Hausa distinguishes an estimate, a one-sided limit, and a two-ended range. Mutane kusan hamsin means “about fifty people”; aƙalla mutane hamsin means “at least fifty people”; adadin mutanen daga hamsin zuwa sittin ne sets their number from fifty to sixty. These phrases are not interchangeable, because each makes a different promise about what is known.
Neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa uses kusan widely in conversation and prose. Kimanin is especially common in (formal/news/academic) estimates, though it is not restricted to those registers. Range expressions use ordinary prepositions—especially daga ... zuwa ... “from ... to ...” and tsakanin ... da ... “between ... and ...”—around complete quantity phrases.
Kusan: about, approximately, nearly
Within a counted noun phrase, kusan commonly stands immediately before the number: mutane kusan ashirin “about twenty people,” kilomita kusan goma “about ten kilometers.” It can also introduce a complete estimate at the beginning of a clause or noun phrase.
| Exact quantity | Approximate quantity | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mutane hamsin | mutane kusan hamsin | about fifty people |
| naira dubu biyar | kusan naira dubu biyar | about five thousand naira |
| kilomita goma | kilomita kusan goma | about ten kilometers |
| awa biyu | kusan awa biyu | about two hours |
Mutane kusan talatin sun halarci taron.
About thirty people attended the meeting.
Mun yi tafiyar kilomita kusan goma kafin muka samu gidan mai.
We traveled about ten kilometers before finding a filling station.
Gyaran zai ci kusan naira dubu hamsin.
The repair will cost about fifty thousand naira.
Kusan deliberately removes exactness. If the count has been verified as exactly thirty, omit it or add daidai “exactly.” In (informal) emphatic speech, cif can also mean “exactly/on the dot,” particularly with ages and round quantities.
Ba kusan mutane talatin ba ne; mutane talatin ne daidai.
It is not about thirty people; it is exactly thirty.
Yau tana da shekara arba'in cif.
Today she is exactly forty years old. (informal emphatic)
Kimanin: an estimated quantity
Kimanin presents a considered estimate and often precedes the entire counted expression: kimanin mutane ɗari biyu. It also occurs after the noun in phrases such as mutane kimanin ɗari biyu. The difference is information packaging, not a change in arithmetic.
Kimanin mutane ɗari biyu ne suka yi rajista.
An estimated two hundred people registered. (formal/news style)
Rahoton ya ce mutane kimanin dubu biyar sun bar yankin.
The report said that approximately five thousand people left the area. (formal/news style)
Aikin zai ɗauki kimanin wata uku.
The work will take approximately three months.
Because kimanin is common in reporting, it can signal that the figure comes from a source, calculation, or preliminary count. It does not guarantee statistical precision. In casual conversation, kusan is often the lighter choice.
Lower and upper bounds
Use aƙalla “at least” to set a minimum. Use fiye da “more than” when the boundary itself is excluded. Use ƙasa da “less than/below” to set an upper limit.
| Hausa | Relation to 10 | Can 10 itself qualify? |
|---|---|---|
| aƙalla goma | 10 or more | yes |
| fiye da goma | more than 10 | no |
| ƙasa da goma | fewer/less than 10 | no |
| goma daidai | exactly 10 | yes, and only 10 |
Ana buƙatar aƙalla ma'aikata goma domin kammala aikin.
At least ten workers are needed to complete the work.
Ɗalibai fiye da hamsin sun nemi gurbin.
More than fifty students applied for the place.
Jakar tana da nauyin ƙasa da kilo goma.
The bag weighs less than ten kilograms.
English about ten can include values on either side of ten; at least ten cannot include nine. Hausa preserves the same logical distinction with separate constructions. The full grammar of ƙasa da is covered under Less Than with ƙasa and bai kai ba.
Ranges with daga ... zuwa ...
The most transparent two-ended range is:
daga + lower endpoint + zuwa + upper endpoint
Repeat the unit when doing so prevents ambiguity, especially in prices, ages, weights, and formal notices.
Ana sayar da kayan daga naira dubu goma zuwa naira dubu goma sha biyu.
The goods sell for between ten thousand and twelve thousand naira.
Tafiyar za ta ɗauki daga awa biyu zuwa awa uku.
The journey will take from two to three hours.
Ana karɓar yara daga shekara shida zuwa shekara goma.
Children from six to ten years old are accepted.
The endpoints are complete measurement expressions: naira dubu goma, awa biyu, shekara shida. English often states the unit only once at the end—from six to ten years—but repeating the Hausa unit makes each boundary easy to process.
Whether an endpoint is included can depend on the rule or real-world context. A school notice should state inclusion explicitly if it matters: har da masu shekara goma “including ten-year-olds.” Do not pretend the prepositions alone settle every administrative interpretation.
Za a karɓi masu shekara goma sha takwas zuwa ashirin da biyar, har da masu shekara ashirin da biyar.
People aged eighteen to twenty-five will be accepted, including those aged twenty-five.
Ranges with tsakanin ... da ...
Tsakanin ... da ... presents a quantity as lying between two boundaries. It is especially natural when the actual value is unknown but bounded.
Adadin baƙin zai kasance tsakanin arba'in da hamsin.
The number of guests will be between forty and fifty people.
Nauyin akwatin yana tsakanin kilo goma sha biyar da kilo ashirin.
