View source for Hausa language

{{Short description|Chadic language spoken in West Africa}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}}
{{Use Nigerian English|date=May 2026}}
{{other uses|Hausa}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Hausa
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|/hawˈsa/}} {{pronunciation|Ha-Hausa4.ogg|listen|help=no}}
| nativename       = {{Script/Hausawi|{{lang|ha-Arab|هَرْشَن هَوْسَا}}}} {{lang|ha-Latn|Harshen}}/{{lang|ha-Latn|Halshen Hausa}}
| states           = {{Plainlist|
* [[Nigeria]]
* [[Niger]]<ref name="e28">{{e28|hau}}</ref>
}}
| region           = [[West Africa]]
| ethnicity        = [[Hausa people|Hausa]]
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| speakers         = [[First language|L1]]: {{sigfig|58.044460|2}} million
| date             = 2023–2024
| ref              = <ref name="e28">{{e28|hau}}</ref>
| speakers2        = {{ubl|[[Second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|36.368020|2}} million (2021–2024)<ref name="e28">{{e28|hau}}</ref>|Total: {{sigfig|94.412480|2}} million (2023–2024)<ref name="e28">{{e28|hau}}</ref>}}
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Chadic languages|Chadic]]
| fam3             = [[West Chadic languages|West]]
| fam4             = [[Hausa–Gwandara languages|Hausa–Gwandara (A.1)]]
| script           = {{ubl|[[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Boko alphabet]])|[[Arabic script|Arabic]] ([[Hausa Ajami]])|[[Hausa Braille]]}}
| nation           = {{ubl|{{NIG}} ([[Official language|official status]])|{{NGA}} ([[National language|national status]])}}
| minority         = {{flag|Benin}}
| iso1             = ha
| iso2             = hau
| iso3             = hau
| glotto           = haus1257
| glottorefname    = Hausa
| lingua           = 19-HAA-b
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Hausa_language_map.png
| mapcaption       = Areas of Niger and Nigeria where Hausa people are based. Hausa tribes are shown in yellow.
}}
'''Hausa''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|aʊ|s|ə}};<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merriam-Webster Dictionary - Definition of HAUSA |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hausa |access-date=2026-05-19 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> in Hausa: {{lang|ha|Harshen}}/{{lang|ha|Halshen Hausa}} {{pronunciation|Ha-Hausa4.ogg|listen|help=no}} {{IPA|/hawˈsa/}}; [[Hausa Ajami|Ajami]]: {{Script/Hausawi|{{lang|ha|rtl=y|هَرْشَن هَوْسَا}}}}) is a [[Chadic language]] spoken by over 94.5 million people in [[West Africa]],<ref name="Hau2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/hau/|title=Hausa|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=18 May 2026}}</ref> primarily by the [[Hausa people]] in [[Niger]] (where it is the sole official language, having replaced French in 2025) and [[Nigeria]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Okafor |first=Chinedu |date=8 April 2025 |title=Niger downgrades French as it distances from its colonial past with a new official language |url=https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/niger-downgrades-french-as-it-distances-from-its-colonial-past-with-a-new-official/xl6ldbr |access-date=8 April 2025 |work=Business Insider}}</ref> but also as a [[lingua franca]] in most of northern [[Nigeria]], southern [[Niger]], as well as in northern [[Cameroon]], [[Ghana]] (mainly in the north of the country, but also extensively among the [[Zongo settlements|Zongo communities]] all across the country, including in the capital, [[Accra]]),<ref name=":2" /> [[Benin]] and [[Togo]], southern [[Chad]], and parts of [[Sudan]].<ref name=":0" /> Hausa also has significant a number of speakers in [[Ivory Coast|Côte d’Ivoire]] and the [[Central African Republic]].<ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=http://www.madote.com/2010/04/nigerian-eritreans-history-of-housa-and.html|title=Nigerian Eritreans – The history of Hausa and Bargo in Eritrea|website=Madote}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hausa language |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hausa-language |access-date=14 October 2020 |last=Wolff |first=H. Ekkehard}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Spread of the Hausa Language |url=https://worldmapper.org/maps/spread-of-the-hausa-language-2005/ |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=Worldmapper}}</ref><ref name="Hau">{{Cite web |title=Hausa |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/hau/ |access-date=27 March 2024 |publisher=Ethnologue}}</ref>

Hausa is a member of the [[Afroasiatic language family]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chayes |title=The Hausa Language |url=https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/en/africa/linguistik-und-sprachen/african-languages/hausa |access-date=15 February 2022 |website=Website des Institutes für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin}}</ref> and is the most widely spoken language within the [[Chadic]] branch of that family. Hausa is [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal]], using relative pitch both to distinguish words, and mark grammatical categories. ''[[Ethnologue]]'' estimated that it was spoken as a first language by some 58&nbsp;million people and as a [[second language]] by another 36&nbsp;million, bringing the total number of Hausa speakers to an estimated 94&nbsp;million.<ref name="e28"/>

In Nigeria, the Hausa film industry is known as [[Kannywood]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2016 |title=Nigerian actress Rahama Sadau banned after on-screen hug |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37539977 |access-date=29 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

==Classification==
{{Main|Afroasiatic languages}}
Hausa belongs to the [[West Chadic languages]] subgroup of the [[Chadic languages]] group, which in turn is part of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic language]] family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chadic languages {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chadic-languages |access-date=15 February 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Geographic distribution==

[[File:Nigeria linguistic 1979.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[languages of Nigeria|linguistic groups of Nigeria]] in 1979|class=skin-invert-image]]
Native speakers of Hausa, the [[Hausa people]], are mostly found in southern [[Niger]] and northern [[Nigeria]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sani |first=M. A. Z. |title=Tsarin sauti da nahawun hausa |date=1999 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-978-030-535-2 |location=Ibadan [Nigeria] |oclc=48668741}}</ref> The language is used as a [[lingua franca]] by non-native speakers in most of northern [[Nigeria]], southern [[Niger]], northern [[Cameroon]], northern [[Ghana]], northern [[Benin]], northern [[Togo]], southern [[Chad]] and parts of [[Sudan]].<ref name=":0" />

===By country===
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2024}}

====Nigeria====

In Nigeria, Hausa is dominant throughout the [[Northern Nigeria|north]], though not in the states of [[Kwara]], [[Kogi State|Kogi]] and [[Benue State|Benue]]. States and cities in which Hausa predominates include [[Kano, Nigeria|Kano]], [[Kaduna]], [[Katsina]], [[Daura]], Gobir, [[Zaria]], [[Sokoto]], [[Birnin Kebbi]], [[Gusau]], [[Dutse]], [[Hadejia]], [[Bauchi]], [[Misau]], [[Zamfara State|Zamfara]], [[Gombe State|Gombe]], [[Nafada]], [[Maiduguri]], [[Yobe]], [[Yola, Nigeria|Yola]], [[Jalingo]], [[Jos]], [[Lafia]], [[Nasarawa State|Nasarawa]], [[Minna]], [[Kontagora]], [[Keffi]] and [[Abuja]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simwa |first=Adrianna |date=21 June 2018 |title=List of states in Nigeria predominantly inhabited by the Hausas |url=https://www.legit.ng/1176164-major-hausa-states-nigeria.html |access-date=5 July 2024 |newspaper=[[Legit.ng]]|language=en}}</ref>

====Niger====
Hausa is spoken by approximately 53% of the population of Niger<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 November 2022 |title=The Languages of Niger: Hausa |url=https://wellsbringhope.org/the-languages-of-niger-hausa/ |access-date=5 July 2024 |website=Wells Bring Hope |language=en}}</ref> and was declared the country's official language in 2025.<ref>[https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2042328/africa-country-new-official-language-niger/amp République du Niger, "The massive African country that's just adopted a new official language" express.co.uk] (accessed 20 April 2025)</ref> It is commonly spoken in the cities of [[Maradi, Niger|Maradi]], [[Diffa]], [[Tahoua]], [[Zinder]], [[Tillaberi]], [[Dosso, Niger|Dosso]], and [[Agadez]].

