Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni ina karatu domin in sami sakamako mai kyau. - I am studying so that I get a good result.

In normal, neutral speech you can just say Ina karatu domin in sami sakamako mai kyau.
Adding Ni puts special focus on the subject, like: “As for me, I’m studying so that I get a good result.”

What tense or aspect is ina karatu? Is it “I am studying” or “I study”?

Ina karatu is the imperfective/progressive:

It usually corresponds to “I am studying” (an ongoing action now),
but it can also cover a general, regular activity, a bit like “I study”.

Examples:

Ina karatu yanzu. – I am studying now.
Ina karatu a jami’a. – I study at the university.

So in your sentence, it most naturally feels like “I am studying (these days / right now) so that I get a good result.”

Is karatu a verb or a noun? Why isn’t there a separate word for “to study”?

Karatu is originally a verbal noun: it literally means “reading, study, studies”.

Hausa often uses the verbal noun where English uses “to + verb” or “-ing”:

Ina karatu. – I am studying / I study.
Ina son karatu. – I like studying / I like to study.
Lokacin karatu. – study time.

So in ina karatu, you can think of it as “I am (in) study”, which is just how Hausa says “I am studying.”

What does domin mean here exactly? Is it “because” or “in order to”?

Domin (often shortened to don in speech) has two common uses:

“because (of)”
“for / in order to / so that”

In your sentence:

Ni ina karatu domin in sami sakamako mai kyau.

the meaning is clearly purpose:
“I am studying in order to get a good result.”

If you wanted to focus on pure “because” (reason) more clearly, many speakers would use saboda:

Ina karatu saboda in sami sakamako mai kyau. – I’m studying because I want to get a good result.

What is the function of in in domin in sami? Is it like English “if”?

In this sentence in is not “if”. It is a subjunctive subject marker for “I”, roughly:

in ≈ “(that) I should / (that) I may”

So:

domin in sami sakamako mai kyau
≈ “so that I may get a good result”

Compare:

In tafi? – Shall I go? / May I go?
Bari in tafi. – Let me go.

Separate from this, Hausa also has in meaning “if” in conditionals:

In kana da lokaci, ka zo. – If you have time, come.

Here, context plus domin show it’s “that I (should)”, not conditional “if”.

Why is it sami and not samu? Aren’t both related to “get”?

Yes, both forms are related to the verb “to get, obtain”:

Dictionary form: samù / samu (depending on grammar style)
In many real sentences you see sami especially:
- after certain particles (like in, za, etc.)
- in perfective/subjunctive-like environments.

So:

Na sami aiki. – I got a job.
Za su sami sakamako mai kyau. – They will get a good result.
Domin in sami sakamako mai kyau. – So that I (may) get a good result.

The exact distribution of samu/sami is a detail of Hausa verb morphology, but for practical purposes here, sami is simply the correct form after in.

Why don’t we repeat “I” after domin? Why not domin ni in sami…?

You don’t need another “I” there because:

in already encodes the 1st person singular subject (“I”) in this construction.

So:

domin in sami… is already “so that I may get…”
domin ni in sami… would sound like “so that I, I may get…”, which is over‑emphatic and usually unnecessary.

Hausa normally puts only one subject marker in such clauses.

What exactly does sakamako mean? Is it just “result” or also “grades”?

Sakamako literally means “result, outcome, consequence”, but in school/university contexts it is often used to mean “exam result, grade(s)”.

Examples:

Na ga sakamakon jarabawa. – I saw the exam result(s).
Sakamakon ya yi kyau. – The result/grades turned out well.

So in this sentence:

…in sami sakamako mai kyau.
can naturally be understood as
“…so that I get good grades / a good exam result.”

How does mai kyau work grammatically? Why not just say kyau?

Mai is a particle that often means “having / possessing”.
Kyau is a noun meaning “beauty, goodness”.

Together:

mai kyau = “having goodness/beauty” → “good / beautiful”

In noun phrases, it comes after the noun:

sakamako mai kyau – a good result
mutum mai kyau – a good person (kind/nice)
gida mai kyau – a nice house

Using kyau alone works differently, typically in predicative structures:

Sakamakon ya yi kyau. – The result is good.
Wannan gida yana da kyau. – This house is good.

So:

Before a noun to describe it: use mai kyau → good X
As a predicate (after the verb “be, have”): use kyau → X is good

Why is it sakamako mai kyau, not mai kyau sakamako?

In Hausa, descriptive elements follow the noun they modify:

Noun + (adjective/descriptor)

So:

sakamako mai kyau – literally “result having goodness” → a good result
motar ja – the red car (literally: car red)
mace mai tsawo – a tall woman (literally: woman having height)

Putting mai kyau before sakamako (mai kyau sakamako) would be ungrammatical in standard Hausa.

Are there other natural ways to say the same idea in Hausa?

Yes, a few common alternatives that keep the same meaning:

Drop Ni (less emphatic, very normal):
- Ina karatu domin in sami sakamako mai kyau.
Use don instead of domin (more colloquial):
- Ina karatu don in sami sakamako mai kyau.
Use saboda to highlight reason a bit more:
- Ina karatu saboda in sami sakamako mai kyau.
  (I’m studying because I want to get a good result.)

All of these would be very understandable; your original sentence is already correct and natural.