All Hausa plural nouns use the common -n series for the definite or previous-reference form: gidaje → gidajen “houses → the houses,” motoci → motocin “cars → the cars,” and mata → matan “women → the women.” It makes no difference whether the corresponding singular is masculine or feminine.
That regularity begins only after the plural is known. Hausa has many plural formations, so you must first learn gida–gidaje, mota–motoci, mace–mata, and littafi–littattafai as lexical pairs. Unless noted otherwise, all forms here are unmarked Nigerian Standard Hausa, used naturally in (informal) conversation and (formal) writing.
If the plural itself is unfamiliar, see why Hausa plurals must be learned lexically. This page begins after that lexical choice and shows what definiteness does to the resulting plural.
One definite series for all plurals
Singular Hausa distinguishes masculine and feminine agreement. Plural agreement neutralizes that contrast, and all plurals take -n:
| Singular | Gender | Definite singular | Plural | Definite plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gida | masculine | gidan | gidaje | gidajen |
| mutum | masculine | mutumin | mutane | mutanen |
| mota | feminine | motar | motoci | motocin |
| riga | feminine | rigar | riguna | rigunan |
| mace | feminine | macen | mata | matan |
Gidan ya cika, amma har yanzu babu kowa a gidajen kusa.
The house is full, but the nearby houses are still empty.
Rigar tana cikin akwati, amma rigunan suna kan gado.
The gown is in a box, but the gowns are on the bed.
The singular motar uses feminine -r, but plural motocin uses -n. This is not a change in the lexical gender of mota; rather, the plural is a common agreement class in which the singular masculine–feminine contrast is no longer expressed.
Learn the plural before adding definiteness
English usually forms a plural with -s, then adds a separate article: car, cars, the cars. Hausa plural formation is much less uniform:
| Plural pattern represented | Singular | Plural | Definite plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| -aje | gida | gidaje | gidajen |
| -oci | mota | motoci | motocin |
| -una | riga | riguna | rigunan |
| -ofi | ƙofa | ƙofofi | ƙofofin |
| irregular pairing | mace | mata | matan |
| internal repetition + -ai | littafi | littattafai | littattafan |
Akwai gidaje uku a bayan makaranta; gidajen duk sababbi ne.
There are three houses behind the school; the houses are all new.
Na ɗauko riguna daga tela. Rigunan sun yi kyau sosai.
I collected some gowns from the tailor. The gowns turned out very well.
The suffix cannot repair an invented plural. Forms such as motas or gidas are not made grammatical by adding -n. Plural class and definiteness are two different morphological decisions.
Boundary adjustments in the plural
For many vowel-final plurals, the joined form looks transparent: gidaje–gidajen, motoci–motocin, riguna–rigunan, iyaye–iyayen. Final long vowels shorten before the attached consonant, but ordinary boko does not mark vowel length.
Diphthong-final plurals show a more visible adjustment. The second element of final ai is lost before -n:
| Plural citation form | Definite/linked surface form | Not |
|---|---|---|
| malamai “teachers” | malaman | *malamain |
| littattafai “books” | littattafan | *littattafain |
Na gayyaci malamai uku. Malaman sun iso kafin ƙarfe tara.
I invited three teachers. The teachers arrived before nine o'clock.
An kawo littattafai jiya. Littattafan suna cikin ɗakin karatu.
Some books were brought yesterday. The books are in the library.
In linguistic analysis, malamai + -n explains the pieces. In ordinary boko, write the actual surface form malaman, with no plus sign or hyphen.
A complete plural noun phrase
The plural form participates in an entire agreement chain. It combines with plural demonstratives, plural subject–TAM markers, and the plural identifying particle ne:
Waɗannan kujeru ne; kujerun suna cikin aji.
These are chairs; the chairs are in the classroom.
Waɗancan mutane ne suka taimaka mana jiya.
Those are the people who helped us yesterday.
