Hausa has a very common lexical word for “half,” rabi, and a productive way to name general fractions with kashi “part, portion.” Thus rabin biredin is “half of the bread,” while kashi biyu cikin uku is “two parts out of three,” or two thirds. These expressions describe a relationship between a part and a whole; they are not merely cardinals with a slash between them.
The unlabelled patterns below are neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa. Rabi is common in everyday conversation, shopping, time, and measurement. Explicit kashi ... cikin ... is useful whenever numerator and denominator must be unmistakable, especially in (formal/academic) explanation.
Rabi means one half
Bare rabi can name one of two equal portions or serve as the fractional part of a measurement. Before a noun that names the whole, use linked rabin:
rabin + known whole
Na ci rabin biredin, na bar maka sauran.
I ate half of the bread and left the rest for you.
Rabin ɗaliban sun riga sun gama jarabawar.
Half of the students have already finished the examination.
Ta zuba rabin madarar a cikin tukunyar.
She poured half of the milk into the pot.
The -n links rabi to the following whole. English uses of; Hausa builds the relation inside the noun phrase. The whole can be a definite noun, a mass, or an identified group.
Possessed halves
When the whole has already been named, a possessive suffix can attach to rabi: rabinsa “half of it/his half” for a masculine referent, rabinta for a feminine referent, and rabinsu for a plural referent. Context determines whether the phrase means a half belonging to someone or half of the referenced thing.
Wannan littafin dogo ne, amma na riga na karanta rabinsa.
This book is long, but I have already read half of it.
Na yanke mangwaron gida biyu, sai na ba Amina rabinta.
I cut the mango in two, then gave Amina her half.
An raba kuɗin, kuma kowannensu ya karɓi rabinsa.
The money was divided, and each person received their half.
Do not simply add English of it after bare rabi. Hausa suffixes package the possessor or referenced whole into the fractional noun.
Fractions in measurement: unit + whole number + da rabi
For a mixed quantity such as 2½ liters, state the unit, the whole number, then da rabi:
unit + numeral + da rabi
| Quantity | Hausa |
|---|---|
| ½ | rabi |
| 1½ liters | lita ɗaya da rabi |
| 2½ kilograms | kilo biyu da rabi |
| 3½ hours | awa uku da rabi |
| 7½ kilometers | kilomita bakwai da rabi |
Muna buƙatar lita biyu da rabi na mai domin injin.
We need two and a half liters of oil for the engine.
Nauyin akwatin kilo goma sha biyu da rabi ne.
The box weighs twelve and a half kilograms.
Mun yi tafiyar kilomita biyar da rabi kafin muka huta.
We traveled five and a half kilometers before resting.
The order differs from English in two places. Hausa puts the measurement noun before the number, then coordinates the fraction after the whole number: lita biyu da rabi, literally “liters two and half.” The fraction does not go before lita.
Half and quarter in clock time
Clock time uses the same additive logic. Ƙarfe uku da rabi is “three and a half,” hence 3:30. Kwata “quarter” gives ƙarfe uku da kwata “quarter past three.”
Taron zai fara da ƙarfe tara da rabi na safe.
The meeting will begin at half past nine in the morning.
Motar ta tashi da ƙarfe shida da kwata.
The vehicle left at quarter past six.
For “quarter to,” Hausa names the approaching hour: ƙarfe bakwai saura kwata “a quarter remains before seven.” This is not the same internal structure as an ordinary fraction of an object.
Mun isa tashar da ƙarfe bakwai saura kwata.
We arrived at the station at quarter to seven.
The full clock system is treated on Telling Clock Time.
General fractions with kashi
Kashi means a part, share, or portion. A transparent general fraction states the numerator as the number of selected parts and the denominator after cikin “inside/out of”:
kashi + numerator + cikin + denominator
In careful explanation, the denominator may repeat kashi—kashi ɗaya cikin kashi uku “one part out of three parts”—but ordinary mathematical context often permits the shorter kashi ɗaya cikin uku.
| Fraction | Transparent Hausa form | Common lexical alternative |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | kashi ɗaya cikin biyu | rabi |
| 1/3 | kashi ɗaya cikin uku | sulusi (formal/religious or mathematical) |
| 2/3 | kashi biyu cikin uku | — |
| 1/4 | kashi ɗaya cikin huɗu | rubu’i; kwata in familiar measurement contexts |
| 3/4 | kashi uku cikin huɗu | — |
Bisa “over” is also widespread in mathematical fraction names: kashi biyu bisa uku is an alternative to kashi biyu cikin uku for “two thirds.” Keep the numerator first and the denominator second with either connector.
Kashi biyu cikin uku na ma'aikatan sun amince da shawarar.
Two thirds of the employees agreed with the proposal.
