The core Hausa direct-object pronouns are ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, su. They normally follow the verb and identify the participant directly affected, perceived, contacted, or otherwise selected as that verb's object. English uses forms such as me, you, him, her, us, and them, but Hausa requires you to choose this object series rather than recycle an independent or subject–TAM form.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Standard boko normally writes these pronouns as separate words after the verb. Their spoken tone interacts closely with the preceding verb, but ordinary Hausa spelling does not mark that tone; the dedicated tone-and-host page treats the phonology later.
The complete core paradigm
| Person | Direct object | English guide | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | ni | me | ya kira ni |
| 2nd masculine singular | ka | you (one male) | ta kira ka |
| 2nd feminine singular | ki | you (one female) | ya kira ki |
| 3rd masculine singular | shi | him / it (masculine) | ta kira shi |
| 3rd feminine singular | ta | her / it (feminine) | ya kira ta |
| 1st plural | mu | us | ta kira mu |
| 2nd plural | ku | you all | ya kira ku |
| 3rd plural | su | them | ta kira su |
The second-person singular forms encode the addressee's gender: ka addresses one male, ki one female. Plural ku applies to a group regardless of gender.
Hauwa ta kira ni daga tashar mota.
Hauwa called me from the bus station.
Zan same ka a ƙofar banki.
I will meet you at the bank entrance. (addressing a male)
Malam zai taimake ki bayan darasi.
The teacher will help you after class. (addressing a female)
Mun gaishe shi a wajen masallaci.
We greeted him outside the mosque.
Na kira ta amma ba ta ɗauka ba.
I called her, but she did not answer.
Shugaban ya gaishe mu ɗaya bayan ɗaya.
The chairperson greeted us one by one.
Za ta same ku a ɗakin taro.
She will meet you all in the meeting room.
Jami’an tsaro sun kama su da dare.
The security officers caught them at night.
Position reveals the grammatical job
In a neutral verbal clause, the subject–TAM form comes before the verb and a direct-object pronoun follows it:
| Overt subject | Subject–TAM | Verb | Direct object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amina | ta | gan | shi |
| Kabiru | ya | kira | ta |
| ma’aikatan | sun | gaishe | mu |
Amina ta gan shi a kantin magani.
Amina saw him at the pharmacy.
Kabiru ya kira ta kafin taron.
Kabiru called her before the meeting.
The first ta in Amina ta gan shi is a feminine singular completive subject form. The final shi is a masculine singular direct object. In Kabiru ya kira ta, postverbal ta is the feminine object. Position and construction distinguish the series.
An overt noun subject still requires its marker. Object pronouns do not alter that rule:
Maryam ta same ni a ofis da safe.
Maryam found me at the office in the morning.
Maryam names the subject, ta marks feminine singular completive subject and ni is the first-person object. Omitting ta would destroy the finite clause frame.
One English pronoun, several Hausa series
English you or her can correspond to several Hausa forms depending on grammatical function.
| Function | Masculine singular “you” | Feminine singular “you” | Third-person feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | kai | ke | ita |
| Plain completive subject | ka | kin | ta |
| Direct object | ka | ki | ta |
| Indirect object | maka | miki | mata |
Some cells happen to have the same spelling, but that does not make the categories interchangeable. Compare the forms in one natural context:
Kai ka kira ta, ita kuma ta kira ka.
You called her, and she called you. (addressing a male)
Initial kai and ita are independent contrastive forms. The preverbal ka/ta are completive subjects. Postverbal ta/ka are direct objects. The grammatical pattern, not the English translation, identifies each use.
For a female addressee, the subject and object forms visibly differ:
Ke kin gan shi, amma bai gan ki ba.
You saw him, but he did not see you. (addressing a female)
Here ke is independent, kin is completive subject marking, and final ki is a direct object. This three-way contrast is essential.
Masculine and feminine inanimate objects
Third-person singular shi and ta also refer back to inanimate nouns according to Hausa grammatical gender. English translates both as it.
Ina littafin? Na ajiye shi a kan tebur.
Where is the book? I put it on the table.
Ina wayar? Na ajiye ta cikin jaka.
Where is the phone? I put it in the bag.
Littafi is masculine and is resumed by shi. Waya is feminine and is resumed by ta. This is grammatical agreement, not a claim that objects have biological sex.
Plural referents take su regardless of the genders of the individual nouns:
Takardun suna ina? Na bar su a ofishin shugaba.
