Hausa negative commands are built with kada or conversational kar followed by an agreeing subjunctive marker: Kada ka tafi “Do not go” to one man, Kada ki tafi to one woman, and Kada ku tafi to a group. There is no negative form of the special bare singular imperative. A prohibition chooses a different construction rather than wrapping ordinary ba ... ba around a positive command.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Full kada works in conversation, careful instructions, and (formal) notices. Kar is common (informal/conversational). Neither form takes a clause-final ba.
Match the command to the addressee
The three central addressee forms are:
| Addressee | Affirmative command | Negative command |
|---|---|---|
| one man | Ka buɗe ƙofar. | Kada ka buɗe ƙofar. |
| one woman | Ki buɗe ƙofar. | Kada ki buɗe ƙofar. |
| two or more people | Ku buɗe ƙofar. | Kada ku buɗe ƙofar. |
Ka jira a nan.
Wait here. (to one man)
Kada ka jira a nan.
Do not wait here. (to one man)
Ki aika saƙon yanzu.
Send the message now. (to one woman)
Kada ki aika saƙon yanzu.
Do not send the message now. (to one woman)
Ku shiga ɗakin.
Enter the room. (to a group)
Kada ku shiga ɗakin.
Do not enter the room. (to a group)
English don’t does not reveal gender or number. Hausa therefore makes the speaker choose ka, ki, or ku every time. This person marker is part of the subjunctive construction, not an optional independent pronoun.
Why a negative command is not a negative bare imperative
Hausa has affirmative bare singular imperatives such as Buɗe ƙofar! “Open the door!” The bare form does not show whether the addressee is male or female. Once the command becomes negative, the language uses kada/kar + subjunctive, so agreement becomes visible.
Rufe tagar!
Close the window! (bare singular imperative)
Kada ka rufe tagar!
Do not close the window! (to one man)
Kada ki rufe tagar!
Do not close the window! (to one woman)
There is no standard transformation ba rufe ba meaning “don’t close.” Ba ka rufe tagar ba is an ordinary factual negative in another TAM interpretation, not a command.
Kar changes register, not agreement
Replace full kada with kar in relaxed conversation, while keeping the same subjunctive marker.
Kar ka yi sauri; hanyar tana da haɗari.
Don’t rush; the road is dangerous. (to one man; informal/conversational)
Kar ki damu, zan kira likita.
Don’t worry; I will call a doctor. (to one woman; informal/conversational)
Kar ku manta da tikitinku.
Don’t forget your tickets. (to a group; informal/conversational)
Full kada may sound more deliberate in a warning or written procedure, but it is not automatically harsher. Short kar is not masculine and does not remove the need for ki with one female addressee.
Named addressees and third-person directives
A vocative name can be set off from a direct command. The grammatical addressee marker still matches that person.
Amina, kada ki taɓa wannan maɓallin.
Amina, do not touch this button.
Musa, kada ka bar ƙofar a buɗe.
Musa, do not leave the door open.
When the named person is not being addressed directly, put the name after kada and retain third-person agreement:
Kada Amina ta taɓa wannan maɓallin.
Amina should not touch this button.
Kada yaran su gudu a cikin aji.
The children must not run inside the classroom.
Compare direct Amina, kada ki ... with third-person kada Amina ta .... Punctuation alone is not the main difference: the agreement marker shows whether the speaker addresses Amina as “you” or talks about her as “she.”
An impersonal safety instruction avoids naming any addressee and is common in (formal/institutional) language:
Kada a shiga ba tare da izini ba.
Do not enter without permission. (formal notice)
Again, the final ba belongs to ba tare da ... ba “without,” not to the prohibition.
Scope: what are you telling someone not to do?
The position of kada determines which command is negative in a sentence about giving instructions.
Ka gaya wa Musa kada ya tafi.
Tell Musa not to leave. (the leaving is prohibited)
Kada ka gaya wa Musa ya tafi.
Do not tell Musa to leave. (the act of telling is prohibited)
In the first, ka gaya is an affirmative command to speak, while kada ya tafi is the message for Musa. In the second, kada ka gaya makes the telling itself negative. Moving kada therefore changes scope even though many of the same words remain.
You can also narrow a prohibition with context:
Kada ki shiga ɗakin da takalmi; ki cire su a waje.
Do not enter the room wearing shoes; take them off outside. (to one woman)
This does not necessarily forbid entering the room altogether. The phrase da takalmi identifies the manner that is prohibited.
A command can concern a future time without za
Kada ku makara gobe.
Do not be late tomorrow. (to a group)
Kar ki manta da taron mako mai zuwa.
Don’t forget next week’s meeting. (to one woman; informal/conversational)
Time expressions locate the prohibited situation, but kada/kar still selects a subjunctive marker. Do not insert future za merely because the action would happen tomorrow.
Dialogue correction
—Amina, kada ka buɗe akwatin. —Kana magana da Amina; ka ce: Amina, kada ki buɗe akwatin.
—Amina, don't open the box. —You are speaking to Amina; say: Amina, don't open the box. (correction to one man)
The mistake is not in kada. It is the masculine addressee marker ka. One female addressee requires ki.
Practice
Choose ka, ki, or ku.
Kada ka ajiye wayarka a nan.
Do not leave your phone here. (to one man)
Kada ki sha wannan maganin kafin ki ci abinci.
Do not take this medicine before eating. (to one woman)
Kada ku yi magana yayin jarabawa.
Do not talk during the examination. (to a group)
Common Mistakes
1. Using ordinary ba ... ba for a command
❌ Ba ka shiga yanzu ba!
Incorrect for the intended prohibition — this is shaped like a factual negative.
✅ Kada ka shiga yanzu!
Do not enter now! (to one man)
2. Omitting the addressee marker
❌ Kada buɗe ƙofar.
Incorrect — the negative command needs a subjunctive subject marker.
✅ Kada ki buɗe ƙofar.
Do not open the door. (to one woman)
3. Adding a closing ba
❌ Kar ku jira mu ba.
Incorrect — kada/kar prohibitions do not close with ba.
✅ Kar ku jira mu.
Don’t wait for us. (to a group; informal/conversational)
4. Using masculine ka for a female addressee
❌ Hauwa, kada ka tafi.
Incorrect — Hauwa is addressed as one woman.
✅ Hauwa, kada ki tafi.
Hauwa, do not go.
5. Adding future za
❌ Kada za ku zo gobe.
Incorrect — negative commands select subjunctive ku, not future za ku.
✅ Kada ku zo gobe.
Do not come tomorrow. (to a group)
Key Takeaways
- A negative command is kada/kar + subjunctive marker + verb, never an ordinary ba ... ba clause.
- Use ka for one man, ki for one woman, and ku for a group.
- Direct Amina, kada ki ... contrasts with third-person kada Amina ta ....
- Kar is common in informal conversation; it does not change agreement.
- The placement of kada determines which action in a multi-clause instruction is prohibited.
- Do not add a closing ba or future za.
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