Da yamma muna zaune a inuwa muna jin iska.

to be

Breakdown of Da yamma muna zaune a inuwa muna jin iska.

• zauna: to sit
• da: during
• ji: to feel

Questions & Answers about Da yamma muna zaune a inuwa muna jin iska.

What is da doing in Da yamma? Doesn’t da usually mean with or and?

Yes, da often means with or and, but it has several uses in Hausa.

In Da yamma, it is part of a time expression and means something like in / at / during. So:

• Da yamma = in the evening / in the evenings

So this is not the with meaning of da.

Can Da yamma mean both in the evening and in the evenings?

Yes. Hausa often leaves it to context whether something is:

• specific/one-time: in the evening
• habitual/general: in the evenings

Because the rest of the sentence uses muna, which can express an ongoing or habitual action, the whole sentence could be understood as either:

• In the evening, we are sitting in the shade feeling the breeze
• In the evenings, we sit in the shade and feel the breeze

English usually forces you to choose one, but Hausa often allows both until context makes it clear.

What exactly does muna mean?