Hausa (ISO: ha) — Guide to Pronunciation, Grammar, and Useful Phrases
Afro-Asiatic • Chadic • Latin “Boko” & Arabic “Ajami” • SVO • Tone
Number of Speakers (est.)
Native ~50–60M • L2 20–30M+ across Nigeria, Niger, and the Sahel
NigeriaNigerWest Africa & Sahel
Family / Branch
Afro-Asiatic → Chadic. Major regional lingua franca for trade, media, and education.
Tone languageAnalytic with TAM particles
Writing System
Latin (Boko) with special letters ɓ ɗ ƙ ƴ; Arabic (Ajami) also used in religious/literary contexts.
sh = [ʃ]ts = [t͡s]c = [t͡ʃ]ƙ = ejective [kʼ]
Typical Word Order
SVO; adjectives follow nouns; prepositions like a (in/at), ga (to), da (and/with).
Negation: ba … baFocus copula: ne/ce
ISO Codes
ISO 639-1: ha • 639-2: hau • 639-3: hau
Standard: Kano-basedMedia: “Kannywood”
Difficulty (for English speakers)
Medium: clear word order, but tone + TAM forms and negation bracketing are new.
No case endingsCompact verb system
Quick Overview
Hausa is a major West African language with global cultural reach. It’s SVO, uses tone (usually unmarked in everyday
spelling), and builds meaning with tidy TAM (Tense–Aspect–Mood) particles rather than heavy conjugation. You’ll meet three
big workhorses fast: perfective (“done”), progressive (“ongoing”), and future (“going to”).
Sound & Spelling Tips
Special letters:ɓ [ɓ], ɗ [ɗ], ƙ [kʼ], ƴ [j̰]. They matter for meaning.
Everyday digraphs:sh = “sh”, ts = alveolar affricate, c = “ch”, j = “j” in “jam”.
Tone: high/low (and downstep) exist but are often omitted in plain text—context does the heavy lifting.
Vowel length: long vowels are written double (e.g., gaa) and can change meaning.
Future (FUT):zan, za ka/za ki, za ya/za ta, za mu, za ku, za su + verb → “will/going to”.
Negation: bracket with ba … ba: Ba su je ba “They didn’t go.”
Focus copula:ne (masc./plural), ce (fem. sg.): Wannan littafi ne “This is a book.”
Dialects & Register
Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Niger varieties lead the standard. Media and film (“Kannywood”) spread an accessible,
learner-friendly register. Ajami script lives in religious and literary spheres; Boko rules most print and online content.
History (Very Short)
Sahelian trade → city-state culture → regional lingua franca → modern cross-border media language.
Sample & Breakdown
Na je kasuwa. na je kasuwa 1SG.PFV go market → “I went to the market.”
Ina cin abinci. ina cin abinci 1SG.PROG eat food → “I’m eating.” (note noun-like cin)
Ba su zo ba. ba su zo ba NEG 3PL come NEG → “They didn’t come.”
Common Phrases
Sannu (Hello)Barka da safe (Good morning)Yaya kake/kike? (How are you?)Na gode (Thank you)Don Allah (Please)Sai anjima (See you later)
Maraba! Friendly and widely understood across Hausa-speaking regions.