A Hausa singular adjective agrees with the grammatical gender of its noun. Some pairs differ by only a final vowel, others add a longer feminine ending, and a few use the same free adjective form for both genders. In pre-nominal phrases, the linker also distinguishes masculine -n from feminine -r.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Gender belongs to the noun's lexical grammar: it cannot be predicted from whether an object seems culturally masculine or feminine.
The broader gender-agreement overview shows the same noun classes on demonstratives, copulas, and pronouns. Here the focus is the internal shape and placement of adjectives.
A practical set of gender pairs
| Meaning | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Linked pair |
|---|---|---|---|
| white | fari | fara | farin / farar |
| black | baƙi | baƙa | baƙin / baƙar |
| tall, long | dogo | doguwa | dogon / doguwar |
| new | sabo | sabuwa | sabon / sabuwar |
| small | ƙarami | ƙarama | ƙaramin / ƙaramar |
| big | babba | babba | babban / babbar |
| red | ja | ja | jan / jar |
There is no single operation that derives all feminine forms. Fari → fara changes a vowel; dogo → doguwa and sabo → sabuwa add -uwa after changing the stem ending; ƙarami → ƙarama changes the final vowel; babba and ja keep the same free form. Learn each common adjective as a paradigm, not as an English translation plus a guessed ending.
Agreement before a noun
In the common pre-nominal pattern, choose the gender form first and add its linker. Masculine takes -n and feminine takes -r.
Farin rago yana cin ciyawa a bayan gida.
A white ram is eating grass behind the house.
Farar saniya tana kusa da rijiyar.
A white cow is near the well.
Dogon tebur bai shiga ɗakin ba.
The long table did not fit into the room.
Doguwar kujera za ta shiga motar kuwa?
Will the long bench fit in the car?
Sabon littafi ya iso jiya.
A new book arrived yesterday.
Sabuwar takarda tana kan tebur.
A new sheet of paper is on the table.
The contrasts are grammatical, not biological. Tebur “table” and littafi “book” are masculine; kujera “chair/bench” and takarda “paper/document” are feminine. Their adjective forms follow those classes.
Same free form, different linked form
With babba “big” and ja “red,” the standalone masculine and feminine forms look alike. The linker still exposes the agreement contrast.
Babban akwati yana ƙarƙashin gadon.
A big box is under the bed.
Babbar jaka tana bayan ƙofar.
A big bag is behind the door.
Jan wando na Musa ne.
The red trousers belong to Musa.
Jar mota ta tsaya a waje.
A red car stopped outside.
This is why treating -n/-r as an optional decoration is dangerous. In babban/babbar and jan/jar, it carries the only visible gender distinction in the attributive adjective.
Agreement after a noun and in predicates
A post-nominal adjective has no linker, but its stem still agrees:
Ina neman rago fari, ba baƙi ba.
I am looking for a WHITE ram, not a black one.
Ina neman saniya fara, ba baƙa ba.
I am looking for a WHITE cow, not a black one.
To make a complete property statement, Hausa commonly follows the adjective with ne for a masculine subject and ce for a feminine subject.
Ragon fari ne, amma saniyar baƙa ce.
The ram is white, but the cow is black.
Gidan sabo ne; an gama shi makon jiya.
The house is new; it was completed last week.
Motar sabuwa ce, amma tayoyinta tsofaffi ne.
The car is new, but its tires are old.
English places is before an invariant adjective. Hausa places ne/ce after the agreeing form. The gender information therefore appears twice in many feminine examples: sabuwa and ce both agree with mota.
Masculine, feminine, and plural form a three-way system
Plural adjective agreement is not the masculine “default.” It has its own form, regardless of the genders of the corresponding singular nouns.
Ƙaramin yaro yana wasa a nan.
A small boy is playing here.
Ƙaramar yarinya tana wasa a nan.
A small girl is playing here.
Ƙananan yara suna wasa a nan.
Small children are playing here.
Likewise:
Dogon yaro ne, doguwar yarinya ce, kuma dogayen yara ne.
