Hausa uses a dedicated ma- series with many verbs when a pronoun means “to someone” or “for someone.” This page focuses on masa “to/for him,” mata “to/for her,” mana “to/for us,” muku “to/for you all,” and musu “to/for them.” These are not longer, more polite versions of shi, ta, mu, ku, su: the ma- forms identify a recipient, beneficiary, or comparable indirectly affected participant. The high-frequency verb ba “give” is an important lexical exception and is treated separately below.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). In ordinary boko, each form is written as one word and as a separate word from the verb: gaya masa, not gaya ma sa and not gayamasa.
The five forms in the wider paradigm
The full indirect-object series preserves person and number, and it distinguishes masculine from feminine in the second- and third-person singular.
| Person | Indirect-object form | Typical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | mini | to/for me |
| 2nd masculine singular | maka | to/for you (one male) |
| 2nd feminine singular | miki | to/for you (one female) |
| 3rd masculine singular | masa | to/for him |
| 3rd feminine singular | mata | to/for her |
| 1st plural | mana | to/for us |
| 2nd plural | muku | to/for you all |
| 3rd plural | musu | to/for them |
Na gaya masa abin da ya faru.
I told him what happened.
Likita ya rubuta mata takardar magani.
The doctor wrote her a prescription.
Sun tanadar mana ɗaki kusa da ofishin.
They prepared a room for us near the office.
Zan aiko muku da cikakken bayani gobe.
I will send you all the full information tomorrow.
Mun saya musu abinci kafin tafiyar.
We bought them food before the journey.
The final vowel or syllable tells you whose interests or destination are involved: masculine singular -sa, feminine singular -ta, first plural -na, second plural -ku, and third plural -su. The shared initial m- signals the indirect relation. There is no English equivalent of this neat morphological column because English normally combines to/for with an object pronoun—or relies on word order in I gave him the key.
The first three members of the same paradigm are treated on mini, maka, and miki.
Recipients and beneficiaries
A recipient receives information, an object, or some other transferred thing. A beneficiary is the person for whose benefit an action is done. The same ma- form can cover both relations; the verb and context supply the difference.
Musa ya nuna mata hanyar asibiti.
Musa showed her the way to the hospital.
Maƙwabcinmu ya kawo mana ruwa lokacin da famfo ya lalace.
Our neighbor brought us water when the tap broke.
Na tanadar muku kujeru a gaba.
I reserved seats for you all at the front.
Za mu dafa musu abinci kafin su dawo.
We will cook food for them before they return.
In Musa ya nuna mata..., the overt subject Musa does not replace the preverbal marker ya. Hausa finite clauses normally retain their subject–TAM marking after an overt noun. Mata occurs later because it represents the recipient, not the subject.
The distinction between recipient and beneficiary may be clearer in a pair:
Na kai masa wasiƙar.
I delivered the letter to him. (recipient)
Na gyara masa keken.
I repaired the bicycle for him. (beneficiary)
Both use masa, but only the first presents him as the destination of the transferred letter. Hausa does not need a different pronoun for the two meanings.
The important ba “give” exception
The verb ba “give” does not take mini/maka/miki/masa/mata/mana/muku/musu for its recipient. It exceptionally selects the short forms ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, su, even though that participant is semantically the person receiving something. This is lexical government by ba, not evidence that recipient and direct-object forms are generally interchangeable.
Amina ta ba shi makullin mota.
Amina gave him the car key.
Malam ya ba mu aikin gida.
The teacher gave us homework.
Mun ba su littattafan da suka nema.
We gave them the books they requested.
Compare ordinary ma- forms after other verbs:
Amina ta saya masa agogo.
Amina bought him a watch.
Malam ya bayyana mana aikin gida.
The teacher explained the homework to us.
Direct object versus indirect object
Direct objects are the entities most directly seen, called, helped, or otherwise affected by a verb. The direct-object forms corresponding to this page are shi, ta, mu, ku, su. The ma- forms instead package a relation commonly translated with to or for.
| Referent | Direct object | Indirect object |
|---|---|---|
| him | Na gan shi. “I saw him.” | Na gaya masa. “I told him.” |
| her | Na kira ta. “I called her.” | Na nuna mata. “I showed her.” |
| us | Sun taimake mu. “They helped us.” | Sun kawo mana. “They brought us [something].” |
| you all | Na ji ku. “I heard you all.” | Na rubuta muku. “I wrote to you all.” |
| them | Mun gayyace su. “We invited them.” | Mun saya musu. “We bought for them.” |
Na gan shi a kasuwa, sannan na gaya masa labarin.
I saw him at the market, then I told him the news.
Mun kira su, muka tanadar musu wurin zama.
We called them and prepared a place for them to stay.
