Speak and Write Language Series
Sashe na 1 — Unit I: Kai da Rayuwa (Self and Life Experience)
4

Lafiya da Rayuwa Mai Kyau

B1 Development · Speak and Write Hausa: Independent Communication and Connected Discourse

Chapter Overview

Chapter 4 continues Unit I by turning from place to personal well-being. You will describe daily health routines, talk about access to care, discuss prevention, and explain personal choices that support good health. This chapter carries forward the identity and existential predicate patterns, completive/habitual narration, the comparative pattern, and reference-tracking systems introduced and practiced in Chapters 1 through 3, and applies them to a new communicative task: discussing health and well-being rather than people or places.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. Describe a daily health routine, including sleep, food, exercise, and rest.
  2. Name and discuss common health concerns and ways of accessing care.
  3. Compare two habits or routines using the consolidated comparative pattern.
  4. Describe a change in a health habit, using a "before and now" contrast.
  5. Discuss simple prevention practices and personal health choices.
  6. Ask a partner about their health routine and respond to their answers.
  7. Track reference to more than one habit or person across a connected passage.
  8. Ask for clarification or repetition when a description of health or routine is not understood.
  9. Read and interpret a short passage describing a health routine or a change in habits.
  10. Write a short, organized paragraph describing a health routine, a comparison, and a change.

Communication Scenario

The following week, the instructor asks Halima and Sule to describe their health routines and how they have changed. Sule explains that he now sleeps earlier and walks to work instead of taking a motorcycle, and describes why. Halima compares her diet now with her diet a few years ago, and explains a small change she made after visiting a clinic. As they talk, each asks the other to clarify a detail about a routine or a reason. This chapter follows their conversation and asks you to prepare a similar description of your own health routine or one you know well.

  1. No new vocabulary domain beyond health, routine, prevention, and personal-choice terms is introduced in this chapter; place and infrastructure vocabulary from Chapter 3, relationship vocabulary from Chapter 2, and personal-history vocabulary from Chapter 1 remain active.
  2. No new grammar system is introduced. This chapter continues to consolidate independent pronouns, subject-reference patterns, and completive/habitual forms already active since Volume II, and extends the comparative pattern, the "before and now" contrast, and reference tracking from Chapters 2 and 3 to descriptions of health routines and personal choices.
  3. This chapter continues Unit I, which will be formally assessed in Chapter 5.
  4. Vocabulary and grammar from Chapters 1 through 3, and from Volume I and Volume II, remain fully active and are expected to appear accurately throughout this chapter's tasks.
Kalmomin Aiki — Core Vocabulary

Core Vocabulary

The table below presents the highest-value health, routine, and prevention vocabulary this chapter's discussion depends on. Place and infrastructure vocabulary from Chapter 3, relationship vocabulary from Chapter 2, and personal-history vocabulary from Chapter 1 remain active and are not repeated here.

BokoMeaningNotes
lafiyahealth, well-being; also used as a greeting responsefeminine noun; lafiya lau, completely well
jikibodymasculine noun; plural jikuna (rarely used; usually unmarked)
barcisleepmasculine noun; yin barci, to sleep
abincifoodmasculine noun; abinci mai gina jiki, nutritious food
motsa jikiexercisefixed phrase; yin motsa jiki, to exercise
asibitihospital, clinicmasculine noun; plural asibitoci
likitadoctormasculine noun; plural likitoci; feminine reference likitar mace when needed
maganimedicine, treatmentmasculine noun; plural magungunan
rigakafiprevention, vaccinationmasculine noun; yin rigakafi, to get vaccinated / to take precaution
ciwoillness, painmasculine noun; plural cututtuka

Pronunciation Focus

Sound Focus — Tone and vowel length in health vocabulary

This chapter's pronunciation focus continues consolidating tone and vowel length in a recycled-pattern vocabulary set. Pay particular attention to the tone contrast between lafiya (health/well-being) and words of similar shape, and to the vowel length in ciwo (illness, pain), since confusing these can affect whether a listener understands you to be describing good health or a health complaint. As in Chapters 1 through 3, keep an even syllable rhythm across full sentences, especially when a sentence names more than one habit or routine and compares them.

