Hausa Noun Gender and Plurals

Every Hausa noun is masculine or feminine, and this shows up in words like "of", "my" and "this". Plurals are formed in several ways, so they're best learned with each noun.

Two genders

Hausa has masculine and feminine nouns. A helpful clue: many feminine nouns end in -a (but not all), while masculine nouns end in various vowels or consonants.

Examples

• yaro (boy, m.) — yarinya (girl, f.)
• malami (male teacher) — malamiya (female teacher)
• ɗa (son) — ƴa (daughter)
• mutum (person, m.)
• mace (woman, f.) — namiji (man, m.)
• kasuwa (market, f.)
• gida (house, m.)
• mota (car, f.)
• littafi (book, m.)
• rana (sun, day, f.)
• dare (night, m.)

Words for female people and animals are feminine, and many nouns ending in -a are feminine, though there are exceptions (for example, gida is masculine).

Where gender shows

Gender affects:

• The linker "of": -n for masculine and plural nouns, -r for feminine nouns. gidan Audu (Audu's house, gida m.), kasuwar Kano (Kano's market, kasuwa f.).
• Possessives: -na (my, masculine): gidana (my house); -ta (my, feminine): kasuwata.
• Pronouns: shi (he/it, masculine), ita (she/it, feminine).

Making the plural

Hausa has many plural patterns, and there's no single rule. Common types:

• Adding -e or -ne, or vowel changes: gida → gidaje (houses); ɗaki → ɗakuna (rooms); kasuwa → kasuwanni (markets)
• Changing vowels and adding endings: mutum → mutane (people); yaro → yara (children, boys); littafi → littattafai (books)
• Other patterns: doki → dawakai (horses); kare → karnuka (dogs)

Because forms are unpredictable, it's best to learn each noun with its plural, as dictionaries show.

Plurals in sentences

• Ina da littattafai da yawa. — I have many books.
• Yara suna wasa. — Children are playing.
• Mutane sun zo. — People have come.

Agreement in the plural

Plural nouns use -n as a linker (like masculine nouns): gidajen mutane (people's houses).

Collective and uncountable words

Words such as ruwa (water), madara (milk), shinkafa (rice) are usually used in the singular for quantities: ruwa kaɗan (a little water).

Learning strategy

1. Learn nouns with gender and plural as a set.
2. Listen for the linker (-n or -r) to detect gender.
3. Group similar plural patterns.
4. Use the dictionary to check.

Common mistakes

• Adding -s to Hausa nouns.
• Using -n with feminine nouns.
• Forgetting the plural form when several things are meant.

Look up Hausa nouns and plurals with English Hausa Dictionary →