Cardinals answer “how many?”; ordinals answer “which position?” Hausa normally forms an ordinal by placing na or ta between the noun and a cardinal: darasi na biyu “second lesson,” mota ta biyu “second car.” The choice na/ta agrees with the noun, not with the person who owns or uses it.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Na is used with a masculine singular or plural head; ta is used with a feminine singular head. The numeral after it does not change for gender.
For the unlinked cardinal pattern noun + number, compare Cardinals inside Noun Phrases.
The basic pattern
Use:
masculine or plural noun + na + cardinal
feminine singular noun + ta + cardinal
| Position | Masculine/plural | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| first | na farko / na ɗaya | ta farko / ta ɗaya |
| second | na biyu | ta biyu |
| third | na uku | ta uku |
| fourth | na huɗu | ta huɗu |
| fifth | na biyar | ta biyar |
| tenth | na goma | ta goma |
Wannan shi ne darasi na biyu.
This is the second lesson.
Mun shiga mota ta uku.
We got into the third car.
Ka karanta shafuka na farko kafin taron.
Read the first pages before the meeting.
Masculine darasi selects na. Feminine mota selects ta. Plural shafuka also selects na, even though singular shafi is masculine anyway; all plural heads use the na pattern.
“First” has a special everyday form
The ordinary lexical expression for “first” is na farko / ta farko, built from farko “beginning/first.” Na ɗaya / ta ɗaya is also possible and is especially transparent in numbered sequences, labels, rankings, or explicit contrasts.
Aliyu ne ɗalibi na farko da ya iso.
Aliyu was the first student to arrive.
Hauwa ce mace ta farko da ta yi jawabi.
Hauwa was the first woman to give a speech.
Tambaya ta ɗaya tana da sauƙi, amma ta biyu tana da wuya.
Question one is easy, but the second is difficult.
In the last example, ta ɗaya is natural as the label “number one/first” in a sequence of feminine tambaya “question.” Ta biyu then stands without repeating the noun because the feminine referent is already clear.
Do not assume that cardinal ɗaya automatically means ordinal “first.” Mota ɗaya is “one car”; mota ta ɗaya is “the first car/car number one.” The linker creates the ordinal relation.
The linker agrees with the noun
The contrast appears even when the position is identical.
| Head noun | Gender/number | Ordinal phrase |
|---|---|---|
| bene “floor/storey” | masculine singular | bene na biyu |
| ƙofa “door/gate” | feminine singular | ƙofa ta biyu |
| ƙofofi “doors/gates” | plural | ƙofofi na farko |
Ofishinmu yana bene na biyu.
Our office is on the second floor.
Ka bi ta ƙofa ta biyu a hannun dama.
Go through the second door on the right.
Za a gyara ƙofofi na farko da aka saka.
The first doors that were installed will be repaired.
English uses the same word second after every noun. Hausa makes the relation agree through na/ta. This is the gender-sensitive piece mentioned in ordinal rules; the cardinal base biyu itself remains unchanged.
Ordinal phrases follow the noun
The whole ordinal comes after its head noun. It is not placed before the noun like English third chapter.
Mun tattauna babi na uku yau.
We discussed the third chapter today.
Ta kammala shekara ta huɗu a jami’a.
She completed her fourth year at university.
Ƙungiya ta biyar za ta fara gabatarwa.
The fifth group will begin the presentation.
The feminine form in ƙungiya ta biyar comes from ƙungiya, not from biyar and not from the people in the group. If the head is changed to masculine rukuni, the phrase becomes rukuni na biyar.
Complex ordinals keep one na or ta
A complex cardinal can follow the same linker. Put na/ta once before the whole numerical expression; build the number internally by the normal rules.
Sun buɗe shafi na goma sha biyu.
They opened the twelfth page.
Wannan ita ce rana ta ashirin da ɗaya.
This is the twenty-first day.
An gyara kuskure na ɗari biyu da goma.
Error number two hundred and ten was corrected.
Na goma sha biyu contains teen sha; ta ashirin da ɗaya contains additive da. Ordinal formation does not change the internal grammar of the cardinal.