Grammar and Sentence Patterns

This chapter introduces no new grammar system. It continues to consolidate independent pronouns, subject-reference patterns, and completive/habitual forms already active since Volume II, and extends the comparative pattern and reference-tracking work begun in Chapters 1 through 3 to passages describing health routines and personal choices.

4.1 Reviewing: Describing a routine with existential and habitual predicates

  • Ina da lafiya lau, kuma ina motsa jiki kowace safiya.I am completely well, and I exercise every morning.
  • Yana da ciwon kai kaɗan, amma yana shan magani.He has a slight headache, but he is taking medicine.

The existential pattern with yana da, consolidated since Volume II and used in Chapter 3 to describe a place's features, is recycled here to describe a person's health condition or habit rather than a place's infrastructure.

4.2 Reviewing: Comparing two habits or routines

Language Building Block — Comparing Two Habits
[habit/person A] ya/ta fi [habit/person B] [adjective]
Cin abinci mai gina jiki ya fi cin abincin kwalta lafiya.
Eating nutritious food is healthier than eating fast food.
Sule ya fi ni yin motsa jiki.
Sule exercises more than I do.

The comparative pattern ya/ta fi, already used to compare people in Chapter 2 and places in Chapter 3, is recycled here to compare habits, foods, and routines. As in earlier chapters, once the second habit or person has been named, a pronoun can replace it in a following sentence.

4.3 Reviewing: Describing a health change with "before and now"

  • A da, ba na yin motsa jiki, kuma ina cin abinci mai yawan mai.Before, I did not exercise, and I ate food with a lot of oil.
  • Amma yanzu, na canja, kuma ina tafiya da ƙafa zuwa aiki kowace rana.But now, I have changed, and I walk to work every day.

The time expression a da and the contrastive connector amma yanzu, already recycled in Chapter 3 to contrast a place's past and present, allow a speaker to contrast an earlier habit with a present one using only completive and habitual forms already consolidated.

4.4 Extending: Reference tracking across a health narrative

When a passage describes a person's health routine and a change, it usually mentions the person and the habit more than once. Track each clearly with pronouns once each has been introduced, just as you tracked places in Chapter 3.

  • Halima ta je asibiti domin ciwon kai. Likitan ya ce ta rage barci kaɗan, kuma yanzu tana barci da wuri.Halima went to the hospital because of a headache. The doctor said she should reduce her sleep a little [i.e. adjust her sleep schedule], and now she sleeps early."Halima" named once, then tracked with "ta"; "likita" named once, then tracked with "likitan...ya"

Atisayen ƙa'ida — Grammar practice: Complete each sentence with the word or expression that fits.

  1. Cin abinci mai gina jiki ___ (ya fi/ne) cin abincin kwalta lafiya.
  2. ___ (A da/Yanzu), ba na motsa jiki, amma yanzu ina yi kowace rana.
  3. Yana da ciwon kai kaɗan, ___ (amma/domin) yana shan magani.
  4. Halima ta je asibiti. ___ (Ita/Halima) ta ce likita ya taimaka mata sosai.

Model Dialogue

Yanayin hali: A cikin aji, malami ya nemi Sule da Halima su kwatanta yadda suke kula da lafiyarsu.

(Setting: In class, the instructor asks Sule and Halima to describe how they take care of their health.)