====Cameroon====
Hausa is spoken in the north of Cameroon, including the cities of [[Ngaoundere]], [[Garoua]], and [[Maroua]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hausa – Boston University |url=https://www.bu.edu/africa/files/2013/08/Hausa-Brochure_Final.pdf |access-date=5 July 2024 |website=Boston University}}</ref>

====Ghana====
Hausa is the lingua franca of the [[Zongo settlements|Zongo communities]] across Ghana.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The history of the Hausa people in Ghana |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/The-history-of-the-Hausa-people-in-Ghana-and-their-contribution-to-Ghana-s-national-development-1807961 |access-date=5 July 2024 |website=GhanaWeb}}</ref>

====Benin====
Hausa is spoken in northern Benin, including [[Parakou]], [[Kandi, Benin|Kandi]], [[Natitingou]], and [[Djougou]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nigeria Maps – Perry-Castañeda Map Collection – UT Library Online |url=https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/nigeria.html |access-date=17 December 2024 |website=maps.lib.utexas.edu}}</ref>

====Togo====
Hausa is spoken in northern Togo, including [[Sokode]], [[Kara, Togo|Kara]], and [[Dapaong]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Africa EENI Global Business School-Business in Sokodé Kotokoli (Islam, Togo) |url=https://www.hauniversity.org/en/Sokode-Togo.shtml |access-date=23 March 2025 |website=(c) Africa – EENI Global Business School}}</ref>

====Chad====
Hausa is spoken in the southern part of Chad, including [[N'Djamena]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

====Sudan====
In Sudan, Hausa is spoken in [[Al Jazirah, Sudan|Jazirah]], Darfur, [[Blue Nile, Sudan|Blue Nile]], Kassala, Sennar, Gadaref,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-18 |title=Hausa Rise Up in Sudan |url=https://www.voaafrica.com/a/hausa-rise-up-in-sudan/6663433.html |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref> [[Kordofan]], Red Sea State, White Nile State, and River Nile.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

=== Speakers by country ===
Hausa is widely used as a lingua franca across much of West Africa and is spoken by people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds across Northern Nigeria and Niger.<ref name="e28">{{e28|hau}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Hausa speakers, ''Ethnologue'' (2025){{efn|Only countries with at least 100,000 speakers are shown.}}
! Country || Hausa speakers (L1+L2)<ref name="e28"/>
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Nigeria}} || {{sigfig|67.300000|2}} million
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Niger}} || {{sigfig|21.900000|2}} million
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Ivory Coast}} || {{sigfig|1.637000|2}} million
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Benin}} || {{sigfig|1.227000|1}} million
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Sudan}} || {{sigfig|891,000|1}} 
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Ghana}} || {{sigfig|600,000|1}} 
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Cameroon}} || {{sigfig|388,000|1}}
|-
| {{flag+link|Languages of|Chad}} || {{sigfig|273,000|1}} 
|}

==Dialects==
{{+rs|date=February 2026}}
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Abubakar speaking Hausa.webm|thumb|A spoken sample of modern Hausa]]
Hausa presents a wide uniformity wherever it is spoken.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Department |first1=United States Army |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PhfluJdZwzcC&dq=Hausa+presents+a+wide+uniformity+wherever+is+spoken.&pg=PA96 |title=U.S. Army Area Handbook for Nigeria. Second Edition, March 1964 |last2=Army |first2=United States Department of the |date=1964 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref> However, linguists have identified dialect areas with a cluster of features characteristic of each one.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hausa Language Variation and Dialects |url=http://aflang.humanities.ucla.edu/language-materials/chadic-languages/hausa/hausa-language-variation-dialects/ |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=African Languages at UCLA |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Traditional dialects ===
Eastern Hausa [[dialect]]s include ''Dauranci'' in [[Daura]]; ''Kananci'' in [[Kano (city)|Kano]]; ''Bausanci'' in [[Bauchi]]; ''Gudduranci'' and ''Katagumci'' in [[Katagum]], [[Misau]], and part of [[Borno State|Borno]]; ''Hadejanci'' in [[Hadejia|Hadejiya]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Hausa Language – Department of African Studies |url=https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/en/africa/linguistik-und-sprachen/african-languages/hausa |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de |language=en}}</ref>

Western Hausa dialects include ''Sakkwatanci'' in [[Sokoto]]; ''Katsinanci'' in [[Katsina]]; ''Arewanci'' (also a Northern dialect) and ''Gobiranci'' in [[Dogondoutchi]]; ''Adaranci'' in Ader; ''Kabanci'' in [[Kebbi State|Kebbi]]; ''Zanhwaranci'' in [[Zamfara]]; ''Kurfayanci'' in [[Kourfeye]]; ''Damagaranci'' in [[Damagaram]]; ''Tibiranci'' in Madari. ''Katsinanci'' is transitional between Eastern and Western dialects. ''Sakkwatanci'' is used in a variety of classical [[Hausa literature]], and is often known as ''Classical Hausa''.<ref name="Caron2011">{{cite book |last=Caron |first=Bernard |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00647533v3 |title=Hausa Grammatical Sketch |date=2011 |publisher=LLACAN |location=Paris}}</ref>

''Zazzaganci'' in [[Zazzau]] is the major Southern dialect.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 November 2020 |title=Nigeria: 'Tribalism' and the nationality question |url=https://punchng.com/nigeria-tribalism-and-the-nationality-question/ |access-date=17 February 2022 |newspaper=[[The Punch]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

The Daura (''Dauranci'') and Kano (''Kananci'') dialects are the standard.  The [[BBC]], [[Deutsche Welle]], [[Radio France Internationale]] and [[Voice of America]] offer Hausa services on their international news web sites using ''Dauranci'' and ''Kananci''. In recent language development ''Zazzaganci'' took over the innovation of writing and speaking the current Hausa language use.<ref>{{Cite news |last=onnaedo |date=31 August 2021 |title=Hausa Language: 4 interesting things you should know about Nigeria's most widely spoken dialect |url=https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/hausa-language-4-interesting-things-you-should-know-about-nigerias-most-widely-spoken/m78gnmh |access-date=17 February 2022 |newspaper=[[Pulse Nigeria]]|language=en}}</ref>

=== Northernmost dialects and loss of tonality ===
The western to eastern Hausa dialects of ''Kurhwayanci'', ''Damagaranci'' and ''Adaranci'', represent the traditional northernmost limit of native Hausa communities. These are spoken in the northernmost [[sahel]] and mid-[[Sahara]]n regions in west and central [[Niger]] in the [[Tillaberi]], [[Tahoua]], [[Dosso Region|Dosso]], [[Maradi Region|Maradi]], [[Agadez]] and [[Zinder]] regions. While mutually comprehensible with other dialects (especially ''Sakkwatanci'', and to a lesser extent ''Gaananci''), the northernmost dialects have slight grammatical and lexical differences owing to frequent contact with the [[Zarma people|Zarma]], [[Fula people|Fula]], and [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] groups and cultural changes owing to the geographical differences between the grassland and desert zones. These dialects also have the quality of bordering on non-tonal [[pitch accent]] dialects.

This link between non-tonality and geographic location is not limited to Hausa alone, but is exhibited in other northern dialects of neighbouring languages; example includes differences within the [[Songhay language]] (between the non-tonal northernmost dialects of [[Koyra Chiini]] in [[Timbuktu]] and [[Koyraboro Senni]] in [[Gao]]; and the tonal southern [[Zarma language|Zarma]] dialect, spoken from western Niger to northern [[Ghana]]), and within the [[Soninke language]] (between the non-tonal northernmost dialects of [[Imraguen language|Imraguen]] and [[Nemadi]] spoken in east-central [[Mauritania]]; and the tonal southern dialects of [[Senegal]], [[Mali]] and the [[Sahel]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2013 |title='The improtance [sic] of Hausa language as a verbal communication to Hausa people' as the research topic |url=https://linguistmam.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-improtance-of-hausa-language-as.html |access-date=15 February 2022 |website=InfantLinguistmam's conner for Undergraduate Students |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Ghanaian Hausa dialect ===
The [[Ghanaian]] Hausa dialect (''Gaananci''), spoken in [[Ghana]] and [[Togo]], is a distinct western native Hausa dialect-bloc with adequate linguistic and media resources available. Separate smaller Hausa dialects are spoken by an unknown number of Hausa further west in parts of [[Burkina Faso]], and in the [[Haoussa Foulane]], Badji Haoussa, Guezou Haoussa, and [[Ansongo]] districts of northeastern [[Mali]] (where it is designated as a minority language by the Malian government), but there are very little linguistic resources and research done on these particular dialects at this time.

