Wasu is the ordinary plural determiner for “some”: wasu mutane “some people,” wasu motoci “some cars.” It can also stand without a noun, especially in the balanced pattern wasu … wasu kuma … “some … while others ….” Its position, plural meaning, and discourse role are more stable than any single English translation.
The construction is neutral in Nigerian Standard Hausa: it belongs in everyday conversation, news, and formal prose.
The plural member of wani, wata, wasu
Wasu belongs to a three-way number-and-gender set. Gender matters in the singular, but the plural has one form for nouns of either singular gender:
| Reference | Determiner + noun | Usual English rendering |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | wani littafi | a certain / some book |
| feminine singular | wata takarda | a certain / some document |
| plural, either gender | wasu littattafai / wasu takardu | some books / some documents |
Na sayi wani littafi, wata jarida, da wasu takardu.
I bought a book, a newspaper, and some documents.
Wasu motoci sun tsaya a hanya saboda cunkoso.
Some cars stopped on the road because of the traffic jam.
The plural noun normally carries plural form and controls plural clause agreement: wasu motoci sun tsaya, not singular ta tsaya or ya tsaya. Hausa plural formation is lexical, so learn the actual plural—mota → motoci, mutum → mutane, littafi → littattafai—rather than adding one imagined universal ending. See plural agreement.
Introducing a new subset
In its simplest use, wasu + plural noun asserts that there are members of the named class that fit the sentence. It commonly introduces a group that may be mentioned again. It often suggests “not all,” but that contrast is normally an inference from quantity and context, not a separate negative word built into wasu.
Wasu baƙi sun iso da wuri, kuma baƙin suna zaune a falo.
Some guests arrived early, and the guests are sitting in the living room.
The first phrase wasu baƙi introduces a new subset. The later form baƙin presents that group as recoverable from the conversation. English uses two free-standing words, “some” and “the”; Hausa distributes the work across wasu, the joined -n form, plural agreement, and the discourse itself.
Na ajiye wasu takardu a kan tebur; takardun suna buƙatar sa hannunka.
I put some documents on the table; the documents need your signature.
Do not therefore memorize wasu as a plural version of English a. It marks an indefinite plural selection, whereas a bare Hausa plural can also be indefinite when no explicit selection is needed.
“Some” in contrast with “others”
Once the noun is understood, wasu can stand alone. With human reference it often means “some people”; with a previously mentioned set, it can mean “some of them.” Adding kuma in the second part makes the contrast flow naturally: wasu … wasu kuma ….
Wasu suna son shayi, wasu kuma suna son kofi.
Some like tea, while others like coffee.
Wasu sun biya ta banki, wasu kuma sun biya da kuɗi.
Some paid through the bank, while others paid in cash.
This pattern is partitive in meaning: the speaker mentally divides one relevant group into subsets. The second wasu does not mean a brand-new unrelated “some”; parallel structure makes “the others” interpretation available.
Wasu sun zo, wasu ba su zo ba.
Some came, while others did not come.
Notice the scope of negation. Wasu ba su zo ba means that some members failed to come; it does not mean “nobody came.” The plural subset introduced by wasu remains outside the negative statement.
Some of a known group
Wasu yara normally introduces some children without requiring an already identified total set. When the total set is known, Hausa can mark the noun as recoverable or use the explicit partitive daga cikin “from among.”
Wasu yaran nan sun riga sun koma gida.
Some of these children have already gone home.
Here yaran nan is “these children.” The -n is joined to yara before the postnominal demonstrative nan. It is not a suffix on wasu. The more explicit construction is useful whenever “some of” must be unmistakable:
Wasu daga cikin yaran nan sun riga sun koma gida.
Some of these children have already gone home.
Na karanta wasu daga cikin littattafan da ka ba ni.
I read some of the books you gave me.
The partitive explicitly chooses a subset from a larger, contextually identifiable set. For the full pattern, see partitives with daga cikin.
A short exchange: context decides the subset
— Ina ɗaliban? — Wasu suna ɗakin karatu, wasu kuma sun tafi gida.
— Where are the students? — Some are in the library, while the others have gone home.
The question establishes one recoverable group, ɗaliban “the students.” The two standalone occurrences of wasu then divide that group. Without the question, the same answer could introduce less clearly bounded groups. This is why wasu does not carry all of its interpretation by itself: discourse supplies the set from which the subsets are understood.
English “some” does not always equal wasu
English some covers several unrelated jobs. Use wasu for a plural set: some chairs → wasu kujeru. For a singular “some/a certain,” use gendered wani or wata. For an unstressed quantity of a mass noun, Hausa often uses a bare noun or a postnominal quantity expression instead:
Ka ba ni ruwa kaɗan, don Allah.
Give me some water, please.
Here English has some, but Hausa uses ruwa kaɗan “a little water,” not plural wasu. Similarly, ruwa alone may be “water” or “some water” when quantity is not being contrasted.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting wasu after the noun
❌ Littattafai wasu suna kan tebur.
Incorrect for neutral ‘some books’ — wasu belongs before the noun.
✅ Wasu littattafai suna kan tebur.
Some books are on the table.
2. Leaving the noun singular
❌ Na sayi wasu littafi.
Incorrect — wasu requires a plural noun phrase here.
✅ Na sayi wasu littattafai.
I bought some books.
3. Omitting the linker before a short demonstrative
❌ Wasu yara nan sun tafi.
Incorrect — the noun must be linked before nan.
✅ Wasu yaran nan sun tafi.
Some of these children have left.
4. Treating some under negation as a plural subject
❌ Wasu ɗalibai ba su zo ba.
Wrong if you mean ‘No students came’ — this says that some students did not come.
✅ Babu ɗalibin da ya zo.
No student came.
Key Takeaways
- Wasu precedes a plural noun and does not distinguish masculine from feminine in the plural.
- It can stand alone as “some people/some of them,” and a repeated wasu … wasu kuma … means “some … others ….”
- Wasu yaran nan or wasu daga cikin yaran nan selects a subset of an identified group; yaran nan keeps its linker.
- English some may instead require wani/wata, a bare mass noun, kaɗan, or another quantity expression.
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Wani and Wata: A Certain, Some, or AnotherA2 — Choose gendered wani or wata before a singular noun to introduce, select, or contrast one indefinite referent.
- Noun Ellipsis after QuantifiersB1 — Omit a recoverable Hausa noun after numerals and quantifying words while preserving its gender, number, scope, and discourse reference.
- Partitives with daga cikinB1 — Select one member, a subset, or an amount from an identified whole with the Hausa partitive frame quantifier + daga cikin + set.
- 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.
- 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.