Ka zuba kashi ɗaya cikin huɗu na garin a kwanon farko.
Put one quarter of the flour in the first bowl.
Rahoton ya nuna cewa an kammala kashi uku cikin huɗu na aikin.
The report showed that three quarters of the work had been completed.
The numerator follows kashi, and cikin introduces the total number of equal parts. This makes the logic overt: selected parts inside the full partition. It also prevents the English-speaking learner from reversing numerator and denominator.
Fractions of known sets and substances
After the fraction, use na before the domain whose portion is measured: kashi biyu cikin uku na ɗalibai “two thirds of the students.” With rabi, the short linker is built directly into rabin instead.
Kashi ɗaya cikin uku na kasafin kuɗin zai tafi ga gyaran makarantu.
One third of the budget will go to repairing schools.
Rabin ruwan ya zube, amma kashi ɗaya cikin huɗu ya rage a cikin bokitin.
Half of the water spilled, but one quarter remained in the bucket.
When a demonstrative identifies the set, preserve its linked noun form: rabin yaran nan “half of these children,” not bare yara nan.
Fiye da rabin yaran nan sun iya karanta labarin da kansu.
More than half of these children could read the story by themselves.
Fractions in prices
Prices can use rabi when an item costs half of a stated amount or when payment is divided. For an exact kobo fraction of a naira, ordinary currency language is clearer than an abstract fraction.
Na biya rabin kuɗin yau; zan biya sauran gobe.
I paid half of the money today; I will pay the rest tomorrow.
Rabin naira kobo hamsin ne.
Half a naira is fifty kobo.
Farashin rabin buhun naira dubu ashirin ne.
The price of half a sack is twenty thousand naira.
Notice rabin buhu “half of a sack” versus buhu biyu da rabi “two and a half sacks.” The first begins with the fraction because it selects part of one unit; the second begins with the measured unit and adds a fractional remainder to whole units.
A price, date, and time exchange
A: Nawa ne rabin buhun? B: Naira dubu ashirin. A: Yaushe zan karɓa? B: Ranar 12 ga watan Agusta da ƙarfe huɗu da rabi na yamma.
A: How much is half a sack? B: Twenty thousand naira. A: When will I collect it? B: On 12 August at half past four in the afternoon.
The exchange contains three distinct uses of numerals: the fraction rabin buhu, the currency amount naira dubu ashirin, and calendar/clock frames. None should be read as an isolated sequence of digits.
Practice
rabin kek
half of the cake
lita uku da rabi
three and a half liters
kashi biyu cikin biyar na kuɗin
two fifths of the money
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping the linker before the whole
❌ rabi biredin
Incorrect — ‘half of the bread’ requires linked rabin.
✅ rabin biredin
Half of the bread.
2. Copying English fraction-before-unit order
❌ biyu da rabi lita
Incorrect neutral Hausa measurement order.
✅ lita biyu da rabi
Two and a half liters.
3. Reversing numerator and denominator
❌ kashi uku cikin biyu
This means three halves, not two thirds.
✅ kashi biyu cikin uku
Two thirds.
4. Treating a clock quarter like an object fraction
❌ rabin ƙarfe uku
Incorrect for ‘half past three.’
✅ ƙarfe uku da rabi
Half past three.
5. Ignoring the linked form before a demonstrative
❌ rabin yara nan
Incorrect — nan follows linked yaran.
✅ rabin yaran nan
Half of these children.
Key Takeaways
- Rabi is “a half”; rabin X is “half of X.”
- Mixed measures follow unit + whole number + da rabi.
- A transparent general fraction is kashi + numerator + cikin + denominator.
- Na introduces the domain after a general fraction: kashi biyu cikin uku na ....
- Clock fractions use conventional frames such as ƙarfe uku da rabi and saura kwata.
- Keep part-of-one rabin buhu distinct from mixed-unit buhu biyu da rabi.
Related Topics
- Telling Clock TimeA2 — Tell exact and approximate clock time with ƙarfe, da, rabi, kwata, saura, minutes, and day-period expressions.
- Prices and Currency AmountsA2 — Build Hausa prices with naira and kobo, ask nawa, distinguish value from counted notes, and handle change and written amounts.
- Weights, Distance, and CapacityA2 — Express metric and everyday measurements with noun-before-number order, linked container phrases, and explicit units.
- Cardinals inside Noun PhrasesA1 — Place Hausa cardinal numbers after the noun and its identifying material but before later adjectives and relative clauses.
- Partitives with daga cikinB1 — Select one member, a subset, or an amount from an identified whole with the Hausa partitive frame quantifier + daga cikin + set.
- Excess Quantity with fiye da and yi yawaA2 — Use fiye da for an explicit ‘more than’ standard and yi yawa to judge a quantity large or excessive in context.