SULE A da, ba na yin motsa jiki, kuma ina cin abincin kwalta sosai. Amma yanzu, na canja.Before, I didn't exercise, and I ate a lot of fast food. But now, I have changed.
HALIMA Shin, me ya sa ka canja?What made you change?
SULE Na kan ji ciwon kai sosai, sai na je asibiti. Likita ya ce ni ya kamata na yi motsa jiki, kuma na rage cin abincin kwalta.I used to get headaches a lot, so I went to the hospital. The doctor said I should exercise, and I should reduce eating fast food.
HALIMA Ban gama fahimta ba. Ka ce likita ne ya faɗa maka, ko kai kanka ka gane?I didn't fully understand. Did you say it was the doctor who told you, or did you realize it yourself?
SULE Likita ne ya faɗa mini, kuma na fahimci cewa yana da gaskiya bayan na fara motsa jiki. Kai fa, yaya kike kula da lafiyarki?It was the doctor who told me, and I understood he was right after I started exercising. What about you, how do you take care of your health?
HALIMA Ni kuwa, ina cin abinci mai gina jiki fiye da da, kuma ina barci da wuri. Cin abinci mai gina jiki ya fi cin abincin kwalta lafiya.As for me, I eat more nutritious food than before, and I sleep early. Eating nutritious food is healthier than eating fast food.
SULE Gaskiya ne. Amma na fi ki yin motsa jiki, domin ina tafiya da ƙafa zuwa aiki kowace rana.That's true. But I exercise more than you, because I walk to work every day.
HALIMA Wannan gaskiya ne. Kowa yana da hanyarsa ta kula da lafiya, muddin tana da amfani.That's true. Everyone has their own way of taking care of their health, as long as it is beneficial.

Tambayoyin fahimta — Comprehension questions:

  1. What was Sule's health habit before, and what did he change?
  2. What made Sule change his habit?
  3. What does Halima ask Sule to clarify, and why?
  4. How does Halima describe her own health routine?
  5. What general statement does Halima make at the end of the conversation?

Guided Practice

Aikin gane — Recognition: Underline every health or routine expression, comparative form, and reference-tracking pronoun in the Model Dialogue.

Aikin zaɓi — Selection: Choose the correct word for each blank: (1) Cin abinci mai gina jiki ___ (ya fi/ne) cin abincin kwalta lafiya. (2) ___ (A da/Amma) ba na motsa jiki, yanzu ina yi kowace rana.

Aikin gyara maimaici — Reference-tracking correction: Rewrite the following short passage, replacing unnecessary repetition of a name with a pronoun where natural: Halima ta je asibiti. Halima ta ji ciwon kai. Halima ta sha magani, kuma Halima ta warke.

Aikin haɗawa — Sentence-combination practice: Combine each pair of short sentences into one connected sentence using amma, kuma, or amma yanzu: (a) A da, ba na yin motsa jiki. Yanzu ina yi kowace rana. (b) Yana da ciwon kai kaɗan. Yana shan magani.

Listening Practice

Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud, twice. Answer the questions after listening. This task assesses your comprehension of a connected passage describing a health routine and its change over time.

Sauraro — Canjin Rayuwar Amina (Listening: The Change in Amina's Lifestyle)

"Amina tana zama a wata unguwa a birnin Kaduna. A da, ba ta yin motsa jiki, kuma tana cin abincin kwalta sosai domin ba ta da lokaci. Amma bayan ta ji ciwon ciki sau da yawa, ta je asibiti. Likita ya ce ta rage cin abincin kwalta, kuma ta fara yin motsa jiki kowace safiya. Yanzu, Amina tana tafiya da ƙafa zuwa kasuwa maimakon hawan mota, kuma tana cin abinci mai gina jiki fiye da da. Ta ce ta fi ji daɗi yanzu, domin jikinta ya fi ƙarfi. Duk da haka, Amina ta ce wani lokaci har yanzu take son abincin kwalta, domin abinci mai gina jiki yakan ɗauki lokaci mai tsawo don a shirya."

Kula na sauraro — Questions: (1) What was Amina's habit in the past, and why? (2) What made Amina change her habit? (3) What has Amina changed about her routine now? (4) What does Amina say she still struggles with, and why?

Rubutun sauraro don malami, abokin karatu, ko amfani da rubutun lantarki. Duba amsoshi a sashi na amsoshi.
(Listening Script for Instructor, Partner, or Text-to-Speech Use. See Answer Key for expected responses.)

Speaking Practice

Atisayen ƙa'ida — Controlled substitution drill

With a partner, take turns naming one health habit you have, one reason for it, and one change you have made, using the sentence patterns from Sections 4.1 and 4.3.