It is a tall boy, a tall girl, and tall children.
The plural forms ƙanana and dogaye replace both singular gender forms. A mixed group does not force masculine singular agreement; plurality controls.
True adjectives versus invariant material
Not every word translated by an English adjective takes gender forms. Quality nouns inside mai phrases remain unchanged:
Yaro mai haƙuri yana jiran abokinsa.
A patient boy is waiting for his friend.
Yarinya mai haƙuri tana jiran ƙawarta.
A patient girl is waiting for her friend.
The singular marker mai is the same with both heads. Haƙuri is a noun “patience,” not an adjective to be reshaped as masculine or feminine. With plural heads, mai changes to masu: yara masu haƙuri “patient children.”
A judgment in context
Wannan babbar motar ta fi ƙaramin babur ɗin sauƙin ɗaukar kaya.
This big car is better for carrying goods than the small motorcycle.
The feminine babbar agrees with mota, while masculine ƙaramin agrees with babur. Each adjective answers to its own head noun even though both noun phrases occur in one comparison.
Practice: hear the agreement chain
Baƙin kare yana barci a inuwa.
A black dog is sleeping in the shade.
Baƙar kaza tana yawo a tsakar gida.
A black chicken is walking around the courtyard.
Baƙaƙen dabbobin suna cikin rumfar.
The black animals are inside the shelter.
The series is baƙi—baƙa—baƙaƙe, linked as baƙin—baƙar—baƙaƙen. The plural is a separate form, not a third singular gender.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating every noun ending in -a as feminine without learning exceptions.
❌ Sabuwar suna yana da muhimmanci.
Incorrect — suna ‘name’ is masculine despite ending in -a.
✅ Sabon suna yana da muhimmanci.
A new name is important.
2. Keeping the masculine adjective with a feminine noun.
❌ Dogon kujera tana ɗakin.
Incorrect — kujera is feminine.
✅ Doguwar kujera tana ɗakin.
A long bench is in the room.
3. Changing an adjective's stem but using the wrong linker.
❌ Sabuwan takarda tana kan tebur.
Incorrect — a feminine pre-nominal adjective takes -r.
✅ Sabuwar takardar tana kan kujera.
The new document is on the chair.
4. Forgetting gender in a predicative adjective.
❌ Saniyar fari ne.
Incorrect — both adjective and copula are masculine.
✅ Saniyar fara ce.
The cow is white.
5. Inventing feminine agreement on a quality noun.
❌ Yarinya mai haƙura tana nan.
Incorrect — haƙuri is an invariant quality noun in this phrase.
✅ Yarinya mai haƙuri tana nan.
A patient girl is here.
Key Takeaways
- Singular adjectives agree with the noun's grammatical gender.
- Masculine linked forms take -n; feminine linked forms take -r.
- Learn unpredictable pairs such as dogo/doguwa and sabo/sabuwa whole.
- Even when free forms match, linkers differ: babban/babbar, jan/jar.
- Post-nominal and predicative adjectives still agree; predicates also select ne/ce.
Related Topics
- Core Attributive AdjectivesA1 — Build Hausa noun phrases with the small core of agreeing adjectives, their gender and number forms, and the required pre-nominal linker.
- Plural Adjective FormsA1 — Use Hausa plural adjective stems with plural nouns before the noun, after it, and in property predicates.
- Adjectives before and after NounsA1 — Distinguish the common linked adjective-before-noun pattern from post-nominal contrast, quality-noun phrases, and adjectival predicates.
- Masculine and Feminine Gender: The Core SystemA1 — How Hausa singular nouns belong to masculine or feminine gender, how agreement reveals the class, and how gender interacts with plurals and n/r linking.
- Gender Agreement beyond the NounA1 — Learn how a Hausa noun's gender controls copulas, demonstratives, definite forms, and genitive linkers across the noun phrase.
- Predicative Quality with ne and ceA2 — How agreeing Hausa adjectives form present-time quality predicates with clause-final ne and ce.