Hausa has several true adjectives for basic dimensions and age, but it divides the meanings differently from English. Babba can mean “big,” “large,” “grown,” or socially “important”; dogo covers height or length; tsoho describes something old, while a person's exact age is counted with shekara “year.” Choosing the right word therefore involves both agreement and meaning.
These adjectives agree with masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural nouns. Unless otherwise labeled, all forms below are neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa in (informal) speech and (formal) prose.
Four common size paradigms
The plural is not formed by one universal suffix. Learn the whole set for each adjective.
| Meaning | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| big; large; senior | babba | babba | manya |
| small; little; junior | ƙarami | ƙarama | ƙanana |
| tall; long | dogo | doguwa | dogaye |
| short | gajere | gajeriya | gajeru |
Babba → manya is suppletive: the plural comes from a different-looking stem. Ƙarami → ƙanana and dogo → dogaye are also not predictable by simply attaching English-like “-s.” This genuinely requires memorization.
Yaron ƙarami yana zaune kusa da mahaifiyarsa.
The little boy is sitting near his mother.
Yarinyar ƙarama ta riga ta iya karatu.
The little girl can already read.
Ƙananan yara suna wasa a tsakar gida.
The small children are playing in the courtyard.
Malaminsu dogo ne, amma ƙaninsa gajere ne.
Their teacher is tall, but his younger brother is short.
The last sentence uses predicates, so there is no linker on dogo or gajere. Both subjects are masculine, hence ne.
Before the noun: agreement plus a linker
Before a noun, an adjective carries -n with a masculine singular or plural noun and -r with a feminine singular noun. Sound and spelling changes produce familiar forms such as babban, babbar, and manyan.
| Meaning | Masculine phrase | Feminine phrase | Plural phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| big | babban gida | babbar mota | manyan gidaje |
| small | ƙaramin shago | ƙaramar kasuwa | ƙananan shaguna |
| tall/long | dogon mutum | doguwar hanya | dogayen hanyoyi |
| short | gajeren labari | gajeriyar hanya | gajerun labarai |
Mun koma babban gida kusa da makaranta.
We moved to a big house near the school.
Babbar motar ta kasa shiga ƙaramar ƙofar.
The big vehicle could not get through the small gate.
Za mu bi gajeriyar hanya zuwa kasuwa.
We will take the short route to the market.
Dogayen itatuwan suna ba mu inuwa.
The tall trees give us shade.
The adjective agrees with the noun it directly modifies. In babbar mota, the feminine linker is required because mota is feminine; the physical object need not be female. In dogayen itatuwa, plural agreement has no masculine/feminine split.
After the noun and in predicates
After a noun, use the agreeing adjective without a linker. This order can put more attention on the quality. As a predicate, follow the agreeing adjective with ce for feminine singular or ne for masculine singular and plural.
Muna neman tebur ƙarami domin ɗakin ya cika.
We are looking for a small table because the room is full.
Sun zaɓi hanya gajeriya da ta bi cikin gari.
They chose a short route that goes through town.
Sabuwar gadar doguwa ce sosai.
The new bridge is very long.
Waɗannan ɗakuna manya ne, amma tagoginsu ƙanana ne.
These rooms are big, but their windows are small.
English puts is before an adjective and leaves the adjective unchanged. Hausa instead places ne/ce at the end and makes the adjective agree. The full pattern is treated in Predicative Quality with ne and ce.
Old, young, and new are not one scale
For “old,” learn tsoho (masculine), tsohuwa (feminine), and tsofaffi (plural). With people, these forms can also function as nouns: “an old man,” “an old woman,” and “old people.” Before another noun, they take the normal linker forms tsohon, tsohuwar, and tsofaffin.
Tsohon maƙwabcinmu yana ba da labarai masu daɗi.
Our elderly neighbor tells entertaining stories.
Tsohuwar kasuwar tana tsakiyar gari.
The old market is in the town center.
Tsofaffin gidajen suna buƙatar gyara.
The old houses need repairs.
For a young person, matashi (masculine), matashiya (feminine), and matasa (plural) identify people at the life stage of youth. They should not be extended mechanically to a recently manufactured object. For a new object, use sabo/sabuwa/sababbi “new.”
Matashiyar likitar tana aiki a asibitin unguwa.
The young female doctor works at the neighborhood clinic.
Matasa da yawa sun halarci taron.
Many young people attended the meeting.
Na sayi sabuwar waya, ba matashiyar waya ba.
I bought a new phone, not literally a 'young' phone.
