Hausa adjectives have genuine plural forms. A plural noun does not take the masculine singular adjective as an unmarked default, and adjective plurality is not expressed by merely adding a linker. The adjective first selects its plural stem and then, in pre-nominal position, takes -n.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). The hard truth is that there is no single fully productive rule for deriving every plural adjective: common paradigms must be memorized.
This page complements plural agreement in the noun phrase. That page tracks agreement across the phrase; this one supplies the adjective paradigms that agreement selects.
Core plural paradigms
| Meaning | Masculine | Feminine | Plural | Linked plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| big | babba | babba | manya | manyan |
| small | ƙarami | ƙarama | ƙanana | ƙananan |
| tall, long | dogo | doguwa | dogaye | dogayen |
| new | sabo | sabuwa | sababbi | sababbin |
| white | fari | fara | farare | fararen |
| black | baƙi | baƙa | baƙaƙe | baƙaƙen |
| red | ja | ja | jajaye | jajayen |
| old | tsoho | tsohuwa | tsofaffi | tsofaffin |
Several processes are visible—reduplication in sababbi, baƙaƙe, jajaye, stem replacement in babba → manya, and a distinct stem in tsoho/tsohuwa → tsofaffi—but these observations do not form a safe algorithm. Treat the plural as part of each adjective's lexical entry.
Pre-nominal plural adjectives take the linker -n
Manyan motoci ba sa shiga wannan ƙaramin titi.
Big vehicles do not enter this narrow little street.
Ƙananan shaguna suna buɗewa da sassafe.
Small shops open very early in the morning.
Dogayen yara suna tsaye a bayan layin.
Tall children are standing at the back of the line.
Sababbin littattafai sun iso ɗakin karatu.
New books arrived at the library.
Fararen riguna sun dace da bikin.
White gowns are suitable for the celebration.
Baƙaƙen awaki suna ƙarƙashin bishiyar.
The black goats are under the tree.
In each phrase, plural meaning appears in both the noun and the adjective: shaguna + ƙanana, littattafai + sababbi, awaki + baƙaƙe. The final -n belongs to the linked modifier pattern; it does not create plurality by itself.
Post-nominal plural adjectives have no linker
When the adjective follows the noun attributively, use the plural stem without -n. This order is especially useful for contrast, correction, or selection.
Muna buƙatar akwatuna manya, ba ƙanana ba.
We need BIG boxes, not small ones.
Ta zaɓi takalma baƙaƙe, ba farare ba.
She chose BLACK shoes, not white ones.
Ka kawo tumatir jajaye da waɗanda suka nuna sosai.
Bring red tomatoes, especially the fully ripe ones.
Agreement does not disappear after the noun. Akwatuna babba, for example, is not standard agreement for “big boxes”; the correct plural form is akwatuna manya.
Plural adjectives in predicates
For a complete property statement, a plural adjective normally follows the subject and takes ne. Hausa uses ne for plural, while ce is restricted to feminine singular in this contrast.
Gidajen manya ne, amma ɗakunansu ƙanana ne.
The houses are big, but their rooms are small.
Littattafan sababbi ne; an buga su bana.
The books are new; they were published this year.
Rigunan farare ne, ba rawayu ba.
The gowns are white, not yellow.
Compare the complete gender-number set:
Yaron dogo ne, yarinyar doguwa ce, yaran kuma dogaye ne.
The boy is tall, the girl is tall, and the children are tall too.
The plural adjective replaces both singular forms, no matter whether the group contains males, females, objects of different grammatical genders, or a mixture.
Noun plural and adjective plural are separate choices
Hausa nouns themselves have many plural patterns, and the noun's plural cannot usually be predicted by looking at its adjective. Both words must take their established forms.
Sabon littafi yana kan tebur.
A new book is on the table.
Sababbin littattafai suna kan tebur.
New books are on the table.
Tsohuwar mota tana buƙatar gyara.
The old car needs repair.
