English according to hides several relations that Hausa normally distinguishes. Use a cewar X when X is the source of words or a report, bisa ga X when a rule, document, plan, or body of evidence provides the basis, and a ganin X when X is the experiencer whose judgment or opinion frames the claim. Choosing among them tells the listener whether you are reporting, applying a standard, or evaluating.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Bisa ga and a cewar are especially common in (formal) news, administrative, and academic prose, though neither is restricted to writing. A ganina and the other a ganin forms are ordinary in careful conversation as well as public discussion.
A cewar identifies a speaker or reporting source
The expression a cewar + possessor is built around cewa, related to “saying.” It attributes the following information to someone’s words, statement, or report. With a named source, the name follows the linked form cewar.
A cewar jami’in kashe gobara, babu wanda ya ji rauni a kasuwar.
According to the fire-service officer, nobody was injured at the market. (news/reporting style)
A cewar Amina, motar ta tsaya ne kusa da tsohuwar gada.
According to Amina, the vehicle stopped near the old bridge.
A cewar sanarwar makarantar, za a fara jarabawa ranar Litinin.
According to the school announcement, examinations will begin on Monday. (formal)
The first two sources are people whose statements are being relayed. The third extends the same reporting logic to a document treated as something that “says” information. The construction does not guarantee truth; it makes the attribution explicit. A journalist can report a claim with a cewar without personally endorsing it.
With personal reference, possessive suffixes attach to the saying noun:
| Source | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| me | a cewata | according to what I say |
| you (m./f. singular) | a cewarka / a cewarki | according to you |
| him / her | a cewarsa / a cewarta | according to him / her |
| us / you all / them | a cewarmu / a cewarku / a cewarsu | according to us / you / them |
A cewarsu, ma’aikatan sun aika takardun tun makon jiya.
According to them, the employees sent the documents as far back as last week.
Do not say a cewar su in the compact possessive pattern. Cewar is a possessed relational form, so the pronominal possessor appears as a suffix. English keeps according to unchanged before every pronoun; Hausa exposes the source relation on the noun.
A ganin frames a judgment
A ganin X literally places a proposition “in X’s seeing.” Its productive meaning is “in X’s view/opinion/judgment.” With a noun, use a ganin + noun phrase. With a pronoun, attach a possessive suffix: a ganina, a ganinka, a ganinki, a ganinsa, a ganinta, a ganinmu, a ganinku, a ganinsu.
A ganin likitar, yaron zai iya komawa makaranta mako mai zuwa.
In the doctor’s view, the boy can return to school next week.
A ganina, ya fi kyau mu gyara rufin kafin damina ta fara.
In my view, it would be better to repair the roof before the rainy season begins.
A ganinsu, sabon tsarin ya yi tsada fiye da amfanin da zai kawo.
In their view, the new system costs more than the benefit it will bring.
These propositions are evaluations, predictions, or recommendations, not necessarily quotations. The doctor may never have uttered the exact sentence translated above. A ganin likitar assigns the judgment to her; a cewar likitar would present the content as something she said or officially reported.
The literal verb gani “see” helps explain the metaphor, but do not force a visual meaning into every occurrence. A ganina is a conventional viewpoint frame. It does not mean “at my eyesight,” and it does not require that the speaker physically see the matter.
Bisa ga presents a basis, rule, or evidence
Bisa ga commonly means “according to,” “in accordance with,” or “on the basis of.” It points to an authoritative text, plan, measurement, rule, or evidence set that supports the statement. This widespread explicit complex frame preserves both bisa and ga. Bare bisa + noun phrase is also established in formal “in accordance with” uses, as in bisa doka or bisa ƙa’ida; it must not be treated as categorically ungrammatical.
Bisa ga taswirar, asibitin yana bayan babbar kasuwar garin.
According to the map, the hospital is behind the town’s main market.
Bisa ga jadawalin, jirgin ƙasa zai isa da ƙarfe shida da rabi.
According to the timetable, the train will arrive at half past six.
Bisa ga ƙa’idar kamfanin, sai an nuna katin aiki kafin a shiga ɗakin ajiya.
Under the company rule, an employee card must be shown before entering the storeroom. (formal)
The map example describes a physical scene, yet bisa ga taswirar is not the hospital’s physical location. It identifies the map as the informational basis for locating it. The actual place relation is bayan babbar kasuwa. This separation prevents an English-speaking learner from adding stray equivalents of on, in, or at.
Before a human source, careful Hausa often makes the relevant basis explicit rather than putting a bare personal pronoun after bisa ga: bisa ga bayaninsa “according to his explanation,” bisa ga rahotonsu “according to their report,” bisa ga ra’ayinta “according to her opinion.” This also tells the listener whether the basis is a statement, report, or view.
Bisa ga bayaninta, famfon ya lalace tun ranar Asabar.
According to her explanation, the tap has been broken since Saturday.
Here feminine -ta is bound to bayani through the linked form bayaninta. It is not an independent pronoun after ga. For the general noun-versus-pronoun behavior of ga/gare, see ga: at, to, for, and presentational uses.
A minimal three-way contrast
Suppose a doctor has spoken, formed a professional judgment, and written a report. Hausa can foreground three different facts:
A cewar likitar, majinyacin ya samu sauƙi.