One person can therefore be referred to by two series within a short stretch of discourse. The choice is structural, not stylistic.
Gender and number remain grammatical choices
Use masa for one masculine referent and mata for one feminine referent. Hausa does not neutralize this contrast simply because English to him and to her share the same preposition.
Ka gaya wa Ali ya jira; ka gaya masa yanzu.
Tell Ali to wait; tell him now.
Ka gaya wa Maryam ta jira; ka gaya mata yanzu.
Tell Maryam to wait; tell her now.
Use musu for a third-person plural group, whatever the members’ genders. Muku ordinarily addresses more than one person. It is also used as a respectful plural toward one person in appropriate social interaction (respectful/formal); the surrounding address forms make that usage clear.
Malam, na kawo muku takardun da kuka nema.
Teacher/Sir, I have brought you the documents you requested. (respectful address to one person)
Yaran suna jira; ku raba musu littattafan.
The children are waiting; distribute the books to them.
Independent, subject, indirect, and possessive forms
English encourages learners to search for a single translation of he/him/his. Hausa instead assigns different forms to different grammatical slots.
Shi ya kawo mata littafinsa.
He brought her his book.
Here shi is an independent, contrastive subject; ya is the required completive subject–TAM marker; mata is the feminine singular recipient; and littafinsa contains the masculine-head possessive suffix “his.” Replacing all of them with one form would destroy the clause’s structure.
Su sun aiko mana da nasu, mu kuma mun aiko musu da namu.
They sent us theirs, and we sent them ours.
This example contrasts independent su/mu, subject–TAM sun/mun, recipients mana/musu, and independent possessives nasu/namu. Similar English forms may be related, but the Hausa series are not interchangeable.
Practice Exercises
Choose masa, mata, mana, muku, or musu, then compare your answer with the form in parentheses.
Hauwa ta nuna ___ hotunan bikin. (musu)
Hauwa showed them the wedding pictures.
Za ka iya rubuta ___ adireshin? (mana)
Can you write the address for us?
Na saya ___ sabuwar waya. (mata)
I bought her a new phone.
Mun ajiye ___ abinci a kicin. (muku)
We saved food for you all in the kitchen.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a direct object for a recipient
❌ Na saya shi abinci.
Incorrect for ‘I bought food for him’—shi is a direct-object form.
✅ Na saya masa abinci.
I bought food for him.
2. Losing third-person gender
❌ Na gaya masa ta zo da wuri.
Incorrect if the person told is a woman—masa is masculine singular.
✅ Na gaya mata ta zo da wuri.
I told her to come early.
3. Dropping the subject–TAM marker after a noun
❌ Amina ba shi makullin.
Incorrect as the intended completive sentence—Amina still requires ta.
✅ Amina ta ba shi makullin.
Amina gave him the key.
4. Splitting or attaching the ma-form incorrectly
❌ Mun gaya ma su labarin.
Incorrect standard spelling—musu is one word.
✅ Mun gaya musu labarin.
We told them the news.
5. Extending the ma-series to exceptional ba “give”
❌ Mun ba musu littattafan.
Incorrect—the verb ba does not select musu for its recipient.
✅ Mun ba su littattafan.
We gave them the books.
Key Takeaways
- Masa, mata, mana, muku, musu mean “to/for him, her, us, you all, them” in the indirect-object series.
- Keep masculine singular masa distinct from feminine singular mata.
- Direct shi/ta/mu/ku/su and indirect masa/mata/mana/muku/musu express different grammatical roles.
- The verb ba “give” exceptionally uses ni/ka/ki/shi/ta/mu/ku/su for its recipient: Amina ta ba shi..., not ba masa.
- An overt noun subject still requires its preverbal subject–TAM form: Amina ta ba shi...
- Write each ma- pronoun as one word, separate from the verb.
Related Topics
- Indirect-Object Pronouns with ma-B1 — Use Hausa mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, and musu for recipients, beneficiaries, and other affected participants.
- mini, maka, and mikiB1 — Use mini for a first-person recipient and distinguish masculine maka from feminine miki when addressing one person.
- Direct-Object Pronouns: Core ParadigmA2 — Learn Hausa ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, and su as direct objects and keep them distinct from independent, subject–TAM, indirect-object, and possessive forms.
- Object Pronouns with Two-Object VerbsA2 — Order Hausa recipients before themes, choose the indirect-object series for most recipients, and learn the special pattern used with ba ‘give’.
- shi and ita: Third Person SingularA1 — Use independent shi and ita for masculine and feminine singular reference while preserving the distinct subject, object, recipient, and possessive series.
- mu, ku, and su: Plural PersonsA1 — Distinguish independent mu, ku, and su from the plural subject–TAM, object, recipient, and possessive forms used elsewhere in the clause.