Gaananci forms a separate group from other Western Hausa dialects, as it now falls outside the contiguous Hausa-dominant area, and is usually identified by the use of ''c'' for ''ky'', and ''j'' for ''gy''. This is attributed to the fact that Ghana's Hausa population descend from [[Hausa-Fulani]] traders settled in the [[Zongo settlements|zongo]] districts of major trade-towns up and down the previous [[Ashanti Empire|Asante]], [[Gonja people|Gonja]] and [[Dagomba people|Dagomba]] kingdoms stretching from the [[sahel]] to coastal regions, in particular the cities of [[Accra]] ([[Sabon Zango]], [[Nima, Accra|Nima]]), [[Takoradi]] and [[Cape Coast]]

Gaananci exhibits noted inflected influences from [[Zarma language|Zarma]], [[Gur languages|Gur]], [[Dyula language|Jula]]-[[Bambara language|Bambara]], [[Akan language|Akan]], and [[Soninke language|Soninke]], as Ghana is the westernmost area in which the Hausa language is a major lingua-franca among sahelian/Muslim West Africans, including both Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian [[Zongo settlements|zango]] migrants primarily from the northern regions, or Mali and Burkina Faso. Ghana also marks the westernmost boundary in which the [[Hausa people]] inhabit in any considerable number. Immediately west and north of Ghana (in [[Côte d'Ivoire]], and Burkina Faso), Hausa is abruptly replaced with [[Dioula language|Dioula]]–[[Bambara language|Bambara]] as the main sahelian/Muslim lingua-franca of what become predominantly [[Manding languages|Manding]] areas, and native Hausa-speakers plummet to a very small urban minority.

Because of this, and the presence of surrounding [[Central Tano languages|Akan]], [[Gbe languages|Gbe]], Gur and [[Mande languages]], Gaananci was historically isolated from the other Hausa dialects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bodomo |first1=Adams B. |date=1996 |title=On Language and Development in Africa: The Case of Ghana |url=http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol5num2/bodomo.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Nordic Journal of African Studies |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=31–51 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207193520/http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol5num2/bodomo.pdf |archive-date=7 February 2021 |access-date=17 July 2021 |via=University of Helsinki}}</ref> Despite this difference, grammatical similarities between ''Sakkwatanci'' and Ghanaian Hausa determine that the dialect, and the origin of the Ghanaian Hausa people themselves, are derived from the northwestern Hausa area surrounding Sokoto.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Guerini |first1=Federica |title=Multilingualism and language attitudes in Ghana: a preliminary survey |url=http://www.ethnorema.it/pdf/numero%204/03%20Articolo%201%20Guerini.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128092330/http://www.ethnorema.it/pdf/numero%204/03%20Articolo%201%20Guerini.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2018 |access-date=17 July 2021 |website=Ethnorêma}}</ref>

Hausa is also widely spoken by non-native [[Gur languages|Gur]], and [[Mandé peoples|Mandé]] Ghanaian Muslims, but differs from Gaananci, and rather has features consistent with non-native Hausa dialects.

=== Other native dialects ===
Hausa is also spoken in various parts of Cameroon and Chad, which combined the mixed dialects of [[Northern Nigeria]] and Niger. In addition, Arabic has had a great influence in the way Hausa is spoken by the native Hausa speakers in these areas.

=== Non-native Hausa ===
In [[West Africa]], Hausa's use as a [[lingua franca]] has given rise to a non-native pronunciation that differs vastly from native pronunciation by way of key omissions of [[Implosive consonant|implosive]] and [[Ejective consonant|ejective]] consonants present in native Hausa dialects, such as ''ɗ'', ''ɓ'' and ''kʼ/ƙ'', which are pronounced by non-native speakers as ''d'', ''b'' and ''k'' respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hausa Language Variation and Dialects |url=http://aflang.humanities.ucla.edu/language-materials/chadic-languages/hausa/hausa-language-variation-dialects/ |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=African Languages at UCLA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mazrui |first1=Ali AlʼAmin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6lQTPxdYx8kC |title=The Power of Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience |last2=Mazrui |first2=Alamin M. |last3=Mazrui |first3=Alamin |date=3 August 1998 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-51429-1 |pages=130, 189 |language=en}}</ref> This creates confusion among non-native and native Hausa speakers, as non-native pronunciation does not distinguish words like ''{{Wikt-lang|ha|daidai}}'' ("correct") and ''{{Wikt-lang|ha|ɗaiɗai}}'' ("one-by-one"). Another difference between native and non-native Hausa is the omission of [[vowel length]] in words and change in the standard [[tonal languages|tone]] of native Hausa dialects (ranging from native [[Fulani]] and [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] Hausa-speakers omitting tone altogether, to Hausa speakers with [[Gur languages|Gur]] or [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] [[mother tongue]]s using additional tonal structures similar to those used in their native languages). Use of masculine and feminine [[Grammatical gender|gender]] nouns and sentence structure are usually omitted or interchanged, and many native Hausa nouns and verbs are substituted with non-native terms from local languages.

Non-native speakers of Hausa numbered more than 25&nbsp;million and, in some areas, live close to native Hausa. It has replaced many other languages especially in the north-central and north-eastern part of Nigeria and continues to gain popularity in other parts of Africa as a result of Hausa movies and music which spread out throughout the region.

===Hausa-based pidgins===
{{Infobox language
| name             = Gibanawa
| states           = 
| region           = [[Jega, Nigeria]]
| speakers         = none
| ref              = <ref name="e25gib">{{e25|gib|Gibanawa}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Pidgin
| family           = Hausa-based [[pidgin]]
| minority         = 
| iso3             = gib
| glotto           = giba1240
| glottorefname    = Gibanawa
| ELP              = 4211
| ELPname          = Gibanawa
}}

{{anchor|Gibanawa}}There are several [[pidgin]] forms of Hausa. [[Barikanchi]] was formerly used in the [[military of Nigeria|colonial army]] of Nigeria. Gibanawa is currently in widespread use in [[Jega, Nigeria|Jega]] in northwestern Nigeria, south of the native Hausa area.<ref name=e25gib/>

=== Loan words ===
The Hausa language has a long history of borrowing words from other languages, usually from the  languages being spoken around and near [[Hausaland]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kirk-Greene |first=A. H. M. |date=1963 |title=Neologisms in Hausa: A Sociological Approach |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1157795 |journal=Africa: Journal of the International African Institute |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=25–44 |doi=10.2307/1157795 |issn=0001-9720 |jstor=1157795 |s2cid=143323447 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Word
!Language
|-
|''akwati'' - 'box', ''agogo'' - 'clock', ''ashana'' - 'matches'
|[[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]
|-
|''dattijo'' - 'old man', ''inna'' – 'mother', ''kawu'' – 'uncle'
|[[Fula language|Fulani]]
|-
|''karatu'' – 'reading', ''rubutu'' – 'writing', ''birni'' – 'city'
|[[Kanuri language|Kanuri]]
|}

==Phonology==

===Consonants===
Hausa has between 23 and 25 consonant phonemes depending on the speaker.

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|-style=font-size:90%
|+Consonant phonemes
!colspan=2 rowspan=2|
!rowspan=2|[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
!rowspan=2|[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
!rowspan=2|[[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
!colspan=3|[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
!rowspan=2|[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>[[palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[labialization|lab.]]</small>
|-
!colspan=2 style=font-size:90%|[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan=4 style=font-size:90%|[[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!<small>[[implosive consonant|implosive]]</small>
|{{IPA link|ɓ}}
|{{IPA link|ɗ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[voiced consonant|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|{{IPA link|dʒ}}{{nbsp}}~{{nbsp}}{{IPA link|ʒ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡʲ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡʷ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[tenuis consonant|tenuis]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|tʃ}}
|{{IPA link|kʲ}}
|{{IPA link|k}}
|{{IPA link|kʷ}}
|{{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
!<small>[[ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|tsʼ}}{{nbsp}}~{{nbsp}}{{IPA link|sʼ}}
|({{IPA link|tʃʼ}})
|{{IPA link|kʲʼ}}
|{{IPA link|kʼ}}
|{{IPA link|kʷʼ}}
|
|-
!rowspan=2 style=font-size:90%|[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
|{{IPA link|z}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[tenuis consonant|tenuis]]</small>
|{{IPA link|ɸ}}{{nbsp}}~{{nbsp}}{{IPA link|f}}{{nbsp}}~{{nbsp}}{{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|s}}
|{{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
!colspan=2 style=font-size:90%|[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|
|{{IPA link|j}}{{nbsp|3}}{{IPA link|j̰}}
|
|{{IPA link|w}}
|
|-
!colspan=2 style=font-size:90%|[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|{{IPA link|ɽ}}
|
|
|
|
|}

The three-way contrast between palatalized {{IPA|/kʲ ɡʲ kʲʼ/}}, plain {{IPA|/k ɡ kʼ/}}, and labialized velars {{IPA|/kʷ ɡʷ kʷʼ/}} is found only before long and short {{IPA|/a/}}, e.g. {{IPA|/kʲʼaːɽa/}} ('grass'), {{IPA|/kʼaːɽaː/}} ('to increase'), {{IPA|/kʷʼaːɽaː/}} ('shea-nuts'). Before front vowels, only palatalized and labialized velars occur, e.g. {{IPA|/kʲiːʃiː/}} ('jealousy') vs. {{IPA|/kʷiːɓiː/}} ('side of body'). Before rounded vowels, only labialized velars occur, e.g. {{IPA|/kʷoːɽaː/}} ('ringworm').{{sfnp|Schuh|Yalwa|1999|p=91}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newman |first=Paul |chapter-url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/21454/HausaPhonology.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Phonologies of Asia and Africa |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=1996 |editor-last=Kaye |editor-first=Alan S. |pages=537–552 |chapter=Hausa Phonology |editor-last2=Daniels |editor-first2=Peter T.}}</ref>

===Glottalic consonants===
Hausa has [[glottalic consonant]]s (implosives and ejectives) at four or five [[place of articulation|places of articulation]] (depending on the dialect). They require movement of the glottis during [[pronunciation]] and have a [[staccato]] sound.