Tattaunawa — Communicative task

With a partner, role-play the discussion scene from the Model Dialogue, but describe your own real or invented health routine and compare it to your partner's, describing a change you have made. Include at least one comparative sentence with ya/ta fi, one reference-tracking pronoun for a second person or habit, and one moment where your partner asks you to clarify something.

Madadin karatu kai tsaye — Solo alternative

Record yourself describing a health routine in at least eight connected sentences: what your routine is like, one reason for a habit, a comparison with another person's habit, and a change you have made, tracking both people or habits without repeating names unnecessarily.

Reading Practice

Read the short passage below. Underline every health or routine expression, circle every comparative form, and put a box around every instance of pronoun reference tracking.

Karatu — Garba da Ɗan'uwansa Bello (Reading: Garba and His Brother Bello)

Garba ba ya yin motsa jiki sosai, amma ɗan'uwansa Bello yana yin motsa jiki kowace safiya. Garba ya ce shi, ba shi da lokaci, domin aikinsa yana ɗaukar sa'o'i da yawa. Bello kuwa yana tafiya da ƙafa zuwa aiki, kuma ya fi Garba ƙarfin jiki. A da, Bello shi ma ba ya motsa jiki, amma bayan ya ji ciwon baya sosai, sai ya je asibiti. Likita ya ce masa ya kamata ya fara motsa jiki da tafiya da ƙafa. Yanzu, Bello ya canja rayuwarsa sosai, kuma ba ya jin ciwon baya kamar da. Garba ya ce zai fara koyi da ɗan'uwansa nan gaba, domin ya fahimci cewa lafiya na da amfani fiye da kowane abu.

Tambayoyin fahimta — Comprehension questions:

  1. What is Garba's habit, and why does he give that reason?
  2. What is Bello's habit, and how does it compare to Garba's?
  3. What changed in Bello's routine, and why?
  4. What does Garba say he plans to do, and why?

Writing Workshop

  1. Karanta labarin da hankali. Reread Garba and Bello's story and notice how it links a health-routine description, a comparison, a change, and a reason into one connected passage.
  2. Tsarawa. Plan a short passage of your own (real or invented) describing a health routine, a comparison with another person's habit, and a change you have made.
  3. Rubuta. Write 100–130 words in Hausa. Include a clear description of the routine, a reason or cause, a comparison using ya/ta fi, a "before and now" contrast, and at least one instance of reference tracking for the second person or habit.
  4. Duba jerin bincike. Check your draft against the checklist below.
  5. Rubuta siffa ta ƙarshe. Produce a clean final version.

Jerin binciken gyara — Editing checklist:

  • The health routine or habit being described is clearly identified.
  • A reason or cause is stated accurately.
  • A comparison between two habits or people is made using ya/ta fi.
  • A "before and now" contrast appears where appropriate.
  • The second person or habit is tracked afterward with a pronoun, not repeated by name.
  • Prior systems from Chapters 1-3 and Volume II (TAM/aspect, pronouns, connectors) remain accurate where they appear.
  • No grammar or vocabulary beyond the cumulative Chapter 1–4 scope appears.
  • Special characters (ɓ, ɗ, ƙ, ƴ) and the apostrophe/glottal convention are used accurately.

Culture and Communication

Culture in Context — Health, care, and access

Access to hospitals, clinics, and medicine varies considerably across Hausa-speaking communities, just as infrastructure access varied in Chapter 3, and has been changing over time. Some households rely on nearby clinics, others travel farther for care, and traditional and biomedical approaches to health sometimes coexist within the same family or community. Presenting Sule's, Halima's, Garba's, or Bello's routines and choices as individual examples, rather than as a universal description of "how Hausa speakers take care of their health," is a more accurate way to describe this variation.

Regional Variation — Talking about illness and treatment

Vocabulary and expressions for discussing illness, treatment, and recovery can vary by region, generation, and setting, and speakers may draw on Arabic-origin, English-origin, or locally rooted terms depending on the context and the type of care being discussed. This chapter uses general, widely understood vocabulary; more specialized or regionally marked medical terms are introduced for recognition in later chapters when the topic requires them.