There is no need to repeat the linker before every numerical part. Na ashirin da na ɗaya incorrectly treats one ordinal as two coordinated modifiers.
Ordinals can stand without an overt noun
When the relevant noun is clear, the na/ta + number phrase can stand alone. It retains the agreement class of the omitted noun.
A: Wane ɗalibi ya ci gasar? B: Na uku ne.
A: Which student won the competition? B: It was the third one.
A: Wace mota za mu ɗauka? B: Ta biyu ce.
A: Which car shall we take? B: The second one.
Ni ne na farko, ita ce ta huɗu.
I am the first, and she is the fourth.
In the first answer, understood masculine ɗalibi licenses na uku. In the second, understood feminine mota licenses ta biyu. The short identification particles also agree: ne versus ce.
Dates, school years, and numbered stages
Ordinals are common when a noun names an ordered stage rather than a quantity.
A: Yau rana ta nawa ce ga watan? B: Yau rana ta goma sha biyar ce ga watan Satumba.
A: What date of the month is it today? B: Today is the fifteenth day of September.
Ɗana yana aji na shida a wannan shekarar.
My son is in the sixth class/grade this year.
Za a biya kashi na biyu a ƙarshen wata.
The second instalment will be paid at the end of the month.
These are positions in a calendar, school sequence, or payment schedule. Compare cardinal kwana goma sha biyar “fifteen days,” which counts duration, with ordinal rana ta goma sha biyar “the fifteenth day,” which selects a position.
Practice: cardinal or ordinal?
Choose the phrase that matches the meaning.
- “two cars” → motoci biyu; “the second car” → mota ta biyu
- “three lessons” → darussa uku; “the third lesson” → darasi na uku
- “four questions” → tambayoyi huɗu; “the fourth question” → tambaya ta huɗu
- “ten pages” → shafuka goma; “the tenth page” → shafi na goma
Then change the head noun while preserving the position: bene na biyu becomes ƙofa ta biyu, not ƙofa na biyu.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the ordinal before the noun.
❌ na uku babi
Incorrect English-based order.
✅ babi na uku
The third chapter.
2. Omitting the ordinal linker.
❌ mota biyu
This means ‘two cars,’ not ‘the second car.’
✅ mota ta biyu
The second car.
3. Using na with a feminine singular head.
❌ ƙofa na huɗu
Incorrect — ƙofa is feminine singular.
✅ ƙofa ta huɗu
The fourth door.
4. Using ta with a plural head.
❌ shafuka ta farko
Incorrect — plural heads take na.
✅ shafuka na farko
The first pages.
5. Repeating the linker inside a complex ordinal.
❌ darasi na ashirin da na uku
Incorrect — one linker introduces the whole number.
✅ darasi na ashirin da uku
The twenty-third lesson.
Key Takeaways
- Form ordinals as noun + na/ta + cardinal.
- Use na with masculine singular and plural heads; use ta with feminine singular heads.
- Na farko/ta farko is the ordinary “first”; na ɗaya/ta ɗaya is also used, especially in numbering.
- The cardinal base remains invariant: na biyu, ta biyu.
- One linker introduces a complex ordinal: ta ashirin da ɗaya.
- Standalone na/ta + number keeps the gender or number of its understood noun.
Now practice Hausa
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Cardinal Numbers Zero to TenA1 — Count from sifili to goma and place Hausa cardinal numbers naturally after nouns in quantities, prices, times, and digit strings.
- Building Complex Cardinal NumbersA1 — Assemble Hausa cardinal numbers from the largest place downward, using sha for 11–19 and da between additive sections.
- Cardinals inside Noun PhrasesA1 — Place Hausa cardinal numbers after the noun and its identifying material but before later adjectives and relative clauses.
- Masculine and Feminine Gender: The Core SystemA1 — How Hausa singular nouns belong to masculine or feminine gender, how agreement reveals the class, and how gender interacts with plurals and n/r linking.
- The Genitive Linker -nA2 — Use the joined Hausa linker -n after masculine, plural, and eligible non-a-final heads to connect a noun with its possessor or classifier.