The singular gender of kujera does not license feminine ce after plural kujeru. The complete phrase switches to plural behavior: waɗannan kujeru ne, kujerun suna.
Post-nominal demonstratives use the linked noun form:
Littattafan nan sun yi nauyi; ka ɗauki guda biyu kawai.
These books are heavy; take only two.
Here littattafan nan is one noun phrase. The head is already plural before definiteness or deixis is added.
Definite plural versus genitive-linked plural
As in the singular, the same boko surface form can end a definite phrase or link a plural head to an immediately following noun:
| Plural head | Standalone definite | Genitive-linked phrase |
|---|---|---|
| motoci | motocin “the cars” | motocin kamfani “company cars” |
| malamai | malaman “the teachers” | malaman makaranta “schoolteachers” |
| littattafai | littattafan “the books” | littattafan yara “children’s books” |
| gidaje | gidajen “the houses” | gidajen ma’aikata “workers’ houses” |
Motocin kamfani suna wajen gyara.
The company cars are at the repair shop.
Malaman makaranta sun tattauna da iyaye.
The schoolteachers discussed matters with parents.
The noun before the linker controls it. Motocin Amina would still take plural -n: the fact that the possessor is one woman cannot turn the plural head into a feminine singular form.
Indefinite set and recoverable set
Plurality and definiteness answer different questions. Wasu yara says that more than one child is being introduced; yaran says that the listener can identify which children are meant.
Wasu yara suna wasa a waje. Yaran za su koma gida kafin duhu.
Some children are playing outside. The children will go home before dark.
English uses separate words some and the. Hausa introduces the group with wasu and retrieves it with the joined plural marker. Not every English the requires overt Hausa -n, however; context can license a bare noun. The -n form explicitly presents the set as recoverable.
Common Mistakes
1. Preserving feminine -r in the plural
❌ Motocir sun tsaya a hanya.
Incorrect — every plural uses the -n series.
✅ Motocin sun tsaya a hanya.
The cars stopped on the road.
2. Inventing one regular plural ending
❌ Gidas suna kusa da makaranta.
Incorrect — the lexical plural of gida is gidaje.
✅ Gidajen suna bayan kasuwa.
The houses are behind the market.
3. Keeping final ai before the suffix
❌ Allurain suna kan tebur.
Incorrect — allurai reduces before the definite suffix.
✅ Alluran suna kan tebur.
The needles are on the table.
4. Using feminine singular agreement with a plural head
❌ Waɗannan bishiyoyi ce.
Incorrect — plural identification takes ne.
✅ Waɗannan bishiyoyi ne.
These are trees.
5. Letting the possessor choose the linker
❌ Motocir Amina suna waje.
Incorrect — plural motoci controls the -n linker.
✅ Motocin Amina suna waje.
Amina's cars are outside.
Key Takeaways
- Every plural takes the common -n definite/linking series, regardless of singular gender.
- Plural formation itself remains lexical and must be learned before definiteness is added.
- Joined surface forms include gidajen, motocin, rigunan, matan, and adjusted malaman, littattafan.
- Definite plural nouns participate in plural agreement throughout the phrase and clause.
Related Topics
- Why Hausa Plurals Must Be Learned LexicallyA2 — Understand why Hausa plural patterns offer useful clues but cannot replace learning each noun's attested singular–plural pairing.
- 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.
- Definite Suffixes -n and -r: OverviewA2 — How Hausa uses joined -n and -r forms for recoverable reference and noun linking, with the crucial gender, number, and sound-pattern asymmetries.
- 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.
- Phonological Adjustment at Linker BoundariesA2 — How vowel shortening, diphthong reduction, epenthesis, and consonant assimilation shape Hausa n/r linkers in speech and spelling.
- Near Demonstratives: wannan and waɗannanA1 — Use wannan with a nearby singular referent and waɗannan with nearby plurals, both before nouns and as standalone demonstratives.