Hausa tsakanin identifies a space, interval, contrast, or relationship whose reference points are two or more entities. It therefore covers much of English between and some uses of among: tsakanin banki da asibiti “between a bank and a hospital,” tsakanin ma’aikata “among the employees.” The important idea is not the English choice between between and among; it is that the named participants jointly define the relation.
Because English among also expresses simple membership, compare this page with cikin: inside and among.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko keeps ɓ, ɗ, ƙ and apostrophes but does not mark tone or vowel length.
Two landmarks define an interval
With two separate reference points, join them with da “and.” A located object or place occupies the interval they define.
Sabon shagon yana tsakanin banki da asibiti.
The new shop is between the bank and the hospital.
An dasa bishiyar tsakanin gidajen biyu.
The tree was planted between the two houses.
Kujerar da babu kowa a kanta tana tsakanin Amina da Hauwa.
The empty chair is between Amina and Hauwa.
The phrase has the structure tsakanin X da Y. The coordinator da introduces the second reference point; it is not optional when the two participants are named separately. Tsakanin itself contains the relational linker -n, reflecting its noun-based origin.
In a simple direct location, tsakanin... follows the continuative form without an obligatory extra a: shagon yana tsakanin banki da asibiti. With a placement event, a tsakanin is natural:
Ka ajiye akwatin a tsakanin kujerun biyu.
Put the box between the two chairs. (addressing one male)
The outer a locates the placement event, while tsakanin defines the interval.
A plural group can define the relation
The complement need not list two individuals. A plural noun can name the whole set across which a relation holds.
An samu rashin jituwa tsakanin direbobin kamfanin.
A disagreement arose among the company’s drivers.
Akwai kyakkyawar dangantaka tsakanin ƙauyukan yankin.
There is a good relationship among the villages in the area.
Labarin ya bazu tsakanin ɗalibai kafin a fara darasi.
The news spread among the students before class began.
English prescriptive traditions sometimes insist on between for two and among for more than two. Hausa tsakanin is not divided that way. It is appropriate whenever the group’s members are endpoints or participants in a reciprocal, contrastive, or distributive relation.
However, not every English among expresses such a relation. Group membership or selection normally favors cikin or daga cikin:
Aisha tana cikin ɗaliban da suka ci jarrabawar.
Aisha is among the students who passed the examination. (group membership)
Aisha ɗaya ce daga cikin ɗaliban da suka ci jarrabawar.
Aisha is one of the students who passed the examination. (selection from a set)
Tsakanin ɗalibai views the students as participants across whom something occurs; cikin ɗalibai places someone within the set.
Pronouns are built into the relational form
When one anchor, or a plural set of anchors, is pronominal, use the possessive suffix series. Singular forms normally combine with da + second anchor; plural forms such as tsakaninmu and tsakaninsu can name the whole set. Do not write tsakanin su as two words in the standard form taught here.
| Referent | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| me / my side | tsakanina | between me and another stated or understood anchor |
| you, one male | tsakaninka | between you and another anchor |
| you, one female | tsakaninki | between you and another anchor |
| him / her | tsakaninsa / tsakaninta | between him/her and another anchor |
| us / you all / them | tsakaninmu / tsakaninku / tsakaninsu | between/among us / you / them |
For a relation between one pronominal participant and another named participant, the first anchor can carry the suffix and da introduces the second:
Wannan magana ta tsaya tsakanina da kai.
This matter stays between you and me. (addressing one male)
Babu wata matsala tsakaninta da sabuwar maƙwabciyarta.
There is no problem between her and her new neighbor.
An raba kuɗin a tsakaninsu daidai.
The money was divided equally among them.
In tsakanina da kai, -na encodes “me,” while independent kai is licensed as the second coordinated anchor after da. That is different from simply placing an independent pronoun after bare tsakanin.
Relations, differences, and choices
Abstract uses preserve the same multiple-anchor logic. A difference requires things being compared; an agreement requires parties; a choice requires alternatives.
Akwai babban bambanci tsakanin farashin kasuwa da farashin intanet.
There is a major difference between the market price and the online price.
An cimma yarjejeniya tsakanin gwamnati da ƙungiyar ma’aikata.
An agreement was reached between the government and the workers’ union. (formal)
Dole mu zaɓi tsakanin gyara tsohon ginin da gina sabo.
We must choose between renovating the old building and constructing a new one.
Nazarin ya nuna bambancin amfani tsakanin birane da ƙauyuka.
The study showed a difference in usage between cities and villages. (academic)
These are not spatial metaphors chosen at random. Each noun or verb introduces a relation that logically has multiple terms: bambanci compares, yarjejeniya connects parties, and zaɓi contrasts alternatives.
