Hausa puts “learn” and “teach” in one close lexical family, but it does not leave the distinction to guesswork. Grade 2 koya means “learn” and alternates as koya/koye/koyi, with strong verbal noun koyo. A recipient-marked koya wa mutum abu means “teach a person something.” The derived Grade 5 verb koyar da also means “teach” and treats the learner or subject matter as an object in its own construction. These frames overlap in translation, not in grammar.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko uses ɓ, ɗ, ƙ and apostrophes but does not mark tone or vowel length. Because spelling alone cannot show every spoken contrast, learn each form with its complement.
Compact form and environment table
| Function and environment | Form | Model |
|---|---|---|
| learn; no following object | koya | Ta koya. “She learned.” |
| learn; direct-object pronoun | koye | Ta koye shi. “She learned it.” |
| learn; noun-like direct object | koyi | Ta koyi Hausa. “She learned Hausa.” |
| learning; no following object | koyo | Tana koyo. “She is learning.” |
| learning + noun object | koyon | Tana koyon Hausa. “She is learning Hausa.” |
| teach; recipient first | koya wa / koya + ma pronoun | Ta koya wa yara Hausa. “She taught children Hausa.” |
| teach; Grade 5 object construction | koyar da | Ta koyar da yara Hausa. “She taught children Hausa.” |
| teaching; no following object | koyarwa | Tana koyarwa. “She teaches.” |
This is not a tense table. The -a/-e/-i alternation belongs to Grade 2 object environments, while koyo is a strong verbal noun. Koyar is a separate Grade 5 lexeme, not the pronoun-object form of koya.
Bayan watanni shida a Kano, Lara ta koyi Hausa sosai.
After six months in Kano, Lara learned Hausa very well. (Grade 2 C-form before a noun object)
Darasin yana da wahala, amma daga ƙarshe ɗalibin ya koye shi.
The lesson is difficult, but the student eventually learned it. (Grade 2 B-form before shi)
Yaran za su koya da sauri idan suna samun damar yin atisaye.
The children will learn quickly if they get a chance to practise. (A-form; no following object)
Grade 2 koya: acquiring knowledge or skill
As a learning verb, koya takes the thing acquired as its direct object. A following noun-like object selects koyi; a core direct-object pronoun selects koye; no following object leaves koya. These are the ordinary Grade 2 A/B/C environments described in Grade 2 Variable-Vowel Verbs.
Na koyi yadda ake gyara wannan famfon wajen kawuna.
I learned how to repair this pump from my uncle. (noun-like clause object; source with wajen)
Za ki koyi sabuwar sana’a idan kika ci gaba da zuwa horon.
You will learn a new trade if you keep attending the training. (to one woman; future C-form)
Bai koyi darasin daga kuskurensa ba, don haka ya sake yin irinsa.
He did not learn from his mistake, so he made the same kind again. (negative completive)
English uses the same visible verb in learn Hausa, learned it, and will learn. Hausa selects the local form from the following object, not from past or future time. Koyi is therefore not a past-tense ending.
The strong verbal noun is koyo. Before a noun complement it takes linker -n, giving koyon; before a possessive pronominal object it gives forms such as koyonsa “learning it.”
Sababbin ma’aikata suna koyon amfani da na’urar a hankali.
The new employees are learning to use the machine gradually. (strong verbal noun plus complement)
Akwai matakai da yawa, amma tana koyonsu ɗaya bayan ɗaya.
There are many steps, but she is learning them one by one. (strong verbal noun with plural pronominal object)
Koya wa: the learner as recipient
In the recipient-marked teaching frame, the person taught comes immediately after koya. A noun recipient follows separate wa; a pronominal recipient uses mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, musu. The content or skill taught follows later.
Kakata ta koya mini yadda ake haɗa kunun gyaɗa.
My grandmother taught me how to make groundnut gruel. (pronominal recipient mini)
Malamai suna koya wa yara karatu da rubutu tun daga aji na farko.
Teachers teach children reading and writing from the first year. (noun recipient with wa)
Za mu koya musu yadda ake adana bayanai cikin aminci.
We will teach them how to store data securely. (plural recipient musu)
Here the ma/wa phrase is not an optional English-style “to” phrase. It is what identifies the person receiving instruction and distinguishes the teaching frame from direct-object “learn.” Compare yara sun koyi lissafi “the children learned mathematics” with malama ta koya wa yara lissafi “the teacher taught the children mathematics.”
Koyar da: the Grade 5 teaching verb
Koyar is an established Grade 5 verb meaning “teach,” historically and morphologically related to koya but lexicalized as a normal teaching predicate. Its ordinary object construction is koyar da, never invented koy da. The learner can follow da directly, and the subject matter may follow it.