Exact age uses years, not an age adjective
To state exact age, Hausa can say that someone “has” a number of years, or make the possessed phrase “his/her years” the subject of a number expression. This is a noun-based measurement, not an inflected adjective.
Yaron yana da shekara goma.
The boy is ten years old (literally, he has ten years).
Aisha tana da shekara ashirin da biyu.
Aisha is twenty-two years old.
Shekarunsa goma sha biyu.
He is twelve years old (literally, his years are twelve).
Notice singular shekara before the number in these compact counting expressions. Hausa also uses plural shekaru when the span of years is being discussed more independently; the model here is the especially useful age frame yana/tana da shekara + numeral.
Age can also be viewed as a change. Ya tsufa means “he/it has become old” or “he/it is now old,” while tsoho ne classifies a masculine subject as old. The verb highlights development or resulting condition; the adjective plus ne/ce presents a property.
Motar ta tsufa, amma injinta har yanzu yana aiki.
The car has grown old, but its engine still works.
Physical size, rank, and family age
Babba and ƙarami are broader than English big and small. With a physical object they normally describe size. With people they can also describe relative age, seniority, or importance. Context prevents these meanings from collapsing into one another.
Akwatin babba ne, amma ba shi da nauyi.
The box is big, but it is not heavy.
Hauwa ita ce babbar ’yar gidan.
Hauwa is the eldest daughter in the family.
Musa ƙanina ne, amma ya fi ni tsawo.
Musa is my younger brother, but he is taller than me.
The first sentence separates physical size from weight: English big does not imply Hausa nauyi “heaviness.” In babbar ’yar gida, the adjective expresses seniority in a family rather than body size. Kin terms such as ƙani “younger sibling (of a male reference person)” and yaya “older sibling” are often more precise than trying to make ƙarami or babba carry the entire family relationship.
Height and length also share one adjective family. Mutum dogo is a tall person, while hanya doguwa is a long road. English uses two separate adjectives because it categorizes the dimensions differently; Hausa uses context and the kind of noun.
Igiyar doguwa ce, amma ba ta isa wajen rijiyar ba.
The rope is long, but it does not reach the well.
This is why dictionary glosses are only starting points. Choose the semantic scale first—overall size, linear extent, age, or seniority—then apply gender and number agreement.
That two-step choice prevents a formally correct adjective from conveying the wrong kind of measurement.
Practice
Build each phrase by choosing an agreement form and then adding a linker only when the adjective precedes the noun.
- “a small market” (kasuwa, feminine): ƙaramar kasuwa.
- “tall students” (ɗalibai, plural): dogayen ɗalibai.
- “the road is short” (hanya, feminine): Hanyar gajeriya ce.
- “old people”: tsofaffi; before a plural noun, tsofaffin mutane.
A ganina, gajeriyar hanyar ta fi dacewa da yara.
In my opinion, the shorter route is more suitable for the children.
Common Mistakes
1. Using masculine agreement with a feminine noun
❌ Mun bi gajeren hanya zuwa gida.
Incorrect — hanya is feminine.
✅ Mun bi gajeriyar hanya zuwa gida.
We took the short route home.
2. Guessing the plural by keeping the singular
❌ Waɗannan gidaje babba ne.
Incorrect — plural subjects require the plural adjective.
✅ Waɗannan gidaje manya ne.
These houses are big.
3. Calling a new object “young”
❌ Wannan matashiyar kwamfuta ce.
Incorrect for 'This is a new computer' — matashiya describes a young female person.
✅ Wannan sabuwar kwamfuta ce.
This is a new computer.
4. Carrying a linker into a predicate
❌ Hanyar gajeriyar ce.
Incorrect as a neutral predicate — gajeriyar is the linked form used before a noun.
✅ Hanyar gajeriya ce.
The road is short.
Key Takeaways
- Distinguish overall size (babba/ƙarami) from height or length (dogo/gajere).
- Memorize each adjective's masculine, feminine, and plural forms; plural formation is not predictable.
- Before a noun, use the appropriate linker; after a noun, omit it.
- Tsoho/tsohuwa/tsofaffi means old, while matashi/matashiya/matasa is for young people and sabo/sabuwa/sababbi for new things.
- Exact age is a measurement with shekara, not simply an adjective.
Now practice Hausa
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Start learning Hausa →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.
- Plural Adjective FormsA1 — Use Hausa plural adjective stems with plural nouns before the noun, after it, and in property predicates.
- Predicative Quality with ne and ceA2 — How agreeing Hausa adjectives form present-time quality predicates with clause-final ne and ce.
- Predicative Quality with yana da and tana daA2 — How Hausa describes properties through continuative agreement plus da and a quality noun.