They are written with modified versions of Latin letters. They can also be denoted with an [[apostrophe]], either before or after depending on the letter, as shown below:

* ɓ / b', an [[implosive consonant]], {{IPAblink|ɓ}}, sometimes {{IPA|[ʔb]}};
* ɗ / d', an implosive {{IPAblink|ɗ}}, sometimes {{IPA|[dʔ]}};
* ts', an [[ejective consonant]], {{IPA|[tsʼ]}} or {{IPA|[sʼ]}}, according to the dialect;
* ch', an ejective {{IPAblink|tʃʼ}} (does not occur in Kano dialect)
* ƙ / k', an ejective {{IPA|[kʼ]}}; {{IPA|[kʲʼ]}} and {{IPA|[kʷʼ]}} are separate consonants;
* ƴ / 'y is a [[Palatal consonant|palatal]] [[approximant]] with [[creaky voice]], {{IPA|[j̰]}},<ref>[http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter6/hausa/hausa.html Hausa ejectives and laryngealized consonants]. Sound files hosted by the University of California at Los Angeles, from: Ladefoged, Peter: [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/index.html A Course in Phonetics. 5th ed.] [[Thomson/Wadsworth]].</ref> found in only a small number of high-frequency words (e.g. {{IPA|/j̰áːj̰áː/}} "children", {{IPA|/j̰áː/}} "daughter"). Historically it developed from palatalized {{IPAblink|ɗ}}.<ref name="Newman2000">Newman, Paul (1937/2000) The Hausa Language: an encyclopedic reference grammar. Yale University Press. p. 397.</ref>

===Vowels===
[[File:Hausa vowel chart.svg|right|upright=1.13|thumb|Hausa vowel chart, from {{Harvcoltxt|Schuh|Yalwa|1999|p=91}}. The short vowels {{IPA|/i, u, a/|cat=no}} have a much wider range of allophones than what is presented on the chart.|class=skin-invert-image]]
Hausa vowels occur in five different vowel qualities, all of which can be short or long, totaling 10 [[monophthong]]s. In addition, there are four [[diphthong]]s, giving a total number of 14 vocalic phonemes.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i iː}}
|
|{{IPA link|u uː}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e eː}}
|
|{{IPA link|o oː}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|{{IPA link|a aː}}
|
|}

In comparison with the long vowels, the short {{IPA|/i, u/}} can be similar in quality to the long vowels, [[mid-centralized]] to {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɪ}}, {{IPAplink|ʊ}}]}} or centralized to {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɨ}}, {{IPAplink|ʉ}}]}}.{{sfnp|Schuh|Yalwa|1999|pp=90–91}}

Medial {{IPA|/i, u/}} can be neutralized to {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɨ}} ~ {{IPAplink|ʉ}}]}}, with the rounding depending on the environment.{{sfnp|Schuh|Yalwa|1999|p=90}}

Medial {{IPA|/e, o/}} are neutralized with {{IPA|/a/}}.{{sfnp|Schuh|Yalwa|1999|p=90}}

The short {{IPA|/a/}} can be either similar in quality to the long {{IPA|/aː/}}, or it can be as high as {{IPAblink|ə}}, with possible intermediate pronunciations ({{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɐ}} ~ {{IPAplink|ɜ}}]}}).{{sfnp|Schuh|Yalwa|1999|pp=90–91}}

The 4 diphthongs in Hausa are {{IPA|/ai, au, iu, ui/}}.

===Tones===
Hausa is a [[tonal language]]. Each of its five [[vowel]]s may have low tone, high tone or falling tone.<ref>Schuh, R. G. (2015). [https://brucehayes.org/251HayesSchuhMetrics/handouts/02_Hausa_phonology.pdf ''Basics of Hausa Phonology.''] UCLA.</ref> In standard written Hausa, tone is not marked. In recent linguistic and pedagogical materials, tone is marked by means of diacritics.

: {{big|à è ì ò ù}}&nbsp;– low tone: [[grave accent]] ({{big|`}})

: {{big|â ê î ô û}}&nbsp;– falling tone: [[circumflex]] ({{big|ˆ}})

An [[acute accent]] ({{big|´}}) may be used for high tone, but the usual practice is to leave high tone unmarked.

==Morphology==

===Nouns===
Except for the [[Zaria]] and [[Bauchi]] dialects spoken south of [[Kano (city)|Kano]], Hausa distinguishes between masculine and feminine genders.<ref name=Caron2011/>

Hausa, like the rest of the [[Chadic languages]] in particular and [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic languages]] in general, is known for its complex, irregular pluralization of nouns. Noun plurals in Hausa are derived using a variety of morphological processes, such as suffixation, infixation, reduplication, or a combination of any of these processes. There are 20 plural classes proposed by Newman (2000).<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Guzmán Naranjo |first1=Matías |last2=Becker |first2=Laura |date=April 2017 |title=Quantitative methods in African Linguistics – Predicting plurals in Hausa |url=https://mguzmann89.gitlab.io/pdf/hausa-post.pdf |conference=ACAL 48 |location=Indiana, U.S.}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Class !! Affix !! Singular (ex.) !! Plural (ex.) !! Gloss (ex.)
|-
! 1
| a-a || sirdì || sir'''à'''d'''a''' || 'saddle'
|-
! 2
| a-e || gulbi || gul'''à'''b'''e''' || 'stream'
|-
! 3
| a-u || kurmì || kur'''à'''m'''u''' || 'grove'
|-
! 4
| -aCe || wuri || wur'''à'''r'''e''' || 'place'
|-
! 5
| -ai || malàm || malàm'''ai''' || 'teacher'
|-
! 6
| -anni || watà || wàt'''ànni''' || 'moon'
|-
! 7
| -awa || talàkà || talak'''awa''' || 'commoner'
|-
! 8
| -aye || zomo || zom'''àye''' || 'hare'
|-
! 9
| -Ca || tabò || tab'''ba''' || 'scar'
|-
! 10
| -Cai || tudù || tùd'''dai''' || 'high ground'
|-
! 11
| -ce2 || ciwò || cìwà'''ce-cìwàce''' || 'illness'
|-
! 12
| -Cuna || cikì || cik'''kunà''' || 'belly'
|-
! 13
| -e2 || camfì || càmf'''e-càmfe''' || 'superstition'
|-
! 14
| -i || tàurarò || tàuràr'''i''' || 'star'
|-
! 15
| -oCi || tagà || tag'''ogi''' || 'window'
|-
! 16
| -u || kujèra || kùjèr'''u''' || 'chair'
|-
! 17
| u-a || cokàli || cok'''u'''l'''à''' || 'spoon'
|-
! 18
| -uka || layi || lay'''ukà''' || 'lane'
|-
! 19
| -una || rìga || rig'''unà''' || 'gown'
|-
! 20
| X2 || àkàwu || àkàwu-'''àkàwu''' || 'clerk'
|}

