Hausa wanda and wadda can stand without a separate head noun: wanda ya kira “the one who called” and wadda ta kira “the one who called (female).” These are free relatives, also called headless relatives, because the relative expression itself supplies “the one” as well as opening the clause that identifies that person or thing.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Wanda is masculine singular, wadda is feminine singular, and plural waɗanda receives separate treatment on the next page. Ordinary boko does not mark tone or vowel length.
For the corresponding construction with an overt noun, first review subject relative clauses.
Headed and free relatives are built differently
A tightly restrictive headed relative normally has linked noun + da + clause. A free relative has no lexical noun before the clause; wanda/wadda occupies the whole nominal position.
| Referent | Headed relative | Free relative |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | mutumin da ya kira | wanda ya kira |
| feminine singular | macen da ta kira | wadda ta kira |
| plural | mutanen da suka kira | waɗanda suka kira |
In mutumin da, masculine -n is joined to the noun. Irregular mace likewise has linked macen da, while regular feminine mota gives motar da with -r. The following da is invariant. Do not write mutum da, mace da, mota da, or analytical spellings such as mota-r da in ordinary prose.
Na yi magana da mutumin da ya kira da safe.
I spoke with the man who called in the morning.
Na yi magana da wanda ya kira da safe.
I spoke with the one who called in the morning. (male or grammatically masculine referent)
Crucially, free wanda/wadda does not take another da. Treat wanda ya kira as a complete construction, not as wanda da ya kira. English uses the one who as several words; Hausa does not copy that structure word for word.
Subject free relatives
When the free relative denotes the subject of its own clause, gender controls the subject–TAM marker. A masculine wanda takes masculine singular agreement, while feminine wadda takes feminine singular agreement.
Wanda ya kawo kayan yana jira a waje.
The one who brought the goods is waiting outside. (male or grammatically masculine referent)
Wadda ta kawo kayan tana jira a waje.
The one who brought the goods is waiting outside. (female or grammatically feminine referent)
The completed event uses relative-completive ya/ta. For an open, habitual, or state-like property, use relative-continuative yake/take:
Ina neman wanda yake kula da shagon da yamma.
I am looking for the one who looks after the shop in the evening. (masculine)
Wadda take magana da likita ’yar’uwata ce.
The one speaking with the doctor is my sister.
English who does not change for the person’s gender. Hausa wanda/wadda and ya/ta, yake/take keep that contrast visible. The forms are not interchangeable politeness choices.
Object free relatives and the internal subject
A free relative can instead denote the missing direct object. Then wanda/wadda describes the omitted object, but the subject inside the clause controls the TAM marker.
Ka ɗauki wanda muka zaɓa, ba wancan ba.
Take the one that we chose, not that one. (masculine; addressing one male)
Ta sayi wadda Amina ta nuna mata.
She bought the one that Amina showed her. (feminine item)
In wanda muka zaɓa, “we” controls muka; masculine wanda is the understood object after zaɓa. In wadda Amina ta nuna mata, feminine Amina controls ta, while wadda identifies the missing item shown. Do not make the subject marker agree with an object merely because that object comes first.
Canonical direct-object relatives leave a gap. Hausa does not normally repeat the object with shi or ta:
Na karanta wanda ka aiko jiya.
I read the one that you sent yesterday. (masculine item; addressing one male)
Here wanda supplies the object interpretation of aiko. Adding final shi would fill the same direct-object position again.
Relative TAM identifies the construction
The relative expression is only one part of the pattern. Canonical affirmative completive and continuative free relatives select the relative TAM series inside the clause.
| Meaning | Independent plain clause | Inside a free relative |
|---|---|---|
| completed | Mun zaɓi ɗaya. | wanda muka zaɓa |
| open/ongoing | Muna nema. | wanda muke nema |
| completed, plural subject | Sun aiko shi. | wanda suka aiko |
| open, plural subject | Suna gyara shi. | wanda suke gyarawa |
Mun sami wanda muke nema.
We found the one we were looking for. (masculine referent)
Plain mun/sun/muna/suna make independent neutral assertions. Relative muka/suka/muke/suke builds the clause that identifies the free relative. This distinction is visible in plural forms even though ordinary boko hides some singular tone contrasts.
Future za has no special relative counterpart:
Zaɓi wanda zai jagoranci taron gobe.
Choose the one who will chair the meeting tomorrow. (masculine)
Zai remains future. Replacing it with ya would present the relevant event or state through the completive instead of as prospective.