Where are the documents? I left them in the manager’s office.
Direct objects are not recipients or possessors
The direct-object series marks the participant directly selected by the verb. A recipient or beneficiary generally uses an indirect-object form.
Likita ya duba ni.
The doctor examined me. (ni: direct object)
Likita ya rubuta mini takardar magani.
The doctor wrote me a prescription. (mini: recipient)
Likewise, possession is expressed inside a possessive construction, not by placing an object pronoun after a noun:
Ta karanta littafina, ni kuma na karanta nata.
She read my book, and I read hers.
Littafina contains a possessive suffix; ni on its own would not mean “my” there. Keeping the functional series separate prevents English transfer.
Other common hosts for the object series
The same forms occur after ga “here/there is” and with akwai “there is/are.” These are established Hausa constructions, not ordinary English-style direct objects.
Ina Mukhtar? Ga shi can kusa da ƙofar.
Where is Mukhtar? There he is near the door.
Akwai su da yawa a wannan unguwa.
There are many of them in this neighborhood.
These uses help confirm that the object series is a grammatical set extending beyond a single verb list. They do not license independent ita/kai/ke after every verb.
Practice: identify the series
Ni na same su, amma su ba su same ni ba.
I found them, but they did not find me.
Initial ni and su are independent contrastive pronouns. Na and ba su…ba belong to subject–TAM grammar. Postverbal su and ni are direct objects. The repeated spellings show why syntactic position matters more than appearance.
Aisha ta nuna miki hoton, sannan Maryam ta karanta shi.
Aisha showed you the picture, then Maryam read it. (addressing a female)
Here miki marks the female recipient of nuna, while final shi resumes masculine hoto as the direct object of karanta. The direct and indirect series cooperate across the discourse but do not merge.
Common Mistakes
1. Using an independent pronoun as a neutral object.
❌ Na kira kai da safe.
Incorrect for neutral ‘I called you’ to one male — kai is independent.
✅ Na kira ka da safe.
I called you in the morning. (addressing a male)
2. Using feminine subject kin as an object.
❌ Malama ta gan kin a kasuwa.
Incorrect — kin is a completive subject form, not a direct object.
✅ Malama ta gan ki a kasuwa.
The teacher saw you at the market. (addressing a female)
3. Ignoring grammatical gender with inanimate nouns.
❌ Na buɗe ƙofar, sannan na rufe shi.
Incorrect — ƙofa is feminine, so its pronoun is ta.
✅ Na buɗe ƙofar, sannan na rufe ta.
I opened the door, then closed it.
4. Confusing a direct object with a recipient.
❌ Ya nuna ni hoton.
Incorrect for ‘he showed me the picture’ — the person is the recipient.
✅ Ya nuna mini hoton.
He showed me the picture.
5. Dropping subject marking because an object is present.
❌ Safiya kira mu jiya.
Incorrect — Safiya still requires feminine singular completive ta.
✅ Safiya ta kira mu jiya.
Safiya called us yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- The direct-object paradigm is ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, su.
- Neutral direct-object pronouns normally follow the verb and are written as separate words.
- Singular “you” distinguishes masculine ka from feminine ki; plural ku has no gender distinction.
- Third-person shi/ta track Hausa grammatical gender, including with inanimate nouns.
- Independent, subject–TAM, direct-object, indirect-object, and possessive forms are separate functional series even when some forms look alike.
Related Topics
- Direct Objects after Regular VerbsA2 — Place Hausa direct-object pronouns immediately after regular Grade 1 and Grade 4 verbs while preserving the verb's correct pre-pronoun form.
- First Person Singular Object niA2 — Use Hausa ni for the speaker as a direct object, while distinguishing identical independent ni from subject–TAM, recipient, and possessive forms.
- Second Person Objects ka and kiA2 — Choose Hausa ka for one male addressee and ki for one female addressee as direct objects, and distinguish them from other second-person series.
- Third Person Objects shi and taA2 — Use Hausa shi for masculine singular and ta for feminine singular direct objects, including inanimate referents of grammatical gender.
- Independent Pronouns: Full ParadigmA1 — Learn the eight free personal-pronoun forms and distinguish them from Hausa subject–TAM, object, indirect-object, and possessive forms.
- Why Hausa Requires a Subject–TAM MarkerA2 — Understand the preverbal Hausa forms that jointly express subject agreement and tense, aspect, or mood, even when a full noun names the subject.