===Pronouns===
Hausa marks tense differences by different sets of subject pronouns, sometimes with the pronoun combined with some additional particle. For this reason, a subject pronoun must accompany every verb in Hausa, regardless of whether the subject is known from previous context or is expressed by a noun subject.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hausa Verb Tense – African Languages at UCLA |url=http://aflang.humanities.ucla.edu/language-materials/chadic-languages/hausa/hausa-online-grammar/verb-tense/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111220446/http://aflang.humanities.ucla.edu/language-materials/chadic-languages/hausa/hausa-online-grammar/verb-tense/ |archive-date=11 November 2020 |access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref> Thus Hausa is a [[non pro-drop language]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Time, aspect, and mood<ref>Bernard Caron. Hausa Grammatical Sketch. 2015. [https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00647533/file/CARON_Hausa_SKETCH_2013-10-02.pdf Hausa Grammatical Sketch – HAL-SHS]</ref>
|-
! rowspan="3" colspan="2" | 
! colspan="2" | 1st person
! colspan="3" | 2nd person
! colspan="3" | 3rd person
! rowspan="3" | indef
|-
! rowspan="2" | singular
! rowspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! rowspan="2" | plural
! colspan="2" | singular
! rowspan="2" | plural
|-
! m
! f
! m
! f
|-
! rowspan="3"| perfect
!
| naː
| mun
| kaː
| kin
| kun
| jaː
| taː
| sun
| an
|-
! relative
| na
| mukà
| ka
| kikà
| kukà
| ja
| ta
| sukà
| akà
|-
! negative
| bàn ... ba
| bàmù ... ba
| bàkà ... ba
| bàkì ... ba
| bàkù ... ba
| bài ... ba
| bàtà ... ba
| bàsù ... ba
| bà’à ... ba
|-
! rowspan="4" | continuous
!
| inàː
| munàː
| kanàː
| kinàː
| kunàː
| janàː / ʃinàː
| tanàː
| sunàː
| anàː
|-
! relative
| nakèː / nikèː
| mukèː
| kakèː
| kikèː
| kukèː
| jakèː / ʃikèː
| takèː
| sukèː
| akèː
|-
! negative
| baː nàː
| baː màː
| baː kàː
| baː kjàː
| baː kwàː
| baː jàː
| baː tàː
| baː sàː
| baː àː
|-
! negative<br><small>(possessives)</small>
| bâː ni
| bâː mu
| bâː ka
| bâː ki
| bâː ku
| bâː ʃi
| bâː ta
| bâː su
| bâː a
|-
! rowspan="2" | subjunctive
!
| ìn
| mù
| kà
| kì
| kù
| jà
| tà
| sù
| à
|-
! negative
| kadà/kâr ìn
| kadà/kâr mù
| kadà/kâr kà
| kadà/kâr kì
| kadà/kâr kù
| kadà/kâr jà
| kadà/kâr tà
| kadà/kâr sù
| kadà/kâr à
|-
! rowspan="2" | future
!
| zân / zaː nì
| zaː mù
| zaː kà
| zaː kì
| zaː kù
| zâi / zaː jà
| zaː tà
| zaː sù
| zaː à
|-
! negative
| bà/bàː zân ... ba /<br />bà/bàː zaː nì ... ba
| bà/bàː zaː mù ... ba
| bà/bàː zaː kà ... ba
| bà/bàː zaː kì ... ba
| bà/bàː zaː kù ... ba
| bà/bàː zâi ...ba /<br />bà/bàː zaː jà ... ba
| bà/bàː zaː tà ... ba
| bà/bàː zaː sù ... ba
| bà/bàː zaː à ... ba
|-
! rowspan="2" | indefinite future
!
| nâː
| mâː/mwâː
| kâː
| kjâː
| kwâː
| jâː
| tâː
| sâː/swâː
| âː
|-
! negative
| bà nâː... ba
| bà mâː/mwâː ... ba
| bà kâː ... ba
| bà kjâː ... ba
| bà kwâː ... ba
| bà jâː ... ba
| bà tâː ... ba
| bà sâː/swâː ... ba
| bà âː ... ba
|-
! rowspan="2" | habitual
!
| nakàn
| mukàn
| kakàn
| kikàn
| kukàn
| jakàn
| takàn
| sukàn
| akàn
|-
! negative
| bà nakàn ... ba
| bà mukàn ... ba
| bà kakàn ... ba
| bà kikàn ... ba
| bà kukàn ... ba
| bà jakàn ... ba
| bà takàn ... ba
| bà sukàn ... ba
| bà akàn ... ba
|}

===Verbs===
Hausa [[verb]]s are classified into 7 grades:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kraft |first=Charles H. |title=Teach Yourself Hausa |publisher=[[Teach Yourself]] |year=1973 |isbn=0340263938 |pages=145–153 |authorlink=Charles H. Kraft}}</ref><ref name=UCLA>{{Cite web |title=Hausa Verb Forms – African Languages at UCLA |url=http://aflang.humanities.ucla.edu/language-materials/chadic-languages/hausa/hausa-online-grammar/verb-forms/ |access-date=8 January 2025}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Grade !! Suffix (no object) !! Tonal pattern !! Semantics !! Example
|-
! 1
| -ā ||H-L(-H),<br>H-L(-L) || mostly [[transitive verbs|transitive]] verbs || ''kāmā̀'' (to take)
|-
! 2
| -ā || L-H(-L),<br>(L-)L-H ||[[transitive verbs|transitive]] verbs || ''sàyā'' (to buy)
|-
! 3
| -a,<br>-i{{efn|rare}} || L-H(-L),<br>H-L (rare) ||[[intransitive verbs|intransitive]] verbs || ''shìga'' (to enter)
|-
! 4
| -ē{{efn|t, d/z, s, and w become c, j, sh, and y, respectively, before -ē.}} || H-L(-H),<br>H-L(-L) || mostly [[intransitive verbs|intransitive]] verbs expressing the completion of an action || ''riƙḕ'' (to hold)
|-
! 5
| -ar<br>-ad{{efn|the suffix -ar becomes -ad before the preposition ''dà'', which is required before a direct object.}} || H-H(-H) || mostly [[transitive verbs|transitive]] verbs with a [[causative]] meaning || ''mayar̃'' (to put back)
|-
! 6
| -ō || H-H(-H) || mostly [[transitive verbs|transitive]] verbs expressing an action performed near the speaker || ''kāwō'' (to bring)
|-
! 7
| -u || (L-)-L-H || [[intransitive verbs|intransitive]] verbs with a [[passive voice|passive]] meaning || ''kā̀mu'' (to get captured)
|}

Unlike most languages, Hausa verbs are not conjugated for [[tense-aspect-mood]], but rather for the type of object that follows them.<ref name=UCLA />

{| class="wikitable"
! Grade !! No object !! Followed by a pronoun !! Followed by a noun !! Followed by an indirect object
|-
! 1
| -ā || -ā || -a || -ā
|-
! 2
| -ā || -ē || -ī || (unpredictable)
|-
! 3
| -a  || || || (unpredictable)
|-
! 4
| -ē || -ē || -e || -ē
|-
! 5
| -ar || (-ar) da, <br>-she || (-ar) da || -ar
|-
! 6
| -ō || -ō || -ō || -ō
|-
! 7
| -u || || || 
|}

Also note that Hausa has many [[irregular verb]]s that do not conform to the systems above.

==Writing systems==

===''Boko'' (Latin)===
{{main|Boko alphabet}}

Hausa's modern official [[orthography]] is a [[Latin script|Latin-based alphabet]] called ''[[Boko (alphabet)|boko]]'', which was introduced in the 1930s by the British colonial administration.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! A a || B b || [[Ɓ|Ɓ ɓ]] || C c || D d || [[Ɗ|Ɗ ɗ]] || E e || F f || G g || H h || I i || J j || K k || [[Ƙ|Ƙ ƙ]] || L l
|-
| {{IPA|/a/}} || {{IPA|/b/}} || {{IPAslink|ɓ}} || {{IPA|/tʃ/}} || {{IPA|/d/}} || {{IPAslink|ɗ}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || {{IPAslink|ɸ}}  || {{IPA|/ɡ/}} || {{IPA|/h/}} || {{IPA|/i/}} || {{IPA|/(d)ʒ/}} || {{IPA|/k/}} || {{IPA|/kʼ/}} || {{IPA|/l/}}
|-
! M m || N n || O o || R r || (R̃ r̃) || S s || [[Sh (digraph)|Sh sh]] || T t || [[Ts (digraph)|Ts ts]] || U u || W w || Y y || [[Ƴ|Ƴ ƴ]] || Z z || [[{{hamza}}]]
|-
| {{IPA|/m/}} || {{IPA|/n/}} || {{IPA|/o/}} || {{IPAslink|ɽ}} || {{IPAslink|r}} || {{IPA|/s/}} || {{IPA|/ʃ/}} || {{IPA|/t/}} || {{IPA|/(t)sʼ/}} || {{IPA|/u/}} || {{IPA|/w/}} || {{IPA|/j/}} || {{IPA|/j̰/}}|| {{IPA|/z/}} || {{IPA|/ʔ/}}
|}
The letter ''[[ƴ]]'' (y with a right hook) is used only in [[Niger]]; in [[Nigeria]] it is written ''ʼy''.

