Hausa amsa is both a verb “answer, reply, respond” and a feminine noun “answer, response,” plural amsoshi. For the modern response verb, distinguish the thing answered from the person replied to: amsa tambaya/waya/wasiƙa takes the question, call, or letter directly, while amsa wa Musa / amsa masa means “reply to Musa/him.” The wa recipient guide explains that human frame. A separate object-sensitive Grade 2 lexical use has amsa — amshe shi — amshi saƙo for “receive, accept” and, in some descriptions and usages, “answer”; do not merge these frames mechanically.
All ordinary examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). The response pattern amsa tambaya is productive in contemporary speech and writing. The amshe/amshi set is included because authoritative grammars and dictionaries record it, but its strongest unambiguous modern use is receipt or acceptance.
Compact form and environment table
| Meaning/environment | Form | Natural frame |
|---|---|---|
| respond; no object follows | amsa | Ta yi shiru, ba ta amsa ba. “She remained silent and did not reply.” |
| answer a question/call/letter | amsa + noun | amsa tambaya; amsa waya; amsa wasiƙa |
| answer it/them (question, call, letter) | amsa + direct pronoun | amsa ta; amsa su |
| reply to a person | amsa wa / amsa ma- | amsa wa Audu; amsa masa |
| receive/accept; no object | amsa | ya amsa “he received/accepted” |
| receive/accept + direct pronoun | amshe | amshe shi “receive/accept it” |
| receive/accept + noun object | amshi | amshi saƙo “receive a message” |
| response verb, no-object continuative | amsawa | yana amsawa “he is replying” |
| response verb + object in continuative | amsa | yana amsa tambaya / yana amsa masa |
| lexical noun | amsa, plural amsoshi | amsar tambaya “the answer to a question” |
The table deliberately has two sections. It would be inaccurate to force productive modern amsa tambaya into amshi tambaya every time, just as it would be inaccurate to erase the attested amsa–amshe–amshi receipt paradigm.
Answering a question, call, letter, or criticism
The thing that calls for a response can follow amsa directly. Common objects include tambaya “question,” waya “telephone/call,” wasiƙa “letter,” saƙo “message,” ƙorafi “complaint,” and zargi “accusation.”
Malam ya ba kowa minti biyu ya amsa tambayar da kansa.
The teacher gave everyone two minutes to answer the question independently.
Ina tuƙi lokacin da kika kira, shi ya sa ban amsa wayar ba.
I was driving when you called, which is why I did not answer the phone. (to one female)
A cikin sanarwar, hukumar ta amsa zargin da ƙungiyar ta yi.
In the statement, the authority responded to the allegation made by the association. (formal/news register)
Ka duba tambayoyin a shafi na biyu, ka amsa su ɗaya bayan ɗaya.
Look at the questions on page two and answer them one by one. (direct pronoun su refers to the questions)
English alternates between answer the question and respond to the allegation. Hausa can use the same direct frame with amsa. Do not insert wa simply because English happens to use to before an inanimate matter.
Replying to a person: amsa wa and the ma-series
The person receiving the reply is an indirect object. Use separate wa before a noun, or the fused series mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, musu.
Bayan ta saurari dukkan bayanan, shugabar ta amsa wa ɗan jaridar cikin natsuwa.
After listening to all the information, the chairwoman replied calmly to the journalist. (formal interview)
Na tura mata saƙo jiya, amma har yanzu ba ta amsa mini ba.
I sent her a message yesterday, but she still has not replied to me.
Don Allah ki amsa musu yau, domin suna jiran tabbaci.
Please reply to them today, because they are waiting for confirmation. (to one female)
This frame is licensed and productive. Amsa masa means “reply to him.” It does not mean “answer him” by turning him into a direct object, and the exceptional recipient pattern of ba “give” does not apply: say amsa masa, but ba shi amsa “give him an answer.”
Answering both a person and a question
When both roles matter, name them in their proper frames. The person can be introduced by wa/ma, while the content can be stated in a separate clause or as a direct noun where the sentence remains clear.
Likitar ta amsa wa iyalin cewa za a sake duba sakamakon gwajin.
The female doctor replied to the family that the test result would be reviewed again.
A taron, ministan ya amsa tambayoyin manema labarai, sannan ya amsa musu kan batun kasafin kuɗi.
At the meeting, the minister answered the journalists’ questions and then responded to them about the budget.
Avoid English answer someone a question as a model. Hausa makes the question the direct object or makes the person an indirect respondent; it does not productively stack both as bare objects.
The separate receive/accept forms amshe and amshi
Traditional and modern reference works record an object-sensitive Grade 2 set amsa — amshe shi — amshi abu with meanings “receive, accept,” and sometimes broader “answer/reply to.” The consonant change s → sh occurs before the front vowels -e/-i.
Jami’in ya amshi saƙon, ya rubuta lokacin da aka kawo shi.
The officer received the message and wrote down the time it was delivered. (C-form of the receive/accept lexeme)
An miƙa masa kunshin, amma ya ƙi amshe shi saboda hatimin ya karye.
