Hausa treats a year number as the identifying content of shekara “year”: a shekarar 2026 or, when fully spoken, a shekara ta dubu biyu da ashirin da shida. A decade uses plural shekaru, as in shekarun 1990 “the 1990s.” This noun grammar matters because English uses bare numbers easily and reads some years in two chunks, whereas Hausa normally builds the value with its own cardinal-number system.
One historically important complication is real: dates from 1000 through 1999 are often read with Arabic-derived alif “one thousand,” especially in older or historically oriented usage. Years from 2000 are transparently built with dubu. Both digits and surrounding context remain important, and this page labels the traditional pattern instead of pretending all speakers use only one style.
For the day–month–year phrase that contains a year label, see Months and Dates.
Shekara, shekarar, and shekaru
Shekara is feminine; its plural is shekaru. Before an identifying complement, singular shekara often appears as linked/definite shekarar.
| Function | Hausa | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| one-year duration | shekara ɗaya | one year |
| plural duration | shekaru uku | three years |
| year label | shekarar 2026 | the year 2026 |
| in a labelled year | a shekarar 2026 | in 2026 |
| decade label | shekarun 1990 | the 1990s |
Ta yi aiki a can shekara ɗaya.
She worked there for one year.
Sun zauna a Kano shekaru uku.
They lived in Kano for three years.
An buɗe makarantar a shekarar 2022.
The school was opened in 2022.
The first two examples measure duration; the third identifies a calendar year. English can leave in the year unspoken. Hausa may also use a compact digit in context, but a shekarar … makes the calendar function unmistakable.
Reading years from 2000 onward
Modern year numbers from 2000 follow ordinary cardinal structure. Da joins the remaining tens and units.
| Year | Full Hausa reading |
|---|---|
| 2000 | dubu biyu |
| 2001 | dubu biyu da ɗaya |
| 2010 | dubu biyu da goma |
| 2024 | dubu biyu da ashirin da huɗu |
| 2026 | dubu biyu da ashirin da shida |
| 2035 | dubu biyu da talatin da biyar |
Wannan rahoton na shekarar 2026 ne.
This report is for the year 2026.
An amince da tsarin a shekara ta dubu biyu da ashirin da huɗu.
The plan was approved in the year 2024.
Za a kammala aikin a shekarar 2030.
The project will be completed in 2030.
In the fully spelled pattern shekara ta …, feminine linker ta connects “year” with its numerical identification. With written digits, shekarar 2026 is compact and conventional. Do not add English twenty twenty-six chunks to the Hausa sentence.
The complete noun phrase may sit inside another noun phrase:
An gabatar da kasafin shekarar 2027 ga majalisa.
The 2027 budget was presented to the assembly.
Kasafin shekarar 2027 means “the budget of the year 2027.” The year is not a free-floating label; it is linked through shekarar.
Years from 1000 through 1999
In dates in this range, alif is a well-established Arabic-derived “thousand” term. It is especially visible in (traditional) year reading and historical narration.
| Year | Traditional date reading |
|---|---|
| 1900 | alif da ɗari tara |
| 1914 | alif da ɗari tara da goma sha huɗu |
| 1960 | alif da ɗari tara da sittin |
| 1987 | alif da ɗari tara da tamanin da bakwai |
| 1999 | alif da ɗari tara da casa’in da tara |
Nijeriya ta samu ’yancin kai a shekara ta alif da ɗari tara da sittin.
Nigeria gained independence in 1960. (traditional full year reading)
An gina tsohon ofishin a shekarar 1975.
The old office was built in 1975.
In ordinary modern writing, the digits in the second example are far more economical. A transparent cardinal with dubu ɗaya may also be understood, but learners should recognize alif because it is common in the conventional reading of twentieth-century dates. There is no honest shortcut: exposure is needed to become comfortable with both the digit and expanded styles.
Asking which year
Because shekara is feminine, ask a wace shekara? “in which year?” The answer normally repeats a shekarar.
A: A wace shekara aka haife ka? B: A shekarar 1998.
A: In which year were you born? B: In 1998. (addressing a man)
A: A wace shekara aka kafa kamfanin? B: A shekarar 2012.
A: In which year was the company founded? B: In 2012.
A: Wannan littafin na wace shekara ne? B: Na shekarar 2020 ne.
A: What year is this book from? B: It is from 2020.
To ask duration, use plural shekaru nawa?, not the calendar question.
A: An ɗauki shekaru nawa kafin a kammala ginin? B: Shekaru biyar.
A: How many years did the construction take? B: Five years.
The contrast is structural: wace shekara selects a labelled year; shekaru nawa counts elapsed years.
Relative years: bara, bana, and baɗi
Everyday Hausa has compact expressions for years relative to the moment of speaking.
| Hausa | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bara | last year |
| bana | this year |
| baɗi | next year |
Mun fara aikin bara.