Existential, universal, and negative contexts
Free relatives are common after akwai “there is/are,” babu “there is/are not,” and duk “every/all.” The larger expression determines whether English uses someone, no one, or whoever.
Akwai wanda zai taimaka mana.
There is someone who will help us.
Babu wadda take aiki a nan yau.
There is no woman working here today.
Duk wanda ya kawo kati zai shiga.
Whoever brings a card will enter.
In babu wanda/wadda, babu supplies existential negation; do not add a closing negative ba merely because English contains no one. In duk wanda, the completive can describe the achieved condition on each occasion; it does not force a past-time translation.
Possessive relations use a resumptive form
Direct objects normally leave a gap, but a possessed noun keeps a pronoun referring back to the possessor. This is the natural way to express English whose.
Ina neman wanda motarsa ta ɓace a filin ajiye motoci.
I am looking for the one whose car went missing in the car park. (male possessor)
The suffix -sa in motarsa resumes masculine wanda. The relative’s clause is literally organized like “the one [his car went missing].” A feminine possessor would give wadda motarta ta ɓace. This resumptive possessive is not the redundant direct-object pronoun rejected above; the two structures fill different roles.
Free versus appositive wanda/wadda
Not every wanda/wadda clause is headless. After an already identified noun or name, the agreeing form can introduce a looser, parenthetical comment—especially in careful writing.
Bilkisu, wadda ta iso daga Sokoto jiya, za ta buɗe taron.
Bilkisu, who arrived from Sokoto yesterday, will open the meeting. (neutral careful writing)
Here Bilkisu is the overt antecedent, so wadda is not a free relative. Compare free Wadda ta iso daga Sokoto jiya za ta buɗe taron “The one who arrived from Sokoto yesterday will open the meeting.” A tight restrictive common-noun phrase instead normally uses macen da.... Punctuation helps English readers see the parenthetical reading, but speech uses phrasing and context.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding an extra da
❌ Ina neman wanda da ya kira ni.
Incorrect—free wanda already introduces the identifying clause.
✅ Ina neman wanda ya kira ni.
I am looking for the one who called me. (masculine)
2. Ignoring feminine agreement
❌ Wadda ya kawo kayan tana waje.
Incorrect—wadda is feminine, so a subject relative requires ta.
✅ Wadda ta kawo kayan tana waje.
The one who brought the goods is outside. (female)
3. Keeping plain TAM inside the free relative
❌ Na ɗauki wanda mun zaɓa.
Incorrect canonical completed relative—mun is plain completive.
✅ Na ɗauki wanda muka zaɓa.
I took the one that we chose. (masculine item)
4. Repeating a direct-object gap
❌ Ga wadda Amina ta saya ta.
Incorrect canonical object relative—the final ta repeats the extracted object.
✅ Ga wadda Amina ta saya.
Here is the one that Amina bought. (feminine item)
5. Omitting the linker in the headed alternative
❌ Na ga mota da kika saya.
Incorrect standard linked-head pattern—feminine mota needs joined -r.
✅ Na ga motar da kika saya.
I saw the car that you bought. (addressing one female)
Key Takeaways
- Wanda means “the one who/that” for a masculine singular referent; wadda is feminine singular.
- A free relative has no separate lexical head and no additional da.
- Subject free relatives show gender agreement; object free relatives take agreement from the internal subject.
- Canonical completed and open free relatives use relative TAM: muka/suka and muke/suke, not plain mun/sun and muna/suna.
- Direct objects normally leave a gap, while possessive relations naturally use a resumptive suffix such as motarsa/motarta.
- Keep free wanda/wadda distinct from headed mutumin da/macen da and parenthetical Amina, wadda....
Related Topics
- Relative Clauses with da: OverviewA2 — Build basic Hausa relative clauses with a linked noun head, invariant da, and the appropriate relative TAM form.
- Subject Relative ClausesA2 — Form Hausa relatives in which the linked noun head is understood as the subject of the modifying clause.
- Object Relative ClausesA2 — Build Hausa relatives whose linked noun head is understood as the missing object of the modifying clause.
- Plural Free Relatives with waɗandaA2 — Use waɗanda for headless plural relatives meaning ‘the ones who/that,’ with plural agreement, object gaps, and relative TAM.
- Relative Completive inside Relative ClausesB1 — Build completed Hausa relative clauses with linked heads, invariant da, the relative-completive paradigm, and appropriate gaps or resumptives.
- Relative Continuative inside Relative ClausesB1 — Use the relative-continuative series in Hausa relative clauses that express ongoing actions, habits, and state-like properties.