Hausa demonstratives can stand alone when the missing noun is recoverable: wannan can mean “this one,” wancan/waccan “that one,” waɗannan “these,” and waɗancan “those.” The noun disappears, but its grammatical features do not. Gender, number, clause agreement, physical orientation, and the preceding conversation still tell the listener what is being selected.
All forms and examples on this page are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko does not mark tone or vowel length. This matters because the spoken system distinguishes two proximal series (roughly, orientation toward the speaker versus the addressee) and two more distant series by tone. Ordinary spellings such as wannan, wancan, nan, and can collapse those tonal contrasts, so gesture and discourse context are not optional extras.
The core standalone paradigm
A demonstrative used without a following noun is a complete noun phrase. The near singular wannan serves both masculine and feminine referents in ordinary spelling. In the far singular, Hausa distinguishes masculine wancan from feminine waccan. Plurals use one common form regardless of the singular noun's gender.
| Referent | Near / immediately salient | Far | Typical English rendering |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | wannan | wancan | this one / that one |
| feminine singular | wannan | waccan | this one / that one |
| plural | waɗannan | waɗancan | these / those |
The other words in the clause often make the hidden singular gender visible. A masculine referent triggers ya, a feminine referent ta, and a plural referent sun.
Wannan ya fi wancan nauyi.
This one is heavier than that one. (masculine referents)
Wannan ta fi waccan tsada.
This one is more expensive than that one. (feminine referents)
Waɗannan sun fi waɗancan kyau.
These are nicer than those.
How a noun becomes understood rather than deleted at random
Standalone demonstratives work only when the listener can identify the relevant kind of thing. That information may come from a question, a gesture, a visible display, or a noun just mentioned. English behaves similarly in “Which shirt?” — “That one,” but Hausa preserves more agreement information.
Wane littafi kake so? — Wannan nake so.
Which book do you want? — I want this one.
Wace jaka kika saya? — Waccan ce na saya.
Which bag did you buy? — That one is the one I bought.
Waɗanne takardu za mu aika? — Waɗannan za mu aika yau.
Which documents shall we send? — We will send these today.
In the second exchange, jaka is feminine, so the far form is waccan, and identification uses ce. In the third, takardu is plural, so waɗannan replaces the entire plural noun phrase. The demonstrative does not mean merely “the”; it actively selects an item or set.
This explains why a standalone demonstrative normally sounds odd without an accessible contrast. Walking into an empty conversation and saying Waccan ta yi kyau leaves the listener asking “that what?” Pointing at two bags or answering a question makes exactly the same sentence complete.
Agreement continues across the clause
Identification with ne/ce and verbal subject marking agree with the understood referent. The near form wannan therefore cannot by itself tell you whether the antecedent is masculine or feminine, but the rest of the sentence often can.
| Understood noun | Standalone phrase | Identification | Later subject marking |
|---|---|---|---|
| littafi (m.) “book” | wannan / wancan | ne | ya / yana |
| jaka (f.) “bag” | wannan / waccan | ce | ta / tana |
| littattafai “books” | waɗannan / waɗancan | ne | sun / suna |
Wannan ne na aro daga ɗakin karatu.
This is the one I borrowed from the library. (a masculine item)
Waccan ce take da aljihun ciki.
That is the one with an inside pocket. (a feminine item)
Waɗannan ne suka iso da safe.
These are the ones that arrived in the morning.
The plural ne is the common plural identification form, not a masculine plural. Once the antecedent is plural, the earlier singular gender distinction disappears.
Possession after a standalone demonstrative
An understood noun can also be recovered from an independent possessive expression. The possessive linker agrees with that omitted noun: na for masculine singular and plural, ta for feminine singular.
Wannan na Musa ne; wancan kuma nawa ne.
This one belongs to Musa; that one is mine. (masculine items)
Wannan ta Amina ce; waccan kuma ta Zainab ce.
This one belongs to Amina; that one belongs to Zainab. (feminine items)
Waɗannan na ofis ne; waɗancan na makaranta ne.
These belong to the office; those belong to the school.
The possessive na/ta does not agree with Musa, Amina, or Zainab. It agrees with the understood possessed object. English “one” hides this distinction completely.
Standalone and noun-modifying uses are different frames
Compare three constructions:
| Construction | Hausa | What supplies the noun? |
|---|---|---|
| standalone demonstrative | waccan | the situation or earlier discourse |
| full demonstrative + noun | waccan mota | overt plain noun after the demonstrative |
| linked noun + short demonstrative | motar can | overt linked noun before can |
There is no linker in standalone waccan, because no separate noun precedes it. There is also no linker in the neutral pre-nominal frame waccan mota. By contrast, post-nominal can requires motar can, with the linked feminine form motar. A pre-nominal demonstrative can co-occur with a phrase-final definite suffix when the noun is independently discourse-given, so waccan motar can mean “that previously mentioned car”; it is not the neutral out-of-the-blue form for “that car.” See demonstrative position after the linked noun.
Ba motar nan nake so ba; waccan nake so.
I do not want this car; I want that one.
This sentence first names a feminine referent with motar nan, then uses feminine standalone waccan. The listener does not need mota a second time.
A short exchange: selection from a visible set
A: Kana nufin littafin nan? B: A’a, wancan nake nufi. A: To, waɗannan fa? B: Waɗannan na Aisha ne.
A: Do you mean this book? B: No, I mean that one. A: What about these? B: These belong to Aisha.
The exchange establishes one nearby book, one farther book, and a plural group. Wancan is interpreted as a book because littafin nan supplies the category. Waɗannan introduces a visibly recoverable plural set. None of the demonstratives is a separate article equivalent to English the.
Common Mistakes
1. Using masculine wancan for a feminine referent.
❌ Wancan ta fi wannan tsada.
Incorrect for two cars or bags — feminine singular requires waccan.
✅ Waccan ta fi wannan tsada.
That one is more expensive than this one. (feminine referents)
2. Keeping singular agreement after a plural demonstrative.
❌ Waɗannan ya iso da safe.
Incorrect — waɗannan is plural and cannot take masculine singular ya here.
✅ Waɗannan sun iso da safe.
These arrived in the morning.
3. Adding nan after a bare noun without the linker.
❌ mota nan
Incorrect in the standard post-nominal demonstrative frame — the feminine noun must be linked.
✅ motar nan
This car / the car here.
4. Adding a discourse-given definite ending when the neutral demonstrative phrase is intended.
❌ waccan motar
Not the neutral out-of-the-blue phrase for ‘that car’ — this marked form is appropriate only when the car is independently discourse-given.
✅ waccan mota
That car.
5. Using a standalone form before the listener knows what kind of item is meant.
❌ Waccan ce nake so.
Incomplete in a context with no visible or previously mentioned feminine alternative — the listener cannot recover the noun.
✅ Waccan jaka ce nake so.
That bag is the one I want.
Key Takeaways
- Standalone demonstratives replace a recoverable noun phrase, not just an English article.
- Near singular wannan serves both genders in ordinary spelling; far singular distinguishes wancan and waccan.
- Waɗannan/waɗancan are plural, and later agreement must also be plural.
- An omitted noun still controls ne/ce, subject–TAM marking, and possessive na/ta.
- Post-nominal nan/can is a different construction and requires a linked overt noun.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Definite versus Demonstrative ReferenceA2 — Distinguish a recoverable Hausa referent in the definite n/r form from the more explicitly pointing meanings of demonstrative noun phrases.
- 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.