Malama Rabi tana koyar da ɗalibai ilimin kwamfuta sau uku a mako.
Teacher Rabi teaches the students computer studies three times a week.
Malam Bashir ya koyar da mu yadda ake rubuta rahoton bincike.
Malam Bashir taught us how to write a research report. (direct learner pronoun after da)
Jami’ar tana koyar da Hausa ga ɗaliban musanya.
The university teaches Hausa to exchange students. (subject matter after da; learners in a ga phrase)
With no following object, Grade 5 has long koyar in finite use and weak verbal noun koyarwa in the continuative. Before an object, weak -wa is absent and koyar da appears.
Ta koyar a makarantar sakandare kafin ta koma jami’a.
She taught at a secondary school before moving to a university. (finite, no object)
Yanzu tana koyarwa a cibiyar horas da malamai.
She now teaches at a teacher-training centre. (continuative, no object)
Ba ta koyar da ajin yau ba saboda tana jinya.
She did not teach the class today because she is unwell. (negative completive with koyar da)
The two teaching constructions are both real. Koya wa yara Hausa profiles the children as recipients of knowledge. Koyar da yara Hausa uses the lexical Grade 5 teaching verb and places the learners inside its da object construction. Register does not force a simple choice: both occur in ordinary and educational Hausa, though institutional prose frequently uses koyarwa/koyar da.
Koyi da is imitation, not ordinary learning of an object
The construction koyi da mutum/abu means “imitate, follow the example of.” The da phrase is part of this lexical frame. It should not be confused with Grade 5 koyar da.
Yara sukan koyi da abin da manya suke yi fiye da abin da suke faɗa.
Children often imitate what adults do more than what they say.
English learn from someone can mean receive instruction or treat someone as an example. Hausa distinguishes koyi abu wajen mutum/daga mutum from koyi da mutum “imitate the person.”
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping koya before a noun object in the learning sense
❌ Zainab ta koya Turanci a makarantar dare.
Incorrect standard Grade 2 form for ‘learn’ before the noun object Turanci.
✅ Zainab ta koyi Turanci a makarantar dare.
Zainab learned English at evening school.
2. Using koyi before a teaching recipient
❌ Malamin ya koyi wa yara sabuwar waƙar.
Incorrect for ‘teach’—the recipient frame uses koya wa.
✅ Malamin ya koya wa yara sabuwar waƙar.
The teacher taught the children a new song.
3. Omitting da from the Grade 5 verb
❌ Aisha tana koyar ɗalibai lissafi a nan.
Incorrect object frame—koyar selects da.
✅ Aisha tana koyar da ɗalibai lissafi a nan.
Aisha teaches the students mathematics here.
4. Mixing the two learner-pronoun frames
❌ Kakana ya koyar da mini aikin kafinta.
Incorrect mixture of koyar da with the ma-series recipient mini.
✅ Kakana ya koya mini aikin kafinta.
My grandfather taught me carpentry. (recipient-marked koya)
5. Using the finite C-form as the continuative verbal noun
❌ Yara suna koyi rubutu yanzu.
Incorrect for the intended ongoing learning—the continuative uses strong koyo.
✅ Yara suna koyon rubutu yanzu.
The children are learning writing now.
Key Takeaways
- Grade 2 “learn” has koya alone, koye shi, koyi abu, and strong verbal noun koyo/koyon.
- Koya wa mutum abu means “teach a person something”; noun recipients take wa, pronouns take the fused ma series.
- Grade 5 koyar da is a distinct established teaching verb; its no-object verbal noun is koyarwa.
- Do not mix koya mini with koyar da ni, even though both can translate “teach me.”
- Koyi da means imitate or follow an example, not simply learn a direct object.
Related Topics
- Grade 2 Variable-Vowel Verbs: OverviewB1 — Use the Grade 2 A, B, and C forms selected by no following object, a direct-object pronoun, or a noun-like direct object.
- Grade 2 Verbal NounsB1 — Learn Grade 2 strong verbal nouns as lexical forms and use their genitive-style objects correctly in continuative and nominal constructions.
- Grade 5 Causatives: OverviewB2 — Understand Grade 5 as an all-high transitive extension with causative, transfer, and outward-result meanings—not a universal translation of English make.
- Grade 5 Object FramesB2 — Choose among long -ar da, restricted short forms, pre-pronoun -she forms, and the Grade 5 indirect-object frame.
- 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.
- Continuative with Non--wa Verbal NounsA2 — Build the Hausa continuative with strong verbal nouns such as gani, ci, sha, saye, and tambaya, including their noun- and pronoun-object patterns.