Hausa uses wancan for one distant masculine referent, waccan for one distant feminine referent, and waɗancan for distant plurals. The full forms come before the noun: wancan gida “that house,” waccan mota “that car,” and waɗancan motoci “those cars.”
Unlike near singular wannan, the far singular demonstrative visibly distinguishes gender. English that hides this contrast, so English-speaking learners must learn the Hausa noun's gender rather than infer it from meaning. Unless otherwise labelled, the forms below are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa).
The core far paradigm
| Reference | Demonstrative | Noun phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | wancan | wancan gida | that house |
| feminine singular | waccan | waccan mota | that car |
| plural | waɗancan | waɗancan motoci | those cars |
Wancan gida yana bayan masallaci.
That house is behind the mosque.
Waccan mota tana jiran fasinjoji.
That car is waiting for passengers.
Waɗancan motoci suna zuwa Kaduna.
Those cars are going to Kaduna.
The form is selected by the head noun: masculine gida, feminine mota, plural motoci. The people who own or point at the object do not affect agreement.
Full demonstrative before a bare noun
The basic pre-nominal structure is:
wancan/waccan/waɗancan + bare noun
Wancan yaro ya kira ni jiya.
That boy called me yesterday.
Waccan yarinya ta san hanyar.
That girl knows the way.
Waɗancan yara sun riga sun tafi gida.
Those children have already gone home.
The noun after the full demonstrative is not given an additional joined definite ending in this simple frame. Use waccan yarinya, not waccan yarinyar. The demonstrative itself makes the referent identifiable.
This differs fundamentally from English article order. Hausa does not combine a word corresponding to the with that; reference is expressed by the demonstrative, agreement, noun-phrase structure, and context together.
The post-nominal far alternative
Short can can follow a linked noun. It does not show gender or number itself; the linked noun does:
| Gender/number | Pre-nominal full form | Post-nominal linked form |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | wancan gida | gidan can |
| feminine singular | waccan mota | motar can |
| plural | waɗancan motoci | motocin can |
Gidan can na kawuna ne.
That house over there belongs to my uncle.
Motar can ta lalace a hanya.
That car over there broke down on the road.
Motocin can sun fi waɗannan tsada.
Those cars over there are more expensive than these.
The joined spellings gidan, motar, and motocin are obligatory in this frame. Analytical gida + -n and mota + -r explain the structure, but hyphens are not written in normal Hausa.
Do not treat can as a freely movable abbreviation of wancan. The full demonstrative precedes a bare noun; short can follows a linked noun. Both can point far away, but their syntax is different.
Compare the number pattern directly with near wannan and waɗannan.
Standalone far demonstratives
When the noun is recoverable, the full forms can stand alone as “that one” or “those.” Here gender remains visible in the singular.
Wancan ya yi mini girma; ka ba ni ƙarami.
That one is too big for me; give me a smaller one.
Waccan ta fi araha, amma ba ta da ƙarfi.
That one is cheaper, but it is not durable.
Waɗancan sun isa; kada ku kawo ƙari.
Those are enough; do not bring any more.
The demonstratives are now heads of their noun phrases. By contrast, gidan can contains the overt head gida plus the short post-nominal demonstrative.
Distance in space, time, and discourse
The central far meaning is distance from the conversational center—often from both speaker and listener. A speaker may point across a road, toward another building, or at an object farther away.
Ka ga wancan mutum a bakin titi?
Do you see that man by the roadside?
Kada ku shiga waccan ƙofa; a rufe take.
Do not go through that door; it is closed.
Far forms also work with time and remembered discourse:
A waɗancan kwanaki ba mu da wutar lantarki sosai.
In those days, we did not have much electricity.
Wancan batu yana buƙatar ƙarin bincike.
That issue needs further investigation.
The distance here can be temporal or conversational rather than physical. English also extends that this way, but one English word corresponds to three agreement forms in the Hausa full series.
Spoken Hausa distinguishes finer degrees of distance through tone, including ordinary distal and more remote readings. Standard boko does not write those tone contrasts: both are spelled wancan, waccan, waɗancan, or can. Context, gesture, and pronunciation establish whether “that” or “that over there/yonder” is the better translation.
Reference and quantity in a short exchange
A: Wace mota ce ta Amina? B: Waccan da ke kusa da ƙofa.
A: Which car is Amina's? B: That one near the gate.
A: Waɗanne kujeru za mu ɗauka? B: Waɗancan biyu da ke can.
A: Which chairs will we take? B: Those two over there.
The questions supply the omitted nouns mota and kujeru. The answer therefore uses standalone feminine waccan and plural waɗancan. Biyu confirms that the second answer selects two chairs.
Common Mistakes
1. Using masculine wancan with a feminine singular noun.
❌ wancan mota
Incorrect in Standard Hausa — mota is feminine.
✅ waccan mota
That car.
2. Using singular wancan with a plural noun.
❌ wancan motoci
Incorrect — motoci is plural.
✅ waɗancan motoci
Those cars.
3. Putting the full form after the noun.
❌ mota waccan
Incorrect as the basic demonstrative phrase — full waccan precedes the noun.
✅ waccan mota
That car.
4. Putting short can after an unlinked noun.
❌ mota can
Incorrect — the post-nominal frame requires feminine motar.
✅ motar can
That car over there.
5. Adding a linked ending after the full demonstrative.
❌ waɗancan motocin
Incorrect in the basic pre-nominal frame — do not combine the two structures.
✅ waɗancan motoci
Those cars.
Key Takeaways
- Use wancan with a masculine singular, waccan with a feminine singular, and waɗancan with a plural.
- Full far demonstratives precede a bare noun; short can follows a linked noun.
- The full forms can stand alone, and the understood noun still controls singular gender.
- Far reference can be spatial, temporal, or discourse-based; ordinary spelling hides finer tonal distance contrasts.
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.
- Demonstrative Position after the Linked NounA1 — Build Hausa post-nominal demonstratives with a linked noun plus nan or can, and keep them distinct from full pre-nominal and standalone forms.
- Standalone Demonstrative PronounsA1 — Use Hausa demonstratives without an expressed noun while preserving gender, number, distance, and the discourse contrast between the intended referents.
- Demonstrative Reference in ConversationA1 — Track Hausa referents through pointing, shared attention, prior mention, and speaker perspective without reducing the system to English this and that.
- Linking before DemonstrativesA2 — Form Hausa post-nominal demonstratives with a linked noun before nan or can, and contrast them with full demonstratives before a bare noun.
- wannan or wancan?B1 — Choose near wannan/waɗannan or far wancan, waccan, and waɗancan by physical and discourse distance, with correct agreement and linked post-noun forms.