Tone and vowel length are not marked in writing. So, for example, {{IPA|/dàɡà/}} "from" and {{IPA|/dáːɡáː/}} "battle" are both written ''daga''. The distinction between {{IPA|/r/}} and {{IPA|/ɽ/}} (which does not exist for all speakers) is not marked in orthography, but may be indicated with R̃ r̃ for the trill in linguistic transcription.

===''Ajami'' (Arabic)===
{{main|Hausa Ajami}}

Hausa has also been written in ''[[Hausa Ajami|ajami]]'', an [[Arabic script|Arabic alphabet]], since the early 17th century. The first known work to be written in Hausa is Riwayar Nabi Musa by Abdullahi Suka in the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hausa language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hausa-language |access-date=31 May 2022 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref>{{fix|text=these early texts were written in Arabic}} There is no standard system of using ''ajami'', and different writers may use letters with different values. Short vowels are written regularly with the help of [[ḥarakāt|vowel mark]]s, which are seldom used in Arabic texts other than the Quran. Many medieval Hausa manuscripts in ''ajami'', similar to the [[Timbuktu Manuscripts]], have been discovered recently; some of them even describe [[constellation]]s and [[Islamic calendars|calendar]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Verde |first=Tom |date=October 2011 |title=From Africa, in Ajami |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201105/from.africa.in.ajami.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141130201717/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201105/from.africa.in.ajami.htm |archive-date=30 November 2014 |access-date=25 May 2014 |work=Saudi Aramco World}}</ref>

As [[Hausa Ajami]] script was never recognized and regulated officially, there has never been a top down imposition of a unified convention. Standardization of letters in Ajami has happened over time and in various stages, in synch with neighbouring Ajami traditions, as well as external factors.<ref name="dobronravine">Dobronravine, N., Philips, J.E., 2004. Hausa ajami literature and script: colonial innovations and post-colonial myths in northern Nigeria. Lang. Africa 15, 85–110. Retrieved from. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25653414]. ([https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nikolay-Dobronravin/publication/260466986_HAUSA_AJAMI_LITERATURE_AND_SCRIPT_COLONIAL_INNOVATIONS_AND_POST-COLONIAL_MYTHS_IN_NORTHERN_NIGERIA/links/57222ffe08aef9c00b7c61f8/HAUSA-AJAMI-LITERATURE-AND-SCRIPT-COLONIAL-INNOVATIONS-AND-POST-COLONIAL-MYTHS-IN-NORTHERN-NIGERIA.pdf PDF Access])</ref><ref name="bondarev"/>

In [[Niger]] and [[Nigeria]], there exists two general orthographic traditions, each derived from two Quranic orthographic practices.<ref>A.Brockett, ''Studies in Two Transmission of the Qur'an'', doctorate thesis, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 1984, p.138</ref> One of these is based on the Quran recitation and inscription of the 8th century religious scholar [[Hafs|Hafs ibn Sulayman]], the other based on the Quran recitation and inscription of another 8th Century scholar, [[Warsh]]. ''Hafs'' tradition is the most popular across the [[Muslim world]], and especially in [[Egypt]], the [[Levant]], and the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. ''Warsh'' tradition is the second most popular tradition across the Muslim world, and has been especially popular in [[North Africa]], [[West Africa]], and [[Andalusia]].

For example, vowels in Hausa Ajami script, including representation of vowel [e], and differentiation of short versus long vowels, were one of the first aspects to be unified and standardized. Consonants on the other hand, especially consonant letters for representing sounds that don't exist in Arabic, took longer to become standardized. Some new letters were even coined in the late 19th and early 20th century, and because of the direct influence of the [[Boko alphabet]] (Latin alphabet). For example, whereas previously in writing, sounds [b] and [ɓ] may have usually been written with a singe letter ''ba'' '{{script/Arabic|ب}}', it was the innovation of introducing the separate letter in Latin alphabet that created an impetus for scholars writing in Ajami script, to innovate and introduce a separate Ajami letter for the distinct sound as well.<ref name="bondarev">Bondarev, Dmitry and Dobronravin, Nikolay and Bondarev, Dmitry and Gori, Alessandro and Souag, Lameen. Standardisation Tendencies in Kanuri and Hausa Ajami Writings. 2019. DOI: 10.1515/9783110639063-010</ref>

Below is the list of letters of Hausa Ajami, in both [[Warsh]] and [[Hafs]] traditions. Beige highlight marks letters that are only used for writing of loan words of Arabic or European origin. Green highlight marks letters that are innovations of Hausa orthography and are not used in [[Arabic language]].