A package was handed to him, but he refused to accept it because the seal was broken. (B-form before shi)
In many present-day contexts karɓa is the clearer everyday choice for “receive/accept.” Use amsa tambaya for the productive response construction and recognize amshi/amshe as a related lexical paradigm rather than freely substituting its forms into every response sentence.
Verbal noun versus lexical noun
For the response verb, no-object continuative amsawa is a weak -wa verbal noun. Before an object, -wa is absent: yana amsa tambaya, yana amsa masa.
Mai gabatarwa yana amsawa yanzu; za a ɗauki tambayoyi daga baya.
The presenter is responding now; questions will be taken later. (no following object)
Ma’aikaciyar tana amsa wasiƙu da safe, tana karɓar baƙi da yamma.
The employee answers letters in the morning and receives visitors in the afternoon.
Lexical feminine noun amsa means “an answer/response.” It takes feminine linker -r before a possessor or complement: amsar tambaya, amsar Musa; its plural is amsoshi.
Amsar tambaya ta uku ba ta cikin rahoton da aka ba mu.
The answer to the third question is not in the report we were given.
Kwamitin ya tattara amsoshi arba’in kafin ya fara nazari.
The committee collected forty responses before beginning the analysis. (academic/formal)
In ya ba da amsa, amsa is the lexical noun inside the collocation ba da amsa “give an answer/respond.” That collocation allows modifiers such as cikakkiyar amsa “a complete answer.”
Aspect, future, and negation
Za mu amsa tambayoyinku bayan an gabatar da rahoton.
We will answer your questions after the report is presented. (formal future)
Ba ya amsa mana idan yana cikin taro.
He does not reply to us when he is in a meeting. (negative continuative; no closing ba)
Bai amsa wasiƙar ba, amma ya kira marubuciyar da yamma.
He did not answer the letter, but he called its female author in the evening. (negative completive)
The response verb stays amsa here; subject–TAM marking expresses future, ongoing habit, or bounded negation.
Common Mistakes
1. Marking a question with wa.
❌ Ta amsa wa tambayar cikin gaggawa.
Incorrect neutral frame—the question is the thing answered, not a human respondent.
✅ Ta amsa tambayar cikin gaggawa.
She answered the question quickly.
2. Treating a person as the direct thing answered.
❌ Ban amsa shi ba tun jiya.
Incorrect for the intended meaning ‘I have not replied to him since yesterday.’
✅ Ban amsa masa ba tun jiya.
I have not replied to him since yesterday.
Direct shi/ta/su is nevertheless correct when the pronoun refers to the question, call, letter, or other thing answered. The contrast is semantic as well as morphological: amsa su “answer them (the questions),” but amsa musu “reply to them (the people).”
3. Using the ba recipient pattern with amsa.
❌ Ki amsa su kafin ƙarfe huɗu.
Incorrect for ‘reply to them’; su is not the ordinary indirect respondent form here.
✅ Ki amsa musu kafin ƙarfe huɗu.
Reply to them before four o’clock. (to one female)
4. Keeping -wa before an object.
❌ Jami’in yana amsawa ƙorafe-ƙorafe ta waya.
Incorrect weak-verbal-noun form before an overt object.
✅ Jami’in yana amsa ƙorafe-ƙorafe ta waya.
The officer responds to complaints by phone.
5. Confusing the response verb with the receive paradigm.
❌ Ɗalibar ta amshi tambayar daidai.
Wrong lexical choice for ‘The student answered the question correctly’; amshi foregrounds receive/accept.
✅ Ɗalibar ta amsa tambayar daidai.
The student answered the question correctly.
Key Takeaways
- Use direct amsa tambaya/waya/wasiƙa/ƙorafi for the thing answered.
- Use amsa wa Musa / amsa masa for the person receiving a reply.
- Do not copy English answer someone a question as two bare Hausa objects.
- Keep productive response amsa distinct from object-sensitive receive/accept amsa — amshe shi — amshi abu.
- Response verbal noun amsawa loses -wa before an object; lexical noun amsa has plural amsoshi and linker form amsar.
Related Topics
- Grade 2 Lexical ExceptionsB1 — Handle the exceptional A-forms, stem alternations, D-forms, and strong verbal nouns that must be stored with individual Grade 2 lexemes.
- wa: To and For a Noun RecipientA1 — Mark a noun recipient or beneficiary with wa, and replace the whole wa phrase with the fused ma- series when that participant is a pronoun.
- Indirect-Object Pronouns with ma-B1 — Use Hausa mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, and musu for recipients, beneficiaries, and other affected participants.
- Core Collocations with baB1 — Distinguish the verb ba ‘give’ from negative ba and use its recipient frame and conventional ba da collocations naturally.
- Continuative with -wa Verbal NounsA2 — Form the Hausa continuative with weak -wa verbal nouns and remove -wa when a direct object follows.
- Short Answers to Negative QuestionsA1 — Confirm or reject a Hausa negative question clearly with i, a’a, and a correctly inflected echo clause.