Common Mistakes

Common Mistake — Repeating a name instead of tracking reference in a health narrative

Error: *Halima ta je asibiti. Halima ta ji ciwon kai. Halima ta sha magani, kuma Halima ta warke. (repeating the full name in every sentence of a passage about one person)

Correction: Halima ta je asibiti domin ciwon kai. Ta sha magani, kuma ta warke. — Once a person has been named, continue with the pronoun ya/ta, exactly as practiced with people in Chapter 2 and places in Chapter 3.

Common Mistake — Placing the compared item incorrectly in the ya/ta fi pattern

Error: *Ni na fi lafiya Sule. (placing the point of comparison, lafiya, before the person compared to)

Correction: Ni na fi Sule lafiya. — The pattern is [subject] + ya/ta fi + [item compared to] + [quality]. The quality word always comes last, as already practiced in Chapters 2 and 3.

Chapter Summary

This chapter introduced health, routine, and prevention vocabulary and applied the existential predicate pattern, the comparative pattern ya/ta fi, and the "before and now" contrast, already consolidated in Volume II and Chapters 1-3, to a new communicative task: describing health routines, reasons, and personal choices. It also extended reference tracking from places to people and habits, continuing the connected-discourse work of Unit I.

Chapter Review

Sashi na A — Kalmomi (Vocabulary)

1. Give the Hausa for: health, body, sleep, food, exercise, hospital, doctor, medicine, prevention, illness.

Sashi na B — Nahawu (Grammar)

1. Write two sentences comparing two health habits, using ya/ta fi.

2. Write one sentence describing a change in a habit, using a da and amma yanzu.

3. Rewrite this passage to correct unnecessary name repetition: Sule yana da ciwon kai. Sule ya je asibiti. Sule ya sha magani.

Sashi na C — Karatu da Rubutu

1. Reread Garba and Bello's story and summarize it in three to four English sentences.

2. Write your 100–130-word passage about a health routine, following the Writing Workshop instructions.

Sashi na D — Magana

1. With a partner or instructor, perform the communicative task from the Speaking Practice section.

Practical Performance Task

Aikin Aiwatarwa — Chapter 4 Performance

Lafiyata — My Health

Complete all four components, drawing on vocabulary and grammar from this chapter, Chapters 1-3, and Volume II:

  • Listening: Listen to Amina's lifestyle story and answer the comprehension questions.
  • Speaking: With a partner, role-play a discussion of a health routine, including a reason, a comparison with another person's habit, and a change over time.
  • Reading: Read Garba and Bello's story and answer the comprehension questions.
  • Writing: Submit your 100–130-word connected passage about a health routine.

Evaluation criteria: clear description of the routine or habit; accurate reason or cause; accurate use of the comparative pattern; an accurate "before and now" contrast; reference tracking across the passage; accurate integration of TAM/aspect, pronouns, and connectors carried forward from Chapters 1-3 and Volume II; natural use of communication repair; accurate ordinary Boko spelling and special characters. Consistent with B1 developmental expectations, comprehensible and task-fulfilling communication should not be penalized as though produced by an advanced speaker.

Independent Study Tools

Self-check: Can you describe a health routine, a reason for it, a comparison with another person's habit, and a change it has undergone, tracking both people or habits across the whole passage, without looking back at this chapter? If not, review Sections 4.1–4.4 before submitting your final performance task.

Vocabulary review method: Add this chapter's health, routine, and prevention vocabulary to your Volume III flashcard set, and quiz yourself on which words describe habits, causes, and change.

Extra practice: Write or record two additional short passages describing health routines, one about yourself and one about someone else you know, and check your work against this chapter's checklist before moving to Chapter 5.