{|
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Hausa Ajami (Warsh Convention)<ref name="bondarev"/><ref name="Git">{{cite web |title=Hausa (Ajami) orthography notes |url=https://r12a.github.io/scripts/arab/ha.html}}</ref>
|-
!Letter<Br>(Naskh)
!Letter<Br>(Hausawi/Kanuri)
!Latin Equivalent
!IPA
! [[Arabic script in Unicode|Unicode]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ا}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ا}}</span>
| ‌- <Br> A a
| {{IPAblink|∅}}/{{IPAblink|ʔ}}/{{IPAblink|a|aː}}
| [[:wiktionary: ا|U+0627]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ب}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ب}}</span>
| ‌B b
| {{IPAblink|b}}
| [[:wiktionary: ب|U+0628]] 
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ݑ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ݑ}}</span>
| ‌Ɓ ɓ
| {{IPAblink|ɓ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ݑ|U+0751]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ت}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ت}}</span>
| ‌T t
| {{IPAblink|t}}
| [[:wiktionary: ت|U+062A]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ث}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ث}}</span>
| ‌C c
| {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ث|U+062B]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ج}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ج}}</span>
| ‌J j
| {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ج|U+062C]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ح}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ح}}</span>
| ‌H h
| {{IPAblink|h}}
| [[:wiktionary: ح|U+062D]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|خ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|خ}}</span>
| ‌H h<Br>(Kh kh)
| {{IPAblink|h}}
| [[:wiktionary: خ|U+062E]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|د}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|د}}</span>
| ‌D d
| {{IPAblink|d}}
| [[:wiktionary: د|U+062F]]
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ذ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ذ}}</span>
| ‌Z z
| {{IPAblink|z}}
| [[:wiktionary: ذ|U+0630]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ر}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ر}}</span>
| ‌R r
| {{IPAblink|ɽ}}/{{IPAblink|ɾ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ر|U+0631]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ز}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ز}}</span>
| ‌Z z
| {{IPAblink|z}}
| [[:wiktionary: ز|U+0632]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|س}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|س}}</span>
| ‌S s
| {{IPAblink|s}}
| [[:wiktionary: س|U+0633]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ش}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ش}}</span>
| ‌Sh sh ({{flagicon|Nigeria}})<br>Ch ch({{flagicon|Niger}})
| {{IPAblink|ʃ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ش|U+0634]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ص}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ص}}</span>
| ‌S s
| {{IPAblink|s}}
| [[:wiktionary: ص|U+0635]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ض}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ض}}</span>
| ‌L l
| {{IPAblink|l}}
| [[:wiktionary: ض|U+0636]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ط}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ط}}</span>
| ‌Ɗ ɗ
| {{IPAblink|ɗ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ط|U+0637]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ظ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ظ}}</span>
| Z z
| {{IPAblink|z}}
| [[:wiktionary: ظ|U+0638]] 
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڟ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ڟ}}</span>
| ‌Ts ts
| {{IPAblink|t͡s}}/{{IPAblink|sʼ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ڟ|U+069F]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ع}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ع}}</span>
| ‌ʼ 
| {{IPAblink|∅}}/{{IPAblink|ʔ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ع|U+0639]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|غ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|غ}}</span>
| ‌G g
| {{IPAblink|ɡ}}
| [[:wiktionary: غ|U+063A]]
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڠ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ࣃ}}</span>
| ‌Gw gw<br>Gy gy
| {{IPAblink|◌ʷ|ɡʷ }}/{{IPAblink|◌ʲ|ɡʲ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ࣃ|U+08C3]]<br>([[:wiktionary: ڠ|U+06A0]]) 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ࢻـ ࢻ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ࢻـ ࢻ}}</span>
| ‌F f
| {{IPAblink|ɸ}}/{{IPAblink|f}}
| [[:wiktionary: ࢻ|U+088B]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڥ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ڥ}}</span>
| P p
| {{IPAblink|p}}
| [[:wiktionary: ڥ|U+06A5]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ࢼـ ࢼ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ࢼـ ࢼ}}</span>
| ‌Ƙ ƙ
| {{IPAblink|ƙ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ࢼ|U+08BC]] 
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڨ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ࣄـ ࣄ}}</span>
| ‌Ƙw ƙw<br>Ƙy ƙy
| {{IPAblink|◌ʷ|ƙʷ}}/{{IPAblink|◌ʲ|ƙʲ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ࣄ|U+08C4]]<br>([[:wiktionary: ڨ|U+06A8]])
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ک}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ک}}</span>
| ‌K k
| {{IPAblink|k}}
| [[:wiktionary: ک|U+06A9]] 
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ݣ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ݣ}}</span>
| ‌Kw kw<br>Ky ky
| {{IPAblink|◌ʷ|kʷ}}/{{IPAblink|◌ʲ|kʲ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ݣ|U+0763]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ل}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ل}}</span>
| ‌L l
| {{IPAblink|l}}
| [[:wiktionary: ل|U+0644]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|م}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|م}}</span>
| ‌M m
| {{IPAblink|m}}
| [[:wiktionary: م|U+0645]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ࢽـ ࢽ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ࢽـ ࢽ}}</span>
| ‌N n
| {{IPAblink|n}}
| [[:wiktionary: ࢽ|U+08BD]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|هـ ه}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|هـ ه}}</span>
| ‌H h
| {{IPAblink|h}}
| [[:wiktionary: ه|U+0647]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|و}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|و}}</span>
| ‌W w<br>O o<br>U u
| {{IPAblink|n}} ({{IPAblink|o|oː}}{{IPAblink|u|uː}})
| [[:wiktionary: و|U+0648]]  
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ی}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ی}}</span>
| ‌Y y<br>I i
| {{IPAblink|j}} ({{IPAblink|i|iː}})
| [[:wiktionary: ی|U+06CC]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ىٰ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ىٰ}}</span>
| ‌E e
| {{IPAblink|e|eː}}
| [[:wiktionary: ى|U+0649]]<br>plus<br>[[:wiktionary: ◌ٰ|U+0670]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ؿـ ؿ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:140%;">{{Script/Hausawi|ؿـ ؿ}}</span>
| ‌ˈy ({{flagicon|Nigeria}})<br>Ƴ ƴ({{flagicon|Niger}})
| {{IPAblink|ˀj}}/{{IPAblink|ʄ}} 
| [[:wiktionary: ؿ|U+063F]]
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Hausa Ajami (Hafs Convention)<ref name="MuKoyiAjamiDaLarabci">Wali Naʼibi Sulaimanu and Haliru Binji. (1969). ''Mu Koyi Ajami Da Larabci'' / مُکُوْیِ أَجَمِ دَ لَارَبْثِی. Zaria: Northern Nigerian Pub. ISBN 978-978-169-120-0</ref>
|-
!Letter<br>(Naskh)
!Latin Equivalent
!IPA
! [[Arabic script in Unicode|Unicode]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ا}}</span>
| ‌- <Br> A a
| {{IPAblink|∅}}/{{IPAblink|ʔ}}/{{IPAblink|a|aː}}
| [[:wiktionary: ا|U+0627]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ب}}</span>
| ‌B b
| {{IPAblink|b}}
| [[:wiktionary: ب|U+0628]] 
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ٻ}}</span>
| ‌Ɓ ɓ
| {{IPAblink|ɓ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ٻ|U+067B]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ت}}</span>
| ‌T t
| {{IPAblink|t}}
| [[:wiktionary: ت|U+062A]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ث}}</span>
| ‌C c
| {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ث|U+062B]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ج}}</span>
| ‌J j
| {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ج|U+062C]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ح}}</span>
| ‌H h
| {{IPAblink|h}}
| [[:wiktionary: ح|U+062D]]
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|خ}}</span>
| ‌H h<Br>(Kh kh)
| {{IPAblink|h}}
| [[:wiktionary: خ|U+062E]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|د}}</span>
| ‌D d
| {{IPAblink|d}}
| [[:wiktionary: د|U+062F]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ذ}}</span>
| ‌Z z
| {{IPAblink|z}}
| [[:wiktionary: ذ|U+0630]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ر}}</span>
| ‌R r
| {{IPAblink|ɽ}}/{{IPAblink|ɾ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ر|U+0631]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ز}}</span>
| ‌Z z
| {{IPAblink|z}}
| [[:wiktionary: ز|U+0632]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|س}}</span>
| ‌S s
| {{IPAblink|s}}
| [[:wiktionary: س|U+0633]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ش}}</span>
| ‌Sh sh ({{flagicon|Nigeria}})<br>Ch ch({{flagicon|Niger}})
| {{IPAblink|ʃ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ش|U+0634]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ص}}</span>
| ‌S s
| {{IPAblink|s}}
| [[:wiktionary: ص|U+0635]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ض}}</span>
| ‌L l
| {{IPAblink|l}}
| [[:wiktionary: ض|U+0636]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ط}}</span>
| ‌Ɗ ɗ
| {{IPAblink|ɗ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ط|U+0637]]
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ظ}}</span>
| Z z
| {{IPAblink|z}}
| [[:wiktionary: ظ|U+0638]] 
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڟ}}</span>
| ‌Ts ts
| {{IPAblink|t͡s}}/{{IPAblink|sʼ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ڟ|U+069F]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ع}}</span>
| ‌ʼ 
| {{IPAblink|∅}}/{{IPAblink|ʔ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ع|U+0639]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|غ}}</span>
| ‌G g
| {{IPAblink|ɡ}}
| [[:wiktionary: غ|U+063A]]
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڠ}}</span>
| ‌Gw gw<br>Gy gy
| {{IPAblink|◌ʷ|ɡʷ }}/{{IPAblink|◌ʲ|ɡʲ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ڠ|U+06A0]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ف}}</span>
| ‌F f
| {{IPAblink|ɸ}}/{{IPAblink|f}}
| [[:wiktionary: ف|U+0641]] 
|-bgcolor="#FFEFD5"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڥ}}</span>
| P p
| {{IPAblink|p}}
| [[:wiktionary: ڥ|U+06A5]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ق}}</span>
| ‌Ƙ ƙ
| {{IPAblink|ƙ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ق|U+0642]] 
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڨ}}</span>
| ‌Ƙw ƙw<br>Ƙy ƙy
| {{IPAblink|◌ʷ|ƙʷ}}/{{IPAblink|◌ʲ|ƙʲ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ڨ|U+06A8]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ك}}</span>
| ‌K k
| {{IPAblink|k}}
| [[:wiktionary: ك|U+0643]]
|-bgcolor="#d0dead"
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ڭ}}</span>
| ‌Ƙ ƙ<br>Ky ky
| {{IPAblink|◌ʷ|kʷ }}/{{IPAblink|◌ʲ|kʲ}}
| [[:wiktionary: ڭ|U+06AD]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ل}}</span>
| ‌L l
| {{IPAblink|l}}
| [[:wiktionary: ل|U+0644]]
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|م}}</span>
| ‌M m
| {{IPAblink|m}}
| [[:wiktionary: م|U+0645]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ن}}</span>
| ‌N n
| {{IPAblink|n}}
| [[:wiktionary: ن|U+0646]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|هـ ه}}</span>
| ‌H h
| {{IPAblink|h}}
| [[:wiktionary: ه|U+0647]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|و}}</span>
| ‌W w<br>O o<br>U u
| {{IPAblink|n}} ({{IPAblink|o|oː}}{{IPAblink|u|uː}})
| [[:wiktionary: و|U+0648]]  
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ي}}</span>
| ‌Y y<br>I i
| {{IPAblink|j}} ({{IPAblink|i|iː}})
| [[:wiktionary: ي|U+064A]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ىٰ}}</span>
| ‌E e
| {{IPAblink|e|eː}}
| [[:wiktionary: ى|U+0649]]<br>plus<br>[[:wiktionary: ◌ٰ|U+0670]] 
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ۑـ ۑ}}</span>
| ‌ˈy ({{flagicon|Nigeria}})<br>Ƴ ƴ({{flagicon|Niger}})
| {{IPAblink|ˀj}}/{{IPAblink|ʄ}} 
| [[:wiktionary: ۑ|U+06D1]]
|}
|}

===Other systems===
{{main|Hausa Braille}}

Hausa is one of three indigenous languages of Nigeria that have been rendered in [[Hausa Braille|braille]].

At least three other writing systems for Hausa have been proposed or "discovered". None of these are in active use beyond perhaps some individuals.

