Hausa plurals in -una include very common pairs such as riga → riguna “gown(s),” hula → huluna “cap(s),” and hoto → hotuna “photograph(s).” The class is recognizable, but membership is lexical: a noun must be known to select this plural. Its spelling, meaning, or singular gender cannot choose -una by itself.
The plural formative also carries a tone melody. Ordinary boko hides that melody and vowel length, so riguna is the correct everyday spelling even though a pronunciation display contains more information. All unlabelled forms and examples here are neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa.
Core -una pairings
| Ordinary singular | Gender | Ordinary plural | Fully marked pronunciation (academic) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| riga | feminine | riguna | rìigáa → ríigúnàa | gown(s), robe(s) |
| hula | feminine | huluna | hùuláa → húlúnàa | cap(s), hat(s) |
| hoto | masculine | hotuna | hòotóo → hóotúnàa | photograph(s), picture(s) |
| jaki | masculine | jakuna | jàakíi → jákúnàa | donkey(s); alternative plural |
The -una plural has an integrating high–low melody: high tone extends over the earlier material, and the final syllable is low. Thus the singular’s tones are not simply carried unchanged into the plural. In the marked forms above, doubled vowels show length and grave accents show low tone; in ordinary writing, use riga, riguna, never rìigáa, ríigúnàa.
Ta sayi riga ɗaya domin bikin, amma tana da riguna da yawa a gida.
She bought one gown for the celebration, but she has many gowns at home.
Yaron ya rasa hula, sai mahaifinsa ya kawo masa huluna biyu.
The boy lost a cap, so his father brought him two caps.
Na ɗauki hoto ɗaya da safe, amma da yamma na ɗauki hotuna da yawa.
I took one photograph in the morning, but in the evening I took many photographs.
Why the class is still lexical
Some sound shapes favor -una, but no beginner-safe rule predicts every member. Compare feminine riga → riguna with feminine mota → motoci and ƙasa → ƙasashe. Masculine hoto also takes hotuna, showing that -una is not restricted to feminine singulars.
Some nouns show an additional stem operation. A light disyllabic base can geminate a consonant, as in dami → dammuna “bundle(s),” or undergo internal repetition, as in jaka → jakunkuna “bag(s).” These belong to the wider -una family but are not formed by naively replacing the final vowel. Their more complex structure is treated with reduplicated plural patterns.
Jaka ɗaya ta isa yau; sauran jakunkuna za su zo gobe.
One bag arrived today; the other bags will arrive tomorrow.
The common noun jaki illustrates another lexical complication: both jakai and jakuna are established plurals. That does not mean every noun allows two endings. It means the lexical entry for this particular noun contains alternatives.
Jakuna suna ɗaukar kayan zuwa kasuwa.
Donkeys are carrying the goods to the market.
Na ga jakai biyu a hanya, amma jakunan nan sun tsaya kusa da rijiya.
I saw two donkeys on the road, but these donkeys stopped near the well.
Singular gender and plural agreement
The singular gender remains a property of the lexical entry. Feminine riga and hula take feminine singular agreement, while masculine hoto and jaki take masculine singular agreement.
Wannan riga ce ta aiki, amma wannan hoto ne na bikin.
This is a work gown, but this is a photograph of the celebration.
Once plural, all these nouns use common plural agreement:
Waɗannan riguna ne na aiki, waɗancan kuma hotuna ne na bikin.
These are work gowns, while those are photographs of the celebration.
The contrast differs sharply from English. English “this gown / these gowns” changes demonstrative number but never classifies the singular noun as feminine. Hausa requires you to know riga (f.), then to switch to the shared plural series with riguna. The plural ending itself is not a gender marker.
Definite and genitive-linked forms
The plural -n series attaches to these plural stems. Ordinary boko writes the result as one word:
| Bare plural | Definite/linked form | Linked phrase |
|---|---|---|
| riguna | rigunan | rigunan yara “the children’s gowns” |
| huluna | hulunan | hulunan ma’aikata “the workers’ caps” |
| hotuna | hotunan | hotunan bikin “the celebration photographs” |
| jakuna | jakunan | jakunan manoma “the farmers’ donkeys” |
Rigunan yara suna cikin akwatin nan.
The children's gowns are in this box.
Ta aiko mini da hotunan bikin jiya.
She sent me the celebration photographs yesterday.
An ajiye hulunan ma’aikata a bakin ƙofa.
The workers' caps were left by the door.
The same joined form can be definite without a following possessor: rigunan can mean “the gowns” when they are already identifiable. Before a following noun, rigunan yara encodes the direct relation “gowns of the children.” Do not attach -n simply because the noun is plural; a new, nonlinked bare plural remains riguna.
Possessive pronouns join through the same plural series: rigunanta “her gowns,” hotunansa “his photographs.” Contrast singular rigarta “her gown” and hotonsa “his photograph.” This is why a good noun entry includes number, gender, and linking together.
New mention and discourse-given reference
Wasu riguna sun iso daga wurin tela. Rigunan sun yi kyau, amma har yanzu ba a gwada su ba.
Some gowns arrived from the tailor. The gowns look good, but they have not been tried on yet.
The first clause introduces wasu riguna. The second uses rigunan for the now familiar set. English makes the contrast with separate “some/the”; Hausa can make it with the bare plural versus an attached definite form.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating -una as the general Hausa equivalent of English -s.
❌ motauna suna waje
Incorrect — mota has the lexical plural motoci.
✅ Motoci suna waje.
Cars are outside.
2. Carrying feminine singular agreement into the plural.
❌ Waɗannan riguna ce.
Incorrect — plural riguna takes ne.
✅ Waɗannan riguna ne.
These are gowns.
3. Guessing singular gender from the plural class.
❌ Wannan hoto ce.
Incorrect — hoto is masculine even though its plural is in -una.
✅ Wannan hoto ne.
This is a photograph.
4. Omitting the plural linker before a possessor.
❌ hotuna bikin suna nan
Incorrect — ‘the celebration photographs’ requires linked hotunan.
✅ Hotunan bikin suna nan.
The celebration photographs are here.
5. Writing an analytical boundary in normal text.
❌ riguna-n yara sun bushe
Incorrect ordinary boko — the joined form has no hyphen.
✅ Rigunan yara sun bushe.
The children's gowns have dried.
Key Takeaways
- Learn -una through verified pairs such as riga → riguna, hula → huluna, and hoto → hotuna.
- The plural has an integrating high–low melody that ordinary boko does not mark.
- The class includes both feminine and masculine singulars; plural agreement itself does not distinguish gender.
- Add the plural definite/linker -n as a joined form: rigunan, hulunan, hotunan.
- More complex relatives such as jaka → jakunkuna and alternatives such as jaki → jakai/jakuna must be stored lexically.
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 in -oociA2 — Learn the Hausa -ooCii plural pattern through its copied consonant, lexical pairings, agreement, and definite and linked forms.
- Plural in -uu and -aauA2 — Distinguish Hausa suffixal -uu plurals from the internal -aa…uu pattern and use both with correct agreement, definiteness, and linking.
- Multiple Plurals with Meaning or Register DifferencesA2 — Learn how Hausa nouns can have more than one attested plural, how usage labels must follow evidence, and when whole-word repetition adds sequence or distribution.
- Tone and Vowel Length in Plural FormationA2 — Understand how Hausa plural patterns can replace a noun’s tone melody and alter vowel length even though ordinary boko spelling hides both.
- Plural Definite FormsA2 — How every Hausa plural uses the common -n definite/linking series while retaining its own lexical plural shape and boundary adjustments.