Yau na ga alƙalami na a ƙarƙashin kujera.

They are two different na's with two different jobs:

• na in Yau na ga ... = I in the completive/perfective form, so na ga means I saw / I have seen
• na in alƙalami na = my

So even though they look the same, they do not mean the same thing here.

na ga means I saw or I have seen, depending on context.

In this sentence, with Yau (today), the most natural English meaning is:

• Today I saw ...

The verb involved is gani (to see), and ga is the form used here after na.

In Hausa, possessive words like my usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• alƙalami na = pen my literally
• natural English: my pen

That is normal Hausa word order.

Also, the possessive form changes depending on the noun class. Here alƙalami takes na, so alƙalami na = my pen.

Yau means today.

It gives the time of the action:

• Yau na ga alƙalami na ... = Today I saw my pen ...

In Hausa, time words like yau often come near the beginning of the sentence, though they can sometimes appear elsewhere depending on style and emphasis.

It means under a/the chair.

You can think of it roughly like this:

• a = a location marker, often translated as in / at / on
• ƙarƙashin = under / beneath
• kujera = chair

So:

• a ƙarƙashin kujera = under the chair or under a chair

The whole phrase tells you where the pen was.

Because Hausa often uses a special linked form when one noun-like element is followed by another.

Here:

• ƙarƙashi = the underside / underneath
• ƙarƙashin kujera = the underside of a chair, which naturally means under the chair

That -n helps connect it to the following noun kujera.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Hausa does not use articles exactly like English a/an/the in every case. So:

• kujera can be a chair
• kujera can also be the chair

So a ƙarƙashin kujera may be understood as:

• under a chair
• under the chair

Usually the situation or previous conversation makes it clear.

The order is:

• Yau = time
• na ga = subject + verb
• alƙalami na = object
• a ƙarƙashin kujera = location

So the pattern is roughly:

Time + Subject/Verb + Object + Place

In smoother English order, that becomes:

• Today I saw my pen under the chair.

The a marks location.

It is very common in Hausa before places or location expressions. In this sentence, it introduces the phrase telling where the pen was found/seen:

• a ƙarƙashin kujera = under the chair

So even though English just says under the chair, Hausa uses a as part of the location expression.

ƙ is a different consonant from ordinary k in Hausa.

It is pronounced as a stronger, glottalized/ejective kind of k sound. English does not have an exact equivalent, so learners usually need practice hearing and producing the difference.

So:

• k and ƙ are different letters
• they can change the meaning of a word

That is why Hausa spelling keeps them separate.

In modern Hausa, alƙalami commonly means pen.

Depending on context or older/literary usage, it can also relate more generally to a writing instrument, but for most learners and everyday contexts, pen is the right meaning.

So:

• alƙalami na = my pen

Sometimes yes, depending on context.

The verb gani is basically see, but in real use I saw my pen under the chair can imply that you discovered it there. In natural English, that may come out as:

• Today I found my pen under the chair

Still, the most direct translation of the Hausa sentence is:

• Today I saw my pen under the chair