In conversation, a Hausa demonstrative does not merely label an object as English this or that. It coordinates attention: the speaker may point to something nearby, direct the listener toward something near the listener, contrast a distant alternative, or revive an item that is already prominent in the discussion. The physical scene and the discourse history work together.
All unlabelled forms here are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko leaves tone and vowel length unmarked. As a result, writing can hide spoken contrasts within the wannan/nan and wancan/can families; natural translation must use the conversational situation.
Three ways a referent becomes available
A demonstrative can select a referent through at least three common routes:
- Visible pointing: the participants can see alternatives.
- Shared situation: no gesture is necessary because one item is salient in the activity.
- Prior discourse: the referent has already been mentioned or contrasted.
Ka ɗauko mini littafin nan da ke gabanka.
Bring me that book in front of you.
Rufe ƙofar nan kafin ka fita.
Close this door before you leave.
Mun tattauna batun nan jiya; yau za mu yanke shawara.
We discussed that matter yesterday; today we will make a decision.
The first littafin nan can be natural for a book near the addressee, so English that is appropriate. The second ƙofar nan selects the door currently relevant to both participants and may be translated this. The third batun nan is not about measurable distance at all: the matter is mentally active in the conversation.
Establishing a contrast with full demonstratives
When alternatives are visible, full demonstratives before the noun make the contrast explicit. Near singular wannan is common to masculine and feminine in ordinary spelling; the far singular forms distinguish gender. Plurals use the common plural series.
| Referent | Near / salient | Far | Clause agreement |
|---|---|---|---|
| gida (m.) | wannan gida | wancan gida | ya / yana |
| mota (f.) | wannan mota | waccan mota | ta / tana |
| motoci (pl.) | waɗannan motoci | waɗancan motoci | sun / suna |
Wannan gida yana da fili, amma wancan gida ya fi kusa da kasuwa.
This house has a yard, but that house is closer to the market.
Wannan mota ta yi tsada; waccan mota ce ta fi araha.
This car is expensive; that car is the cheaper one.
Waɗannan motoci na haya ne, waɗancan kuma na kamfani ne.
These are rental cars; those belong to the company.
The demonstratives introduce a spatial or contrastive partition. They do not supply an English-style article. Full demonstratives precede plain nouns in these basic frames: wannan gida, not wannan gidan; waccan mota, not waccan motar.
The post-nominal frame inside conversation
The alternative pattern is linked noun + nan/can. Here gender and number are visible in the linked noun form, while nan/can stays unchanged:
| Referent | Near / salient | Farther / distal |
|---|---|---|
| gida (m.) | gidan nan | gidan can |
| mota (f.) | motar nan | motar can |
| motoci (pl.) | motocin nan | motocin can |
Ka ajiye akwatin a motar nan, ba motar can ba.
Put the box in this car, not the car over there.
The linker belongs to the noun phrase. Masculine singular and plural heads use the -n series; the appropriate feminine -a singular heads use -r. It is not a second word for English the. Compare linking before demonstratives for the full formation rules.
From introduction to retrieval to contrast
Conversation usually does not repeat a full demonstrative at every mention. Hausa distinguishes three useful discourse moves:
| Move | Example | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| introduce | wata mota | a car enters the discourse |
| retrieve | motar | the listener recovers that car |
| select or contrast | motar nan / waccan mota | the speaker points out or opposes one car |
Wata mota ta tsaya a gaban shago. Motar ta ɗauki kaya. Amma ba ita nake nufi ba; motar nan nake nufi.
A car stopped in front of the shop. The car picked up some goods. But I do not mean it; I mean this car here.
Wata mota introduces the referent. Motar retrieves it without pointing. Motar nan adds selection or contrast. Replacing every English the with a Hausa demonstrative would make ordinary narration sound as though the speaker were repeatedly pointing or correcting.
Once a demonstrative has selected a referent, a pronoun often carries it forward:
Ka ga waccan mace? Ita ce sabuwar shugabar, kuma ta fara aiki jiya.
Do you see that woman? She is the new manager, and she started work yesterday.
Here waccan mace establishes a feminine singular referent. Independent ita identifies her contrastively, and subject–TAM ta continues the reference. The demonstrative need not be repeated.
Speaker and addressee perspectives
English teaching often presents a single line: this near me, that far from me. Spoken Hausa also pays attention to the addressee's location. A form written nan can direct attention to an item near the listener; a different tone pattern, invisible in ordinary boko, can mark speaker-proximal reference. The can family covers more distal reference, with further tonal and visibility nuances.
