Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ku karanta saƙon da malami ya tura mana ta waya. - Read the message that the teacher sent to us by phone.

Ku karanta = “(You all) read…”
You use ku when:
- you’re talking to more than one person, or
- you want to sound polite/formal, even to one person (in many contexts).

Singular forms:

Ka karanta – to one male
Ki karanta – to one female

So the sentence is addressing a group (or is politely general): “You (all) read the message…”

Why is the verb karanta in this form? Is it an imperative?

Yes. In Hausa, the basic way to form a command is:

Ku / Ka / Ki + verb (bare form)

So:

karanta is the bare verb form “to read.”
Ku karanta is “Read!” directed at several people (or politely).

No extra ending or marker is added to the verb itself; the command meaning comes from Ku / Ka / Ki plus context.

What is the difference between saƙo and saƙon?

saƙo = “a message” (indefinite)
saƙon = “the message” (definite, “that message” / “the message in question”)

The -n at the end is a definite marker that attaches to nouns:

littafi → littafin = “the book”
saƙo → saƙon = “the message”

In the sentence, saƙon da malami ya tura mana ta waya means “the message that the teacher sent us by phone,” so the message is specific and therefore takes -n.

What does da do in this sentence?

Here da is a relative particle, similar to English “that / which / who” introducing a relative clause.

Structure:

saƙon [da malami ya tura mana ta waya]
“the message that the teacher sent us by phone”

So:

da links saƙon to the clause malami ya tura mana ta waya.
It tells you that the clause is describing or identifying the saƙo (which message? The one that the teacher sent).

Why is it malami ya tura and not malamin ya tura or shi ya tura?

In this relative clause, we’re introducing which message we mean, and the subject inside the clause is just malami (“a/the teacher”) acting like a normal subject noun.

malami ya tura = “the teacher sent”
ya is the 3rd person singular masculine subject marker (≈ “he”).

Why not malamin?

malamin means “the teacher” (with the definite ending), and it could appear in other contexts, but in many relative clauses like this, Hausa prefers the simpler malami. The definiteness of saƙon and the context already make it clear which teacher is meant.

Why not shi ya tura?

shi = “he” (independent pronoun).
shi ya tura would be “HE sent (it)” with extra emphasis on “he,” and would usually come after you’ve already mentioned him:
- malaminmu, shi ya tura mana saƙon – “Our teacher, HE sent us the message.”
In a simple relative clause identifying the message, malami ya tura is the normal, un-emphasized way.

What does tura mean, and why isn’t the word saƙo repeated after it?

tura is the verb “to send.”
ya tura = “he sent.”

We don’t repeat saƙo because the verb is in a relative clause that already refers back to saƙon:

saƙon [da malami ya tura mana ta waya]
literally: “the message that the teacher sent to-us by phone”

In English we also avoid repeating sometimes:

“the message that the teacher sent us (by phone)”
(we don’t usually say “the message that the teacher sent us the message by phone”)

The object of tura is understood as “that same saƙo,” so it is omitted.

What exactly does mana mean, and how is it different from mu?

mana is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to us / for us,” often with a bit of emphasis.

ya tura mana saƙon = “He sent us the message” / “He sent the message to us.”

Compare:

mu = “we / us” as a subject or emphatic object pronoun:
- mu mun karanta saƙon – “We read the message.”
- ya tura wa mu saƙon – “He sent the message to us” (more formal/specific).

But mana is the common, clitic-like form used right next to the verb:

ya tura mana – “he sent (it) to us”
ya kawo mana littafi – “he brought us a book”

So in this sentence, mana means “to us” and is the normal choice after tura.

In ta waya, is ta the pronoun “she”? What does this phrase mean?

Here ta is not “she.” It is a preposition that often means “by / via / through” when used with means of communication or transport.

waya = “phone” (telephone, mobile)
ta waya = “by phone / via phone / over the phone”

So ya tura mana ta waya means “he sent (it) to us by phone.”

Other similar uses:

ta mota – by car
ta imel – by email

What is the overall structure of the relative clause da malami ya tura mana ta waya?

The structure is:

da – that/which (relative marker)
malami – the teacher (subject)
ya tura – he sent (verb)
mana – to us (indirect object)
ta waya – by phone (means)

So, step by step:

saƙon – “the message”
da – “that / which”
malami ya tura mana ta waya – “the teacher sent to us by phone”

Together: “the message that the teacher sent to us by phone.”

Word order inside the clause is just normal Hausa S–V–(IO)–(others):

Subject: malami
Verb: ya tura
Indirect object: mana
Adverbial phrase: ta waya

What tense or aspect is ya tura? Could I say malami yana turawa instead?

ya tura is the perfective aspect in Hausa, usually translating as a simple completed past:

malami ya tura mana saƙon = “The teacher sent us the message (already).”

Using yana turawa would change the meaning:

malami yana turawa mana saƙo = “The teacher is sending us a message” / “The teacher keeps sending us messages” (ongoing or habitual).

In the sentence you gave, the idea is a completed action (the message has already been sent), so ya tura is the natural form.

How would the sentence change if I’m talking to just one person, or if the teacher is female?

For one listener:

To one male: Ka karanta saƙon da malami ya tura mana ta waya.
To one female: Ki karanta saƙon da malami ya tura mana ta waya.

If the teacher is female, you change the subject marker ya (“he”) to ta (“she”):

Plural addressee:
Ku karanta saƙon da malama ta tura mana ta waya.
Singular male addressee:
Ka karanta saƙon da malama ta tura mana ta waya.
Singular female addressee:
Ki karanta saƙon da malama ta tura mana ta waya.

Changes:

malami → malama (female teacher)
ya tura → ta tura (she sent)
Ku/Ka/Ki depending on who you’re commanding.