Comparing Things in Hausa: Fiye Da, Mafi and Kamar

• Ita ta fi shi ƙarfi. — She's stronger than he is.
• Mota ta fi babur sauri. — A car is faster than a motorbike.

More than: fiye da

Fiye da means "more than" with quantities:

• Fiye da mutum ɗari — more than a hundred people
• Fiye da shekara goma — more than ten years

The best: mafi

Mafi is the superlative, "the most", and goes before the adjective noun:

• mafi kyau — the best (most beautiful/good)
• mafi girma — the biggest
• mafi arha — the cheapest

Examples:

• Wannan ne mafi kyau. — This is the best.
• Ita ce mafi tsayi a aji. — She's the tallest in the class.

Less than

For "less", Hausa often uses a negative or a different word:

• Bai kai wancan ba. — It isn't as good as that one. (literally "it doesn't reach")

As ... as: kamar

Kamar means "like, as":

• Kamar yadda ka faɗa. — Just as you said. (to a man)
• Tana kama da mahaifiyarta. — She looks like her mother.

The verb kama ("resemble") plus da ("with") is common: Suna kama da juna. — They look like each other.

Equality

• Iri ɗaya ne. — It's the same kind.
• Daban ne. — It's different.

Adjectives you'll compare

Hausa	Meaning
girma	size, bigness
kyau	goodness, beauty
tsayi	height, length
sauri	speed
ƙarfi	strength
arha	cheapness
tsada	expense
nauyi	heaviness

Notice that Hausa often uses abstract nouns here (girma, kyau), so "X is bigger than Y" is literally "X surpasses Y in size".

Useful sentences

• Wannan ya fi arha. — This is cheaper.
• Wannan ya fi tsada. — This is more expensive.
• Wane ne ya fi kyau? — Which is better?
• Na fi son wannan. — I prefer this one.

Learning tips

1. Learn the pattern X ya fi Y + noun.
2. Learn the common quality nouns in the table.
3. Use mafi for "the most".
4. Practise comparing cities, foods and prices.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting ya / ta agreement.
• Using "more" + adjective as in English.

Look up Hausa words with English Hausa Dictionary →