The box's weight is between fifteen and twenty kilograms.
Za mu isa tsakanin ƙarfe huɗu da ƙarfe biyar na yamma.
We will arrive between four and five in the afternoon.
Do not confuse range da “and” with the da internal to a compound number. In tsakanin naira dubu ashirin da naira dubu talatin, the central da joins endpoints. In naira dubu ashirin da biyar, it builds twenty-five thousand.
Compact written ranges and natural speech
Formal tables may show 10–15 kg, ₦5,000–₦7,000, or 2025–2027. In speech, expand the dash with daga ... zuwa ... or tsakanin ... da .... Do not voice the punctuation itself as a digit or minus sign unless the notation genuinely represents subtraction.
A jadawalin, ‘10–15 kg’ na nufin daga kilo goma zuwa kilo goma sha biyar.
In the table, ‘10–15 kg’ means from ten to fifteen kilograms.
An tsara aikin na tsawon shekarun 2025 zuwa 2027.
The project was planned for the years 2025 to 2027.
A phone number such as 0703... is read digit by digit because it is an identifier. A range such as 10–15 relates two quantities and therefore requires range grammar.
Approximate full noun phrases
Approximation does not cancel noun form or agreement. Animate nouns ordinarily remain plural above one, and the clause takes plural marking.
Ma'aikata kusan ashirin sun zo da wuri kuma sun fara aikin.
Approximately twenty workers arrived early and began the work.
Kimanin ɗalibai ɗari uku ne za su rubuta jarabawar gobe.
Approximately three hundred students will take the examination tomorrow.
The numeral remains after the counted noun in the inner phrase. Kusan or kimanin scopes over the quantity, not over the lexical identity of the people.
A range in a price, date, and time exchange
A: Kusan nawa ne kuɗin gyaran? B: Tsakanin naira dubu talatin da naira dubu arba'in. A: Yaushe zai gama? B: Daga ranar 8 zuwa ranar 10 ga watan Oktoba, tsakanin ƙarfe huɗu da biyar na yamma.
A: About how much will the repair cost? B: Between thirty and forty thousand naira. A: When will it be finished? B: From 8 to 10 October, between four and five in the afternoon.
Price, date, and clock endpoints each keep their own frame. American month-first order or an English number-first price should not be imported into the Hausa answer.
Practice
mutane kusan saba'in
about seventy people
aƙalla lita goma
at least ten liters
daga kilomita biyar zuwa kilomita bakwai
from five to seven kilometers
tsakanin naira dubu biyu da naira dubu uku
between two and three thousand naira
Common Mistakes
1. Treating an estimate as a minimum
❌ kusan mutane goma, wato ba za su gaza goma ba
Incorrect inference — about ten can be slightly below ten.
✅ aƙalla mutane goma, wato ba za su gaza goma ba
At least ten people, meaning they will not be fewer than ten.
2. Putting every element in English order
❌ kusan goma kilomita
Incorrect neutral Hausa measurement order.
✅ kilomita kusan goma
About ten kilometers.
3. Omitting the range connector
❌ naira dubu biyar naira dubu bakwai
Incorrect — two adjacent amounts do not by themselves form a range.
✅ daga naira dubu biyar zuwa naira dubu bakwai
From five thousand to seven thousand naira.
4. Assuming endpoints are automatically included
❌ Daga shekara goma sha takwas zuwa ashirin da biyar lallai yana haɗa da shekara ashirin da biyar.
Incorrect generalization — an administrative rule should state inclusion when it matters.
✅ Daga shekara goma sha takwas zuwa ashirin da biyar, har da masu shekara ashirin da biyar.
From eighteen to twenty-five, including those aged twenty-five.
5. Reading a written range like a digit string
❌ 10–15 kg: ɗaya sifili ɗaya biyar kilo
Incorrect — this treats the endpoints as identifier digits.
✅ 10–15 kg: daga kilo goma zuwa kilo goma sha biyar
10–15 kg: from ten to fifteen kilograms.
Key Takeaways
- Kusan and kimanin mark estimates; kimanin is especially frequent in reporting.
- Aƙalla, fiye da, and ƙasa da set different one-sided boundaries.
- Use daga ... zuwa ... or tsakanin ... da ... for a two-ended range.
- Repeat units at endpoints when clarity matters.
- Approximation does not erase Hausa noun order, plural form, or agreement.
- Expand written dashes into range grammar; do not read them like telephone-number digits.
Related Topics
- Cardinals inside Noun PhrasesA1 — Place Hausa cardinal numbers after the noun and its identifying material but before later adjectives and relative clauses.
- Building Complex Cardinal NumbersA1 — Assemble Hausa cardinal numbers from the largest place downward, using sha for 11–19 and da between additive sections.
- Weights, Distance, and CapacityA2 — Express metric and everyday measurements with noun-before-number order, linked container phrases, and explicit units.
- Prices and Currency AmountsA2 — Build Hausa prices with naira and kobo, ask nawa, distinguish value from counted notes, and handle change and written amounts.
- Kaɗan: Few and LittleA2 — Use postnominal kaɗan for a small number, a small amount, or a low degree without English's many/much split.
- Less Than with kasa and bai kai baB1 — Express inferiority with verbal kasa or with negative kai, and distinguish both from the quantity phrase ƙasa da.