Tsofaffin motoci suna buƙatar gyara.
Old cars need repair.
Littafi → littattafai and sabo → sababbi are independent paradigms. Likewise mota → motoci and tsohuwa → tsofaffi. English marks plurality only on the noun in “new books”; Hausa agreement makes it visible on the adjective as well.
Quality nouns use masu instead
If the English adjective corresponds to a Hausa quality noun, do not manufacture a plural adjective. Change singular mai to plural masu and leave the quality noun unchanged.
Ma’aikaci mai haƙuri yana magana da yaron.
A patient worker is speaking with the child.
Ma’aikata masu haƙuri suna magana da yaran.
Patient workers are speaking with the children.
Muna son ɗakuna masu faɗi da tagogi manya.
We want spacious rooms with big windows.
The last sentence deliberately combines both systems: masu faɗi contains a quality noun, while tagogi manya contains the true plural adjective manya.
A natural comparison
Manyan lemu sun fi ƙananan lemu tsada, amma ba koyaushe suka fi zaƙi ba.
Big oranges are more expensive than small oranges, but they are not always sweeter.
Both compared noun phrases use plural adjectives: manyan and ƙananan. The adjective agrees with its own plural head inside each side of the comparison.
Practice: singular to plural
Farar akuya tana cin ganyen.
A white goat is eating the leaves.
Fararen awaki suna cin ganyen.
White goats are eating the leaves.
Sabuwar kujera tana ofis.
A new chair is in the office.
Sababbin kujeru suna ofis.
New chairs are in the office.
Notice that the singular noun's gender does not survive as a gender choice in the plural adjective. Both plural phrases select their adjective's plural form and linker -n.
Common Mistakes
1. Using masculine singular as a default plural.
❌ Babban gidaje suna nan.
Incorrect — babban is masculine singular.
✅ Manyan gidaje suna nan.
Big houses are here.
2. Adding -n directly to a singular form.
❌ Sabon littattafai sun iso.
Incorrect — the adjective needs its plural stem before the linker.
✅ Sababbin littattafai sun iso.
New books arrived.
3. Keeping the linker after a post-nominal adjective.
❌ Ina son takalma baƙaƙen.
Incorrect in the post-nominal contrastive pattern — no linker follows the adjective.
✅ Ina son takalma baƙaƙe.
I want black shoes.
4. Using feminine ce for a plural predicate.
❌ Motocin sababbi ce.
Incorrect — plural predicates use ne.
✅ Motocin sababbi ne.
The cars are new.
5. Inventing a plural adjective from a quality noun.
❌ Ma’aikata haƙurai suna nan.
Incorrect for ‘patient workers’ — use masu with the quality noun.
✅ Ma’aikata masu haƙuri suna nan.
Patient workers are here.
Key Takeaways
- A plural adjective has its own lexical stem: manya, ƙanana, dogaye, sababbi.
- Before a plural noun, add linker -n: manyan gidaje, dogayen yara.
- After the noun, use the bare plural adjective: gidaje manya.
- Plural property predicates use the plural adjective plus ne.
- For quality nouns, use plural masu, not an invented adjective plural.
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.
- Masculine and Feminine Adjective FormsA1 — Match Hausa singular adjectives to masculine and feminine nouns in linked attributive phrases and in predicates with ne and ce.
- Adjectives before and after NounsA1 — Distinguish the common linked adjective-before-noun pattern from post-nominal contrast, quality-noun phrases, and adjectival predicates.
- Plural Agreement in the Noun PhraseA2 — See how Hausa plural nouns select common plural demonstratives, linkers, copulas, modifiers, and subject–TAM forms regardless of singular gender.
- Suppletive and Highly Irregular PluralsA2 — Learn frequent Hausa nouns whose plural uses an unrelated or radically reshaped stem, together with agreement and linked forms.
- Color Words in Noun PhrasesA1 — How Hausa color words agree with nouns and appear in pre-nominal, post-nominal, and predicative descriptions.