The ordinary future form for a first-person plural subject is za mu. It means that the projected situation includes the speaker plus at least one other participant: Za mu dawo gobe “We will return tomorrow.” Standard boko writes za mu as two words.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Hausa mu does not itself distinguish inclusive “you and I” from exclusive “I and others, but not you”; discourse identifies the intended group.
Za mu in the complete future paradigm
| Subject | Future form | With yi aiki “work” |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | zan | zan yi aiki |
| 2nd masculine singular | za ka | za ka yi aiki |
| 2nd feminine singular | za ki | za ki yi aiki |
| 3rd masculine singular | zai | zai yi aiki |
| 3rd feminine singular | za ta | za ta yi aiki |
| 1st plural | za mu | za mu yi aiki |
| 2nd plural | za ku | za ku yi aiki |
| 3rd plural | za su | za su yi aiki |
| impersonal | za a | za a yi aiki |
Za mu haɗu a tashar mota da safe.
We will meet at the bus station in the morning.
Za mu gama aikin kafin ƙarfe biyar.
We will finish the work before five o’clock.
Za mu kira ku idan mun isa.
We will call you all when we arrive.
In the last example, za mu marks the future subject, while postverbal ku is the object. The person encoded after za always belongs to the subject.
Who is included in mu?
Hausa uses the same za mu for inclusive and exclusive groups. A speaker addressing a travel companion can use it inclusively:
Za mu tafi tare bayan an rufe shagon.
We will leave together after the shop closes. (including the addressee)
A speaker reporting a team decision to an outsider can use it exclusively:
Za mu aika muku da rahoton ranar Litinin.
We will send you the report on Monday. (the addressee is outside the we-group)
There is no hidden spelling difference. Pronouns such as kai, ke, or ku, an explicit coordination, and the wider situation make inclusion clear. When practical consequences matter, name the group instead of expecting mu to carry a distinction it does not encode.
Overt coordinated subjects still take za mu
A coordinated noun phrase containing the speaker triggers first-person plural agreement. The full subject is followed by za mu because names do not replace Hausa subject–TAM marking.
Ni da Amina za mu je kasuwa gobe.
Amina and I will go to the market tomorrow.
Ni da kai za mu gyara ɗakin bayan cin abinci.
You and I will tidy the room after the meal. (addressing one male)
Ni da ’yan’uwana za mu ziyarci kaka a ƙarshen mako.
My siblings and I will visit Grandmother at the weekend.
The presence of ni makes the whole coordination first person. By contrast, Amina da Musa za su zo “Amina and Musa will come” is third-person plural because the speaker is not part of that subject.
An independent mu can be added for explicit contrast, but it does not replace the future complex:
Mu za mu shirya abinci, su kuma za su kawo ruwa.
We will prepare the food, while they will bring water.
The first mu is independent and contrastive; the second belongs inside za mu. In a neutral context, simply Za mu shirya abinci is enough.
Plans, predictions, and a shifted reference point
With a present reference point, za mu commonly expresses a group plan, promise, prediction, or expected consequence.
Gobe za mu fara taron da ƙarfe goma.
Tomorrow we will start the meeting at ten.
Idan ruwan sama ya tsaya, za mu ci gaba da tafiya.
If the rain stops, we will continue travelling.
Kada ka damu; za mu taimaka maka.
Don’t worry; we will help you. (addressing one male)
A past frame can shift the reference point so that English uses would or were going to.
Mun yanke shawara cewa za mu dawo washegari.
We decided that we would return the next day.
The future relation holds between the planned return and the earlier decision. This is why equating za mu mechanically with English will is too narrow.
Active actions and future states
With an active predicate, za mu projects what the group will do.
Za mu gyara rufin kafin damina.
We will repair the roof before the rainy season.
Za mu ɗauki takardun zuwa ofishin gobe.
We will take the documents to the office tomorrow.
With a stative predicate, it projects knowledge, ability, preference, or another state.
Da zarar mun karanta bayanan, za mu fahimci matsalar.
As soon as we read the information, we will understand the problem.
Idan muka samu motar, za mu iya zuwa yau.
If we get the vehicle, we will be able to go today.
The English translations do not use be knowing or be being able. Future reference comes from za mu; the lexical predicate determines whether the projected situation is an event or state.
Plain and relative environments
The same za mu appears in a neutral statement, a constituent question, focus, and a relative clause. The relative environment does not create a special past form.
