Learn Hardcore Hausa: Waɗannan yara suna cikin gida. - These children are inside the house.

yaro = boy / child (singular, usually male, but often used generically for “child”)
yarinya = girl (singular)
yara = children / kids (plural, covers boys and girls)

So yara is the plural form used in the sentence: Waɗannan yara… = These children…

What exactly does suna mean here? Is it the same as English “are”?

Suna is made up of two parts:

su = they (3rd person plural pronoun)
na = an aspect marker, often used for present/ongoing states or actions

Together, suna is often translated as “they are …”

In this sentence:

Waɗannan yara = these children
suna = are (currently)
cikin gida = in the house

So suna functions like “are”, but grammatically it is pronoun + aspect marker, not a separate verb “to be.”

Why do we need suna at all? Could I just say Waɗannan yara cikin gida?

In natural Hausa, you usually need some kind of link between the subject and a location or description.

Waɗannan yara suna cikin gida. – fully natural
Waɗannan yara cikin gida. – feels incomplete or very non‑standard in most contexts

There are other ways to link, for example using the copula ne/ce in some structures, but with a plural human subject talking about location, suna is the most straightforward:

Waɗannan yara suna cikin gida. = These children are in the house.

What does cikin mean, and how is it different from just saying a gida?

ciki = inside, interior
cikin = ciki + n, a linker that makes it “inside of” something

So:

cikin gida ≈ inside the house / in the house (interior)
a gida = at home / at the house (can mean “at someone’s place,” not necessarily emphasizing being inside)

Nuance:

suna cikin gida – emphasizes being inside the building.
suna a gida – could be more like “they are at home”, not necessarily stressing “inside the building” as strongly.

Both are correct; cikin gida is just more specifically “inside.”

Why is there no separate word for “the” before gida if the meaning is “in the house”?

Hausa does not use a separate word for “the” like English does.

Definiteness (“a house” vs “the house”) is shown by context and sometimes by suffixes or particles, for example:

gida – house / home (can be “a house” or “the house” depending on context)
gidan nan – this/that house here
gidan (with the final -n) – often a more specific/definite house in certain structures

In suna cikin gida, the natural translation in English is “in the house”, even though Hausa just says gida without a “the.”

Why is it Waɗannan yara, not Waɗannan yaran?

Waɗannan already makes the noun phrase definite and specific (“these children”).

yara – children
yaran – the children (where -n can mark a specific set, often in possessive or descriptive phrases, e.g. yaranmu “our children”)

When you use a demonstrative like Waɗannan, you normally use the bare plural:

Waɗannan yara – these children
Waɗannan mutane – these people

Something like Waɗannan yaran would usually need to be part of a bigger phrase, e.g. Waɗannan yaran da ka gani – these children that you saw.

How is the special letter ɗ in Waɗannan pronounced?

The Hausa letter ɗ represents an implosive d sound.

It is not the same as English d.
To pronounce it, start like a normal d, but pull a little air inward (into the mouth) as you voice it, rather than pushing air out.
The tongue touches roughly where it does for English d, but the airflow and “feel” are different.

If that’s hard at first, many learners approximate ɗ with a normal d, but it’s good to learn the distinction, because d and ɗ can distinguish meanings in Hausa.

Can I also say Waɗannan yara suna a cikin gida? Is that correct?

Yes, Waɗannan yara suna a cikin gida is also grammatical and natural.

a is a general preposition meaning roughly in/at/on.
You can say either:
- suna cikin gida
- suna a cikin gida

In many everyday situations they mean essentially the same thing. Some speakers omit a, others include it; both patterns are widely heard.

What is the basic word order in this sentence? Could I put cikin gida before suna?

Standard Hausa word order is Subject – (Tense/Aspect) – Verb – Other elements (like place). For this type of sentence:

Waɗannan yara (Subject)
suna (pronoun + aspect; functions like “are”)
cikin gida (location)

So: Waɗannan yara suna cikin gida.

Putting cikin gida before suna (Waɗannan yara cikin gida suna) would sound wrong in normal, neutral speech. Word order is quite rigid in simple declarative sentences.

How would I say “Those children are in the house” instead of “These children are in the house”?

You change the demonstrative from Waɗannan (“these”) to Waɗancan (“those”):

Waɗancan yara suna cikin gida.
- Waɗancan = those (plural, far from the speaker)
- yara = children
- suna cikin gida = are in the house

Does suna mean only “are now”, or can it also mean “are usually”?

suna is a non‑completed / continuous aspect marker. It can cover both:

Right now / currently
- Waɗannan yara suna cikin gida.
  – These children are (currently) in the house.
Habitual / usually / generally (depending on context)
- Waɗannan yara suna cikin gida da yamma.
  – These children are (usually) in the house in the evening.

So suna doesn’t map neatly onto English “are now” vs “are usually”; the context tells you whether it’s a one‑time current situation or a regular habit.