Time intervals and approximate times
Two times can serve as temporal anchors.
Likitan zai zo tsakanin ƙarfe biyu da uku na rana.
The doctor will come between two and three in the afternoon.
Ana samun cunkoso sosai tsakanin bakwai da tara na safe.
There is heavy traffic between seven and nine in the morning.
An gina tsohuwar makarantar tsakanin shekarar 1970 da 1975.
The old school was built sometime between 1970 and 1975. (neutral careful style)
Tsakanin X da Y presents an interval within which something happens, often without claiming continuous duration throughout it. Daga X zuwa Y explicitly presents starting and ending boundaries and can describe a full span:
Zan isa tsakanin ƙarfe huɗu da biyar.
I will arrive sometime between four and five.
Zan yi aiki daga ƙarfe huɗu zuwa biyar.
I will work from four to five.
That minimal pair matters. Arrival occupies some point inside the interval; work extends across the stated range.
Tsakanin versus tsakiyar
Tsakanin relates two or more anchors. Tsakiyar identifies the central part of one domain.
Tashar tana tsakanin kasuwa da asibiti.
The station is between the market and the hospital.
Tashar tana tsakiyar gari.
The station is in the middle of town.
The first needs two landmarks. The second treats the town as one whole with a center. English sometimes uses in the middle of for both situations, but Hausa keeps the relational structures distinct.
Social boundaries and confidentiality
With pronouns and human groups, tsakanin can mark a bounded social domain.
Mu bar wannan bayani tsakaninmu har sai an sanar da kowa.
Let us keep this information among ourselves until everyone is informed.
Hirar da muka yi tsakanina da ita ba ta shafi aikin ofis ba.
The conversation she and I had privately was not about office work.
These are ordinary extensions of “within the relations among these participants.” The meaning of secrecy comes from predicates such as bar bayani in context, not from tsakanin alone. Tsakaninmu by itself simply means “between/among us.”
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting da between two named anchors
❌ Shagon yana tsakanin banki asibiti.
Incorrect — two separately named anchors require coordination with da.
✅ Shagon yana tsakanin banki da asibiti.
The shop is between the bank and the hospital.
2. Writing an independent plural pronoun after tsakanin
❌ An raba aikin tsakanin su.
Incorrect standard form — attach the plural suffix.
✅ An raba aikin tsakaninsu.
The work was divided among them.
3. Adding an extra a to a direct location
❌ Gidan yana a tsakanin shaguna biyu.
Avoid the extra English-shaped a in this neutral direct predicate.
✅ Gidan yana tsakanin shaguna biyu.
The house is between two shops.
4. Using tsakanin for simple group membership
❌ Musa yana tsakanin ma’aikatan da suka samu horo.
Wrong for the intended meaning that Musa belongs to that set.
✅ Musa yana cikin ma’aikatan da suka samu horo.
Musa is among the employees who received training.
5. Using tsakiyar for a two-anchor contrast
❌ Akwai bambanci tsakiyar Hausa da Turanci.
Incorrect — a contrast between two systems requires tsakanin.
✅ Akwai bambanci tsakanin Hausa da Turanci.
There is a difference between Hausa and English.
Key Takeaways
- Tsakanin expresses an interval or relation defined by at least two anchors.
- Name two anchors as tsakanin X da Y; a plural noun can name a larger participating set.
- Use suffixed forms with pronouns: tsakanina, tsakaninka, tsakaninta, tsakaninmu, tsakaninku, tsakaninsu.
- Choose cikin/daga cikin for membership or selection from a group, but tsakanin for relations distributed across group members.
- In time, tsakanin X da Y gives an interval; daga X zuwa Y presents explicit start and end boundaries.
- Tsakiyar X means the central part of one whole, while tsakanin X da Y lies between distinct anchors.
Related Topics
- tsakiyar: In the Middle OfA2 — Use tsakiyar for the central region of a place, span, event, or period, keeping its feminine linker and possessive forms visible.
- cikin: Inside and AmongA2 — Use the relational noun cikin for a bounded interior, membership in a set, time limits, and several abstract frames, with possessive suffixes for pronominal complements.
- gefen: Beside and at the Side OfA2 — Use gefen to locate something at a side or edge, with noun linking and possessive suffixes showing its relational-noun structure.
- kusa da: NearA2 — Use kusa da for proximity without implying contact, containment, or a particular side of the reference point.
- daga: From and Out OfA1 — Use Hausa daga for spatial, temporal, and abstract sources, with cikin, wuri, or gare when the source relation needs to be made explicit.
- Locative Predication with Continuative FormsA1 — Locate a known Hausa subject with agreeing continuative forms such as yana, tana, and suna, including their negative and relative counterparts.