Hausa

Afro-Asiatic (Chadic)

FamilyAfro-Asiatic (Chadic) Speakers~80M (~40M L1 + ~40M L2) ScriptLatin/Arabic (Ajami) CountriesNigeria, Niger, Ghana Official inNigeria (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3hau

Hausa is the most widely spoken Chadic language and a major Sahel-region lingua franca, with ~40M L1 + ~40M L2 across northern Nigeria, Niger, and a wide trade/Islamic diaspora reaching Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, and beyond. It uses two writing systems: Boko (Latin, standardized 1930s) for state/secular use and Ajami (Arabic-derived) for centuries-old Islamic literary tradition. Linguistically Hausa has 2 phonemic tones (high/low), vowel length distinction, and an SVO order with rich verbal aspect — including the unusual Chadic intransitive-copy-pronoun construction. The 19th-century Sokoto Caliphate established Hausa as the imperial-administrative lingua franca of much of the West African Sahel.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Hausa

Water

ruwa

ɾuwaː

Fire

wuta

wuta

Sun

rana

ɾaːnaː

Moon

wata

wata

Star

tauraro

tauraːro

Night

dare

dare

Rain

ruwan sama

ɾuwan sama

Snow

dusar ƙanƙara

dusaɾ kʼankʼara

Wind

iska

ˈiska

Earth

ƙasa

kʼasaː

Stone

dutse

ˈdutse

Mountain

tsauni

tsauniː

Sea

teku

teːku

Mother

uwa

uwaː

Father

uba

ubaː

Daughter

ʼya

ʔja

I

ni

niː

You

kai

kai

We

mu

muː

Name

suna

suːnaː

Person

mutum

mutum

Eye

ido

idoː

Ear

kunne

kunːe

Nose

hanci

hantʃi

Mouth

baki

baːkiː

Tooth

haƙori

hakʼoːriː

Tongue

harshe

harʃeː

Hand

hannu

hanːu

Foot

ƙafa

kʼáfàː

Heart

zuciya

zutʃija

Bone

ƙashi

kʼaʃiː

Blood

jini

dʒìníː

Poop

kashi

kaʃi

Love

ƙauna

kʼauna

Tree

bishiya

biʃija

Dog

kare

kaɾe

Cat

kyanwa

kʲanwa

Fish

kifi

kiːfiː

Bird

tsuntsu

tsúntsúː

Butterfly

malam-buɗa-littafi

maːlam buɗa litːaːfiː

Egg

ƙwai

kʼʷai

Bear

beyar

bejar

Horse

doki

ˈdoːki

House

gida

ɡida

Milk

madara

madara

Honey

zuma

zuma

Salt

gishiri

ɡiʃiri

Wine

ruwan inabi

ɾuwan inabi

Rice

shinkafa

ʃinˈkafa

Chocolate

cakulan

tʃakulan

Iron

ƙarfe

kʼarfe

Wheel

wili

wiːliː

Silk

alharini

alhaˈriːni

Book

littafi

ˈlitːafi

Eat

ci

tʃiː

Drink

sha

ʃaː

Sleep

yi barci

ji bartʃiː

One

ɗaya

ɗaja

Two

biyu

biju

Three

uku

ʔúkù

Four

huɗu

huɗu

Five

biyar

bijar

Hundred

ɗari

ɗari

Hello

sannu

sanːu

Thank you

na gode

na ɡode

Good

nagari

naɡaɾi

New

sabo

saːboː

Red

ja

dʒaː

White

fari

faːriː

Black

baƙi

bakʼiː

Green

kore

ˈkoːre

Blue

shuɗi

ʃuːɗiː

Cock-a-doodle-doo

kukuruku

kúkùrúːkù

Computer

kwamfuta

kʷamfuta

Sushi

sushi

suʃi

Tea

shayi

ʃai

Coffee

kofi

koːfiː

Sugar

sukari

sukariː

Orange

lemu

leːmuː

Ninety-nine

casaʼin da tara

tʃasaʔin da tara

Dopamine

Dopamine

dopamine

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Afro-Asiatic (Chadic)

Meaning HausaOromoAramaicWolayttaPashaiIrulaSidamo
Water ruwa /ɾuwaː/ bishaan /biʃaːn/ ܡܝܐ /majjaː/ haatta /haːtːa/ واری /waːri/ nīr /niːɾ/ waa /waː/
Fire wuta /wuta/ ibidda /ibidːa/ ܢܘܪܐ /nuːraː/ tama /tama/ انگاری /aŋɡaːri/ tī /tiː/ giira /ɡiːra/
Sun rana /ɾaːnaː/ aduu /aduː/ ܫܡܫܐ /ʃemʃaː/ awa /awa/ سور /sur/ čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ arrishsho /arːiʃːo/
Moon wata /wata/ jiʼa /dʒiʔa/ ܣܗܪܐ /sahraː/ aginaa /aɡinaː/ مس /mas/ niḷā /niɭaː/ agana /aɡana/
Star tauraro /tauraːro/ urjii /urdʒiː/ ܟܘܟܒܐ /koːχβaː/ xoolinttee /tʼoːlintːeː/ تارا /taːraː/ naṭčattiram /naʈtʃatːiɾam/ beeddakko /beːdːakko/
Night dare /dare/ halkan /halkan/ ܠܠܝܐ /leljaː/ qamma /kʼamːa/ رات /rat/ ravu /ravu/ hashsha /haʃːa/
Rain ruwan sama /ɾuwan sama/ bokkaa /ˈbokːaː/ ܡܛܪܐ /miˈtˤraː/ iraa /iraː/ واښ /waːʂ/ — xeena /tʼeːna/
Snow dusar ƙanƙara /dusaɾ kʼankʼara/ cabbii /tʃabːiː/ ܬܠܓܐ /talɡaː/ suuppa shachcha /suːpːa ʃatʃːa/ ہیم /hiːm/ — bullaame kaade /bulːaːme kaːde/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Hausa
Ina so in gwada rigar ‌da na gani a shago gaban hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Hausa
Ina so in gwada rigar ‌da na gani a shago gaban hotel
anāku erriš labāšu lubāri ša amuru ina bīti mehret bīt nubatti
𓅓𓂋𓏏|mrt 𓇋|.j 𓅓𓂝𓂝|mꜣꜣ.n.j 𓎛𓃀𓋴|ḥbs 𓅓 𓅱𓇋𓂝𓏏|m wjꜥ.t 𓂋 𓉐|r-ḥꜣ.t pr
ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲉⲓⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲛⲧⲁϣⲉⲡ ⲟⲩϩⲃⲥⲱ ⲉⲧⲁⲓⲛⲁⲩ ϩⲛ ⲟⲩⲁⲡⲟⲑⲏⲕⲏ ⲙⲡⲉⲙⲧⲟ ⲙⲡⲙⲁⲛϣⲱⲡⲉ
أنا أبي أجرب البدلة اللي شفتها في المحل مقابل الفندق

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