Perfective aspect: a completed action in the past (or a single whole event).
  • Often means he stopped rather than just he is standing.

So in your sentence, you want yana tsaye because you are describing how the dog is positioned right now.

Does yana change if the subject is feminine or plural?

Yes, the continuous form agrees with the subject. Some key forms:

• yana tsaye – he/it (masc.) is standing
• tana tsaye – she/it (fem.) is standing
• suna tsaye – they are standing
• ina tsaye – I am standing
• muna tsaye – we are standing

In your sentence, kare is grammatically masculine, so yana tsaye is the correct form.

What does a mean in a bakin ƙofa?

a is a very common preposition meaning roughly in / at / on, depending on context. In your sentence:

• a bakin ƙofa – at the door / at the doorway

You will see a used in many location phrases:

• a gida – at home / in the house
• a kasuwa – at the market
• a kan tebur – on the table (literally: on top of table)

Why is it bakin ƙofa and not just baki ƙofa?

baki by itself means mouth, lip, edge, rim.
When baki directly links to another noun (ƙofa), it takes a linking -n:

• bakin ƙofa – literally the mouth/edge of the door

This -n is a genitive/linker ending that shows baki and ƙofa belong together as one noun phrase.
So bakin ƙofa is an idiomatic way to say the doorway / the door area.

What is the difference between a bakin ƙofa and simply a ƙofa?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

• a ƙofa – at the door (more neutral, just at the door)
• a bakin ƙofa – literally at the mouth/edge of the door
  
  • Often felt as right at the doorway / at the very entrance.
  • A bit more specific and vivid.

In many contexts they could both be translated as at the door, but a bakin ƙofa highlights the threshold/entrance more explicitly.

What does ƙofa mean exactly, and how is it different from kofa?

ƙofa means door, gate, entrance.

The letter ƙ is a different consonant from k in Hausa:

• k – an ordinary k sound (as in English cat)
• ƙ – a glottalised / ejective k, produced with a tighter closure and a kind of “popping” release

So ƙofa and kofa are pronounced differently, and in standard Hausa spelling door is written with ƙ, i.e. ƙofa.

What does the special letter ƙ in ƙarfi and ƙofa sound like?

ƙ is a glottalised k sound, often described as an ejective k. To approximate it:

1. Start to say a normal k.
2. At the same time, tense your throat and release a little burst of air from the glottis as you let the k go.

It is sharper and “tighter” than a normal k. In careful pronunciation, ƙarfi (strength) and karfi would be heard as different words, so the distinction matters in Hausa.