Answer Key / Amsoshi

Aikin zaɓi (Word selection)

  1. Cin abinci mai gina jiki ya fi cin abincin kwalta lafiya.
  2. A da, ba na motsa jiki, yanzu ina yi kowace rana.

Aikin gyara maimaici (Reference-tracking correction)

Sample: Halima ta je asibiti. Ta ji ciwon kai, sai ta sha magani, kuma ta warke. (Other natural revisions that reduce repetition are acceptable.)

Aikin haɗawa (Sentence-combination practice)

Sample: (a) A da, ba na yin motsa jiki, amma yanzu ina yi kowace rana. (b) Yana da ciwon kai kaɗan, amma yana shan magani. (Other accurate combinations are acceptable.)

Atisayen ƙa'ida (Grammar practice, Section 4)

  1. Cin abinci mai gina jiki ya fi cin abincin kwalta lafiya.
  2. A da, ba na motsa jiki, amma yanzu ina yi kowace rana.
  3. Yana da ciwon kai kaɗan, amma yana shan magani.
  4. Halima ta je asibiti. Ita ta ce likita ya taimaka mata sosai.

Tambayoyin fahimta na tattaunawa (Dialogue comprehension)

  1. Before, Sule did not exercise and ate a lot of fast food; he changed by starting to exercise and reducing fast food.
  2. Frequent headaches led Sule to visit the hospital, where a doctor advised him to exercise and reduce fast food.
  3. Halima asks Sule to clarify whether the doctor told him to change or whether he realized it himself; he confirms it was the doctor, and that he came to agree after exercising.
  4. Halima describes eating more nutritious food than before and sleeping early.
  5. Halima states that everyone has their own way of taking care of their health, as long as it is beneficial.

Kula na sauraro (Listening responses)

(1) In the past, Amina did not exercise and ate a lot of fast food because she had no time. (2) Frequent stomach pain led her to visit the hospital, where a doctor advised changes. (3) She now walks to the market instead of riding, exercises each morning, and eats more nutritious food. (4) She says she still sometimes wants fast food, because nutritious food takes longer to prepare.

Tambayoyin karatu (Reading comprehension)

  1. Garba does not exercise much, giving lack of time due to his job as the reason.
  2. Bello exercises every morning and walks to work; he is stronger than Garba.
  3. Bello changed his routine after severe back pain led him to the hospital, where a doctor advised exercise and walking.
  4. Garba says he plans to follow his brother's example, because he has realized health is more valuable than anything else.

Sashi na B (Chapter Review grammar)

  1. Sample: Cin abinci mai gina jiki ya fi cin abincin kwalta lafiya. (Other accurate sentences are acceptable.)
  2. Sample: A da, ba na motsa jiki, amma yanzu ina yi kowace rana.
  3. Sule yana da ciwon kai. Ya je asibiti, kuma ya sha magani.

Sashi na C (Sample writing)

A da, ba na yin motsa jiki, kuma ina cin abincin kwalta sosai domin ba ni da lokaci. Amma bayan na ji ciwon kai sau da yawa, na je asibiti. Likita ya ce ni ya kamata na canja rayuwata. Yanzu, ina tafiya da ƙafa zuwa aiki kowace rana, kuma ina cin abinci mai gina jiki fiye da da. Cin abinci mai gina jiki ya fi cin abincin kwalta lafiya. Duk da haka, wani lokaci har yanzu ina son abincin kwalta, domin abinci mai gina jiki yakan ɗauki lokaci mai tsawo.

Other accurate, well-formed passages meeting the stated requirements are equally acceptable.

Looking Ahead

Abin da ka/ki koya — What you have learned

This chapter carried forward pronouns, completive/habitual narration, the comparative pattern, and sequencing connectors from Chapters 1-3 and Volume II and applied them to a new task: describing health routines, reasons, prevention, and personal choices. It also extended reference tracking to passages naming two people or habits, continuing the connected-discourse work of Unit I.

Mai Zuwa — Coming Up

Chapter 5, Bita 1: Labarin Rayuwa, is the Unit I assessment. It integrates personal history, relationships, place, and health into a single connected narration task, drawing on the pronoun, TAM/aspect, comparative, and reference-tracking systems introduced and reviewed in Chapters 1 through 4.