We started the work last year.
Za mu kammala shi bana.
We will finish it this year.
Za a sake buɗe makarantar baɗi.
The school will reopen next year.
These words are deictic: their reference changes as the speaking year changes. Contracts, archives, and news reports often prefer a numbered year because bara in a quotation becomes unclear later.
A cikin rahoton, an maye gurbin ‘bara’ da ‘shekarar 2025’ domin a guji ruɗani.
In the report, ‘last year’ was replaced with ‘the year 2025’ to avoid ambiguity. (formal)
Naming decades
A decade is naturally presented with plural shekaru plus the initial year written in digits: shekarun 1980, shekarun 2020. Context turns the starting year into a ten-year range.
An gina gidaje da yawa a shekarun 1980.
Many houses were built in the 1980s.
Amfani da intanet ya ƙaru sosai a shekarun 2000.
Internet use increased greatly in the 2000s.
Wannan salon ya sake shahara a shekarun 2020.
This style became popular again in the 2020s.
To locate an event within a decade, add farko, tsakiya, or ƙarshe.
Kamfanin ya bunƙasa a farkon shekarun 1990.
The company expanded in the early 1990s.
An sauya dokar a tsakiyar shekarun 2000.
The law was changed in the mid-2000s.
Fasahar ta bazu a ƙarshen shekarun 2010.
The technology spread in the late 2010s.
Bare shekarun tamanin “the eighties” is possible when the century is already unmistakable, but it is inherently more context-dependent. Shekarun 1980 is safer in historical and (academic) writing.
Ranges use daga … zuwa …:
Binciken ya shafi shekarun 2015 zuwa 2020.
The study covers the years 2015 to 2020. (academic)
This names six calendar labels if both endpoints are included. It is not automatically the same as a duration of five years; calendar ranges and elapsed duration answer different questions.
A date-and-price exchange
A: Wannan tsohon gidan na wace shekara ne? B: An gina shi a shekarar 1988. A: Nawa ake sayar da shi yanzu? B: Naira miliyan tamanin. A: Yaushe za mu duba shi? B: Ranar 4 ga watan Oktoba da ƙarfe goma.
A: What year is this old house from? B: It was built in 1988. A: How much is it being sold for now? B: Eighty million naira. A: When will we inspect it? B: On 4 October at ten o’clock.
The value tamanin belongs to a price in one answer and may be part of a year or decade elsewhere. The surrounding noun—naira, shekara, or shekaru—determines the measurement frame.
Practice
2000 — shekara ta dubu biyu
The year 2000.
2026 — shekara ta dubu biyu da ashirin da shida
The year 2026.
a shekarun 1990
In the 1990s.
daga shekarar 2019 zuwa shekarar 2022
From 2019 to 2022.
Common Mistakes
1. Reading a Hausa year in English chunks
❌ ashirin ashirin da shida
Incorrect English-style chunking for 2026.
✅ dubu biyu da ashirin da shida
Two thousand and twenty-six; 2026.
2. Confusing a calendar label with duration
❌ a shekaru 2026
Incorrect for ‘in the year 2026’ — shekaru is plural and measures or groups years.
✅ a shekarar 2026
In the year 2026.
3. Using masculine wane with shekara
❌ A wane shekara aka kafa ta?
Incorrect — shekara is feminine.
✅ A wace shekara aka kafa ta?
In which year was it founded?
4. Treating a decade label as one single year
Singular shekarar 1990 names 1990 alone; it cannot label the whole decade.
✅ shekarun 1990
The 1990s.
Key Takeaways
- Shekara is feminine; shekaru is its plural, and shekarar introduces a specific year label.
- Read years from 2000 with ordinary cardinal structure: dubu biyu da ….
- Recognize traditional alif da ɗari tara … for years from the twentieth century.
- Ask a wace shekara? for a calendar year, but shekaru nawa? for duration.
- A decade uses plural shekarun + initial year, with farkon, tsakiyar, and ƙarshen for early, mid-, and late portions.
Related Topics
- Months and DatesA2 — Name Gregorian months and build spoken and written dates with ranar, ga watan, day–month–year order, and calendar-aware phrasing.
- Hundreds and ThousandsA1 — Build Hausa hundreds and thousands with ɗari and dubu, place their multipliers correctly, and join lower values with da.
- Building Complex Cardinal NumbersA1 — Assemble Hausa cardinal numbers from the largest place downward, using sha for 11–19 and da between additive sections.
- Age ExpressionsA2 — Ask and state ages with shekara, da, gare, possessed year forms, and attributive mai phrases.
- Approximate Numbers and RangesA2 — Qualify Hausa quantities with kusan and kimanin, set lower and upper bounds, and state ranges with daga, zuwa, and tsakanin.
- Relative Time and Time AdverbsA1 — Use Hausa TAM viewpoints with time adverbs that anchor an event in the past, present, or future.