According to the doctor’s statement, the patient has improved. (reported speech/source)
A ganin likitar, majinyacin zai iya komawa gida gobe.
In the doctor’s view, the patient can go home tomorrow. (professional judgment)
Bisa ga rahoton likitar, an yi gwaje-gwaje uku.
According to the doctor’s report, three tests were conducted. (documentary basis)
This is a genuine choice, not three ornamental synonyms. If the doctor has not spoken, a cewar likitar falsely presents a saying source. If the claim is a recommendation rather than documentary data, a ganin likitar is more exact. If a procedure follows the written report, bisa ga rahoton foregrounds that basis.
Position and scope
These frames commonly appear before the proposition and are set off by a pause in speech or a comma in writing. They can also occur later when they have narrower scope.
Za a buɗe sabuwar hanyar a watan Disamba, a cewar kakakin ma’aikatar.
The new road will open in December, according to the ministry spokesperson. (news style)
Za mu raba kuɗin bisa ga yawan aikin da kowace ƙungiya ta kammala.
We will distribute the money according to the amount of work each group completed.
In the second sentence, bisa ga modifies the method of distribution rather than merely naming the source of a whole news claim. English uses according to for both attribution and conformity. Hausa can keep them clear through a cewar versus bisa ga.
Topic marking is different again. Game da sabon asibiti means “regarding the new hospital” and announces what the discourse concerns. It does not identify who said something or whose opinion is being expressed. See topic and respect with game da.
Register and responsibility for a claim
These expressions are important in (formal) and (academic) prose because they distribute evidential responsibility. A cewar rahoton attributes wording or information to a report. Bisa ga sakamakon bincike makes research results the evidential basis. A ganin masu binciken attributes an interpretation to the researchers.
Bisa ga sakamakon binciken, yawan masu amfani da ruwan rijiyar ya ragu.
According to the research results, the number of people using well water decreased. (academic)
A ganin masu binciken, gyaran bututun ne ya jawo raguwar.
In the researchers’ view, the pipe repairs caused the decrease. (academic interpretation)
The first can be checked against data. The second explicitly marks an analysis of those data. Good Hausa writing, like good English writing, should not blur evidence and interpretation.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a cewar for an unspoken personal opinion
❌ A cewar Musa, wannan zanen ya fi kyau.
Misleading if Musa never said this and only his judgment is intended; a cewar attributes a statement.
✅ A ganin Musa, wannan zanen ya fi sauran dacewa da zauren.
In Musa’s view, this design suits the hall better than the others.
2. Separating a possessive pronoun from cewar
❌ A cewar su, ba a sanar da kowa ba.
Incorrect in the compact standard pattern—the pronominal source is possessive.
✅ A cewarsu, ba a sanar da kowa game da canjin ba.
According to them, nobody was informed about the change.
3. Using ga alone for an evidential basis
❌ Ga dokar makarantar, an hana shiga ɗakin jarabawa da waya.
Incorrect for ‘Under the school rule’—ga alone is presentative or dative here, not a basis frame.
✅ Bisa ga dokar makarantar, an hana shiga ɗakin jarabawa da waya.
Under the school rule, entering the examination room with a phone is prohibited.
4. Using an independent pronoun after ganin
❌ A ganin ni, lokacin bai dace ba.
Incorrect—the viewpoint possessor is attached to gani.
✅ A ganina, lokacin taron bai dace da ma’aikatan dare ba.
In my view, the meeting time does not suit the night staff.
5. Confusing a topic with a source
❌ A cewar sabon kasafin kuɗi, za mu yi magana gobe.
Incorrect for ‘Regarding the new budget’; the budget is a topic, not a speaker or reporting document in this context.
✅ Game da sabon kasafin kuɗi, za mu yi cikakkiyar magana gobe.
Regarding the new budget, we will have a full discussion tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- A cewar X attributes information to X as a saying or reporting source.
- Personal sources attach to cewa: a cewata, a cewarsa, a cewarta, a cewarsu.
- A ganin X frames a judgment; pronouns are possessive suffixes such as a ganina and a ganinsu.
- Bisa ga X presents a rule, document, plan, or evidence set as the basis for a claim or action.
- With a human basis after bisa ga, an explicit noun such as bayaninsa, rahotonta, or ra’ayinsu is often the clearest form.
- Game da sets a topic; it does not mean “according to.”
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- ga: At, To, For, and Presentational UsesA1 — Distinguish relational ga and gare from presentational ga, and use each form with the complement pattern its construction requires.
- a: At, In, and OnA1 — Use Hausa a to place events and entities in a spatial, temporal, or abstract domain, adding relational nouns when exact geometry matters.
- Pronominal Complements of Relational NounsB1 — Attach possessive suffixes to Hausa relational nouns when a person or previously mentioned thing supplies the spatial or abstract reference point.
- Topic and Respect with game daB1 — Use game da to introduce what speech, thought, action, or comparison concerns, with independent pronouns after da.
- cewa and wai: That-Clauses and ReportsA2 — Build content clauses with neutral cewa and use reportative wai when the source or the speaker’s stance toward a report matters.
- Adverbial and Locative FocusB1 — Focus Hausa locations, times, paths, companions, reasons, and manners by fronting the whole phrase with stabilizing ne.