Za mu yi taron a nan.
We will hold the meeting here. (plain statement)
Ina za mu yi taron?
Where will we hold the meeting?
Mu ne za mu yi taron a nan.
We are the ones who will hold the meeting here.
Wannan shi ne aikin da za mu yi gobe.
This is the work that we will do tomorrow.
Question syntax, the focus frame mu ne, and the relative linker da create their respective environments. Za mu keeps its future relation throughout. Compare the discussion of plain and relative TAM forms.
Negative future: ba za mu … ba
Future negation places one ba before za mu and a second ba after the predicate’s scope.
Ba za mu makara ba.
We will not be late.
Ba za mu buɗe ofis ranar Lahadi ba.
We will not open the office on Sunday.
Ni da Amina ba za mu iya zuwa gobe ba.
Amina and I will not be able to come tomorrow.
Do not substitute negative completive ba mu zo ba “we did not come” or negative continuative ba ma zuwa “we do not come.” Each construction has its own complete frame.
A minimal TAM contrast
Mun jira su jiya.
We waited for them yesterday. (completive)
Muna jiransu yanzu.
We are waiting for them now. (continuative)
Za mu jira su gobe.
We will wait for them tomorrow. (future)
The participant group remains first-person plural, but mun, muna, and za mu present different temporal-aspectual viewpoints. The lexical predicate also enters the syntax appropriate to each construction.
Practice
Complete the clauses with zan, za mu, za ku, or za su: (1) Ni _ zo gobe; (2) Ni da Musa _ zo gobe; (3) Kai da Musa _ zo gobe; (4) Musa da Amina _ zo gobe. Answers: zan, za mu, za ku, za su. Now negate item 2: Ni da Musa ba za mu zo gobe ba.
Common Mistakes
1. Joining standard za mu.
❌ Zamu dawo gobe.
Incorrect standard word division — za mu is written separately.
✅ Za mu dawo gobe.
We will return tomorrow.
2. Using singular zan for a coordination containing the speaker.
❌ Ni da Amina zan je kasuwa.
Incorrect — the coordinated subject is first-person plural.
✅ Ni da Amina za mu je kasuwa.
Amina and I will go to the market.
3. Dropping za mu after the full subject.
❌ Ni da kai tafi tare gobe.
Incorrect — the coordinated noun phrase does not replace the future marker.
✅ Ni da kai za mu tafi tare gobe.
You and I will leave together tomorrow. (addressing one male)
4. Forgetting final ba in the negative future.
❌ Ba za mu buɗe shagon gobe.
Incomplete standard negative-future frame.
✅ Ba za mu buɗe shagon gobe ba.
We will not open the shop tomorrow.
5. Replacing future za mu with a completed relative form.
❌ Wannan shi ne aikin da muka kammala gobe.
Incorrect for ‘the work that we will finish tomorrow’ — muka presents the work as completed.
✅ Wannan shi ne aikin da za mu kammala gobe.
This is the work that we will finish tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- Za mu is the ordinary future form for a group containing the speaker, written as two words.
- It can be inclusive or exclusive; context identifies who belongs to the group.
- A coordination containing ni takes first-person plural agreement: ni da Amina za mu….
- Active predicates project events, while stative predicates project states such as knowledge or ability.
- Plain statements and relative environments use the same za mu.
- Negative future is ba za mu … ba.
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Future Pronouns after zaA2 — Form the Hausa za future with zan, za ka, za ki, zai, za ta, za mu, za ku, za su, and impersonal za a.
- Negative Subject Pronoun SetsA2 — Distinguish Hausa negative completive, continuative, future, potential, and subjunctive subject patterns instead of applying one universal ba rule.
- The Hausa Subject–TAM ComplexA1 — Understand the preverbal Hausa forms that express subject agreement together with tense, aspect, mood, and polarity.
- Aspect Rather Than English TenseA1 — Interpret Hausa completive and continuative forms as viewpoints on events, using time words and predicate meaning instead of one-to-one English tense labels.
- Plain and Relative TAM FormsA1 — Choose plain Hausa completive and continuative forms for neutral clauses, and relative forms for focus, constituent questions, and relative clauses.
- Active and Stative Verb InterpretationsA1 — See how a verb's action or state meaning changes the time interpretation of Hausa completive and continuative constructions.