When a Hausa possessive pronoun follows a masculine singular noun or a plural noun, it belongs to the n-series: gidanka “your house,” littafinta “her book,” motocinmu “our cars,” takardunsu “their documents.” The possessed noun—not the owner—selects this series. Every short possessive is joined to its noun in Nigerian Standard boko.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa) and work in everyday speech and formal prose. Ordinary spelling does not mark the tones or vowel lengths involved.
The n-series paradigm
Start with the noun’s linked form: masculine gida → gidan- and plural motoci → motocin-. Then add the person element. The table shows the complete contrast.
| Owner | Masculine gida | Plural motoci | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | gidana | motocina | my house / my cars |
| 2nd masculine singular | gidanka | motocinka | your house / cars (one male) |
| 2nd feminine singular | gidanki | motocinki | your house / cars (one female) |
| 3rd masculine singular | gidansa | motocinsa | his house / cars |
| 3rd feminine singular | gidanta | motocinta | her house / cars |
| 1st plural | gidanmu | motocinmu | our house / cars |
| 2nd plural | gidanku | motocinku | your house / cars |
| 3rd plural | gidansu | motocinsu | their house / cars |
Gidana yana bayan kasuwa.
My house is behind the market.
Na ga motocinka a gaban ofis.
I saw your cars in front of the office. (one male owner)
Motocinta suna wurin gyara tun jiya.
Her cars have been at the repair shop since yesterday.
Gidanmu yana da ɗakuna huɗu.
Our house has four rooms.
Sun sayar da motocinsu kafin su ƙaura.
They sold their cars before moving.
English possessives change for the owner—his, her, their—but not for the thing owned. Hausa marks the owner too, yet first makes a second choice based on the possessed noun. Masculine singular and every plural use n; feminine singular uses the r-series, except for the special first-person -ta form.
For the complementary paradigm, see possessive pronouns after feminine nouns.
Masculine nouns of different shapes
The surface form is not always bare noun plus visible n. Learn a noun’s linked form because final vowels and consonant-final shapes interact with the linker.
| Bare noun | Linked base | With possessor |
|---|---|---|
| gida “house” | gidan- | gidansa “his house” |
| littafi “book” | littafin- | littafinki “your book” (to one female) |
| tebur “table” | teburin- | teburinmu “our table” |
| suna “name” | sunan- | sunansu “their name” |
| hannu “hand” | hannun- | hannuna “my hand” |
Littafinki yana cikin jakar da kika kawo.
Your book is in the bag you brought. (to one female)
Teburinsa ya yi ƙanƙanta domin kwamfutar.
His table is too small for the computer.
Sunansu yana cikin jerin waɗanda aka zaɓa.
Their name is on the list of those selected.
Hannunka yana zubar da jini; mu je asibiti.
Your hand is bleeding; let us go to the hospital. (to one male)
These forms cannot be produced reliably by inserting n immediately before the last consonant you happen to see. Tebur has linked teburin-, for example. A dictionary or a well-formed definite/genitive example supplies the needed base.
Plural heads always take n
A plural noun uses the n-series even when its singular is feminine. Compare feminine singular mota with plural motoci, or feminine takarda with plural takardu.
Motarta tana waje, amma motocinsu suna gareji.
Her car is outside, but their cars are in the garage.
Takardarki tana nan; takardunku suna wurin manaja.
Your document is here; your documents are with the manager. (first to one female, then to several people)
Amina ta tattara takardunta kafin ta bar ofis.
Amina gathered her documents before leaving the office.
The plural form takardunta contains takardu + n + ta in its grammatical structure: “documents-link-her.” Do not choose feminine r because singular takarda is feminine or because the owner is a woman. Current number of the possessed head controls the linker.
Other plural shapes behave the same way:
Yaranmu suna komawa makaranta ranar Litinin.
Our children are returning to school on Monday.
Littattafansu sun iso da safe.
Their books arrived this morning.
Hannayenta sun yi sanyi.
Her hands became cold.
Short possessives are one word
With a full nominal possessor, the linked noun and possessor remain separate: gidan Musa, motocin Amina. A short pronoun fuses orthographically with the linked noun: gidansa, motocinta.
Gidan Musa yana kusa da namu.
Musa’s house is close to ours.
Na ga motocin Amina, amma ban ga motocinta duka ba.
I saw Amina’s cars, but I did not see all her cars.
The joined spelling reflects a grammatical unit, not casual pronunciation. Write it in both (informal) messages and (formal) reports.
Keep the pronoun series separate
The same participant takes different forms according to grammatical function:
Ita ta nuna mini littafinta.
She showed me her book.
Ita is independent and contrastive, ta before the verb is the feminine completive subject marker, mini is the recipient form, and -nta in littafinta marks the possessor of a masculine noun. Their partial resemblance does not make them variants.
Musa ya kawo mana takardunsa.
Musa brought us his documents.
The overt noun Musa still requires ya. Recipient mana and plural-head possessive takardunsa each occupy their own slot.
Practice Exercises
Form the joined possessive indicated in English.
littafi + your (one male) → littafinka
your book
motoci + our → motocinmu
our cars
takardu + her → takardunta
her documents
tebur + their → teburinsu
their table
Now put one into a finite sentence. Remember the separate subject–TAM marker:
Amina ta kawo littafinta yau.
Amina brought her book today.
Common Mistakes
1. Writing the possessive as two words
❌ gidan su
Incorrect standard spelling for ‘their house.’
✅ gidansu
their house
2. Using the owner’s gender to select the linker
❌ gidarta
Incorrect for ‘her house’—gida is masculine.
✅ gidanta
her house
3. Carrying singular feminine r into a plural
❌ motarsu
Incorrect for ‘their cars’—motarsu means ‘their car.’
✅ motocinsu
their cars
4. Confusing a possessive with an independent pronoun
❌ littafi su
Incorrect for ‘their book’—free su is not a short possessive.
✅ littafinsu
their book
5. Dropping subject–TAM agreement after an overt noun
❌ Musa kawo littafinsa.
Incorrect as an ordinary completive clause.
✅ Musa ya kawo littafinsa.
Musa brought his book.
Key Takeaways
- Masculine singular and plural possessed heads select the n-series.
- The full set is -na, -nka, -nki, -nsa, -nta, -nmu, -nku, -nsu.
- Plural number overrides the gender of the singular: motarta “her car,” but motocinta “her cars.”
- Short possessives are joined to the noun: littafinki, takardunta, gidansu.
- Learn each noun’s linked surface form, especially consonant-final and irregularly shaped nouns.
Related Topics
- Possessive Pronouns after Feminine NounsB1 — Build the Hausa feminine-head possessive series, including motata, motarka, motarki, motarsa, motarta, motarmu, motarku, and motarsu.
- First Person Possessives -na and -taB1 — Choose Hausa -na after masculine and plural heads and irregular -ta after feminine singular heads to express first-person singular possession.
- Independent Possessives nawa, taka, and nasuB1 — Use Hausa nawa/tawa, naka/taka, and the full independent possessive paradigm with agreement for both the possessed item and its owner.
- Linking before PossessorsA2 — Build Hausa possessive noun phrases with a head-controlled n/r linker before names, noun phrases, and bound possessive pronouns.
- The Genitive Linker -nA2 — Use the joined Hausa linker -n after masculine, plural, and eligible non-a-final heads to connect a noun with its possessor or classifier.
- Body-Part Nouns and Inalienable PossessionB1 — How Hausa body-part nouns combine with lexical plurals, head-controlled linkers, and possessive suffixes when the owner is understood or expressed.