This means that the natural English translation can change while the unmarked Hausa spelling remains the same:
Ka ba ni kofin nan da ke hannunka.
Give me that cup in your hand.
Ka riƙe kofin nan da nake ba ka; zan zuba maka ruwa.
Hold this cup that I am giving you; I will pour you some water.
The first translation uses that because the cup is explicitly in the addressee's hand. The second can use this because the speaker is handing the cup over and making it the participants' joint focus. No contradiction is present: deixis is anchored in an interaction, not a dictionary pair.
A conversation that tracks three sets
A: Wane littafi za ka saya? B: Wannan da ke hannuna. A: Wancan fa? B: Na riga na karanta shi. A: To, waɗannan da ke kan tebur fa? B: Waɗancan na yara ne.
A: Which book will you buy? B: This one in my hand. A: What about that one? B: I have already read it. A: Then what about these on the table? B: Those are the children's books.
The first wannan is standalone because littafi is supplied by the question. Wancan contrasts another masculine singular book, then shi tracks it. Waɗannan and waɗancan establish a plural contrast. The interpretation is built turn by turn; none of the forms can be translated well in isolation.
Demonstratives and definiteness
A demonstrative phrase is identifiable, but Hausa does not have a free-standing article system parallel to English a/the. Reference is spread across bare nouns, -n/-r forms, demonstratives, quantifiers, word order, and discourse.
Na ga wani yaro a waje. Yaron yana jiran ka.
I saw a boy outside. The boy is waiting for you.
Yaron nan yana jiran ka, ba wancan ba.
This boy is waiting for you, not that one.
The first pair needs only introduction and retrieval. The second sentence adds contrast. English articles cannot tell you which Hausa device is natural; first ask what the listener already knows and whether selection or location matters.
Common Mistakes
1. Translating every nan mechanically as this.
Ka ba ni littafin nan da ke hannunka.
Context-sensitive: ‘Give me that book in your hand,’ not mechanically ‘this book.’
2. Omitting the linker before nan or can.
❌ jaka nan
Incorrect in the standard post-nominal demonstrative frame.
✅ jakar nan
This or that contextually salient bag.
3. Copying English article order into the full demonstrative frame.
❌ mota wannan
Incorrect — full wannan precedes the noun in the basic construction.
✅ wannan mota
This car.
4. Using the masculine far form for a feminine noun.
❌ wancan jaka
Incorrect in the standard paradigm — jaka is feminine singular.
✅ waccan jaka
That bag.
5. Repeating a demonstrative when simple retrieval is intended.
❌ Na sayi wata mota. Wannan mota tana wurin gyara.
Awkward for the simple meaning ‘I bought a car. The car is at the repair shop’ — wannan adds active selection.
✅ Na sayi wata mota. Motar tana wurin gyara.
I bought a car. The car is at the repair shop.
Key Takeaways
- Demonstratives coordinate shared attention in space and discourse.
- Ordinary boko hides tonal contrasts that can distinguish speaker-oriented and addressee-oriented reference.
- Wannan/waccan/waɗannan precede plain nouns; nan/can follow linked nouns.
- Introduce with a bare noun or wani/wata/wasu, retrieve with a definite form or pronoun, and use a demonstrative when selecting or contrasting.
- No single Hausa form maps mechanically to every English use of this, that, a, or the.
Related Topics
- Near Demonstratives: wannan and waɗannanA1 — Use wannan with a nearby singular referent and waɗannan with nearby plurals, both before nouns and as standalone demonstratives.
- Far Demonstratives: wancan and waɗancanA1 — Use wancan, waccan, and waɗancan for distant or discourse-remote masculine, feminine, and plural referents.
- Standalone Demonstrative PronounsA1 — Use Hausa demonstratives without an expressed noun while preserving gender, number, distance, and the discourse contrast between the intended referents.
- Presentational ga with DemonstrativesA1 — Present a visible or newly located referent with ga, then use pronouns and demonstratives to show gender, number, and conversational distance.
- Definiteness as Previous or Recoverable ReferenceA2 — Choose Hausa definite forms by whether the listener can retrieve a referent from prior discourse, shared context, or an inferable relationship.
- Introducing and Tracking ReferentsB2 — Introduce people and things in Hausa, then track them with indefinites, definite forms, demonstratives, names, descriptions, and pronouns.