* A Hausa alphabet, named in some sources as ''Salifou'' or ''Gobiri'', supposedly of ancient origin<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salifou Hausa |url=https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Qa16 |access-date=10 April 2024 |website=scriptsource.org}}</ref> and in use north of [[Maradi Region|Maradi]], Niger.<ref>[http://www.bisharat.net/Demos/Hausa_alphabet.htm "Hausa alphabet"<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>{{failed verification|reason=Apparently there are people who use this north of Maradi. Any further insights into the origin and use would be appreciated.|date=November 2018}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Riley |first1=Charles L. |date=3 March 2022 |title=L2/22-073 Update on implementation status of African scripts |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22073-african-script-status.pdf |access-date=19 July 2023 |publisher=Unicode Consortium |page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ScriptSource – Salifou Hausa |url=https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Qa16 |access-date=19 July 2023 |website=scriptsource.org}}</ref>
* A script that apparently originated with the writing/publishing group Raina Kama in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hausa alphabet from a 1993 publication |url=http://www.bisharat.net/Demos/Hausa_alpha_2.htm |access-date=20 April 2018 |website=www.bisharat.net}}</ref>
* A script called "Tafi" proposed in the 1970s(?)<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Hausa alphabet from a 1993 publication |url=http://www.bisharat.net/Demos/Hausa_alpha_3.htm |access-date=20 April 2018 |website=www.bisharat.net}}</ref>

==Oral literature==
[[File:Introduction to Hausa proverbs.jpg|thumb|Introduction to Hausa proverbs in Rattray (1913)]]In 1905, George Charleton Merrick (a British army officer and Hausa interpreter)<ref>C. G. G. (1913). [https://books.google.com/books?id=65o1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA408 "The Upavon Incident."] ''The Aeroplane'': 408.</ref> published ''Hausa Proverbs,'' a collection of over 400 proverbs in Hausa (Roman script) with English translations.<ref>Merrick, George C. (1905). ''[https://archive.org/details/hausaproverbs00merrrich/ Hausa Proverbs.]''</ref> Here are some of those proverbs: 
*"''Fawa biu tana bata hankali'n kuda.''" "Two pieces of meat confuse the mind of the fly (i.e to hesitate between two things)." (#18)
*"''Da ayi jiranka ga abinchi, gara akayi ka jira'n abinchi.''" "Better that you should be made to wait for food than that food should be made to wait for you." (#26)
*"''Kunkurru ya so dambe, ba shi da yasa.''" "The tortoise wishes to fight with his fists, but he has no fingers (i.e. impotent wrath)." (#45)
*"''Komi ya ke chikkin dan kaza, shafu ya deddi da sanninshi.''" "Whatever there is inside a chicken, the hawk has been familiar with it for a very long time (i.e. there is not much that you can teach me about that)." (#47)
*"''Kaffa'n woni ba ta wa woni taffia.''" "The legs of one man are no good to another for walking." (#61)
Charles Henry Robinson's ''Hausa Grammar'', also published in 1905, contains a selection of proverbs in Hausa (Roman script) with English translations; here are a few of those proverbs:<ref>Robinson, Charles H. (1905). ''[https://archive.org/details/hausagrammarwit00burdgoog/page/n105/mode/2up?view=theater Hausa Grammar.]'' pp. 91–106.</ref>
*"''Giwa awani gari zomo.''" "An elephant is a hare in another town (i.e. a great man is a nobody where no one knows him)."
*"''Idan ka rubuta ya tabbatta, idan ka kiyaye ya gudu.''" "If you write, the writing remains; if you keep a thing in your mind, it flees away."
*"''Alberkachin kaza kadangari shi kan sha ruan kasko.''" "Thanks to the fowl, the lizard finds water to drink in the pot (i.e. if there were no fowls, there would be no water put out; this is said when a man gains some benefit through no virtue of his own)."
*"''Karambanin akwai ta gaida kura.''" "It is no business of the goat to salute the hyena; i.e. if a man meddles with that which does not concern him, he has only himself to thank for his misfortune."
*"''Haukan kaza amren musuru.''" "It is madness for the fowl to marry a cat (i.e. the meaning is practically the same as the preceding)."
A collection of over 100 Hausa proverbs in both Hausa and English translation appears in Volume 2 of [[Robert Sutherland Rattray|R. S. Rattray]]'s ''Hausa Folklore, Customs, Proverbs, etc. by Malam Shaihu''.<ref>Rattray, R. S.  (1913). ''[https://archive.org/details/hausafolklorecus02rattuoft/page/252/mode/2up?view=theater Hausa Folklore, Customs, Proverbs, etc. by Malam Shaihu: Volume 2.]'' pp. 252–279.</ref> The Hausa text is printed both in Arabic script as provided by Malam Shaihu, a [[Kano (city)|Kano]]-born Hausa teacher,<ref>Bivins, Mary Wren (1997). "Daura and Gender in the Creation of a Hausa National Epic." ''African Languages and Cultures''. 10: 12.</ref> and in Roman transliteration provided by Rattray. Here are some of those proverbs:
*"''Hanchi bai san dadin gishiri ba.''" "The nose does not know the flavor of the salt." (#7)
*"''Kinwa che ba ta gida, domin hakanan bera ke gada.''" "The cat is not at home, because of that the mice are playing." (#15)
*"''Kaza mai-yaya, ita ke tsoro shirwa.''" "It is the hen with chicks that fears the hawk." (#21)
*"''Gingidin kunama, kowa ya taba, shi sha kashi.''" "The snoozing scorpion, whoever touches it (quickly) gets a blow." (#39)
*"''Harara bai mari ba.''" "A frown is not a slap (it does not hurt)." (#43)
[[File:Cu31924026919518 0000.jpg|thumb|Cover of AJN Tremearne's Hausa Folktales (1914) showing Gizo the Spider]]Rattray also includes 30 stories told in Hausa by Malam Shaihu: 21 stories with human characters in volume 1,<ref>Rattray, R. S.  (1913). ''[https://archive.org/details/hausafolklorecus01rattuoft/ Hausa Folklore, Customs, Proverbs, etc. by Malam Shaihu: Volume 1.]''</ref> and 9 animal stories in volume 2,<ref>Rattray, R. S.  (1913). ''[https://archive.org/details/hausafolklorecus02rattuoft/page/10/mode/2up?view=theater Hausa Folklore, Customs, Proverbs, etc. by Malam Shaihu: Volume 2.]'' pp. 10–149.</ref> featuring a cycle of stories about Gizo, the [[Cultural depictions of spiders#Africa|trickster spider of Hausa tradition]].

There are several other collections of traditional Hausa tales available in both Hausa and English translation. [[James Schön|J.F. Schon]]'s ''Magana Hausa'' of 1885 includes the Hausa text of 83 tales with an English translation available in some, but not all, editions.<ref>Schön, James Frederick (1885). ''[https://archive.org/details/schon-magana-hausa-english-1885 Magana Hausa, to Which Is Added a Translation in English.]''</ref> In 1914, [[Arthur John Newman Tremearne|A.J.N. Tremearne]] published the Hausa texts of over 170 Hausa stories in ''Hausa Folktales'',<ref>Tremearne, Arthur John Newman (1914). ''[https://archive.org/details/cu31924026919518 Hausa Folktales: The Hausa Text of the Stories in Hausa Superstitions and Customs, in Folk-lore, and in Other Publications.]''</ref> which features Gizo the trickster spider on its cover, with English translations having appeared earlier in Tremearne's ''Hausa Superstitions and Customs''<ref>Tremearne, Arthur John Newman (1913). ''[https://archive.org/details/cu31924026472278/ Hausa Superstitions and Customs]''</ref> and other publications. More recently, Neil Skinner's ''Hausa Tales and Traditions''<ref>Skinner, Neil (1969). [https://archive.org/details/hausatalestradit0001edga/ ''Hausa Tales and Traditions: An English Translation of Tatsuniyoyi na Hausa''].</ref> provides English translations of the stories that first appeared in 1924 in Frank Edgar’s ''Tatsuniyoyi na Hausa''.<ref>Edgar, Frank (1924). ''[https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006941062 Tatsuniyoyi na Hausa.]''</ref>

==Example text==
Article 1 of the ''[[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]'' in Hausa:
:{{lang|ha|Duk ‘yan adam ana haihuwarsu ne a matsayin ‘yantattun ‘ya’ya, kuma mutuncinsu da haƙƙoƙinsu daidai yake da na kowa. Suna da tunani da cikakken hankali, saboda haka ake son duk mu’amalar da za su yi, ta kasance akwai ‘yan’uwantaka a tsakani.}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/hausa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927101817/https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/hausa |archive-date=27 September 2024 |access-date=26 September 2024 |website=ohchr.org}}</ref>

Article 1 of the ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'' in English
:''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.''<ref>{{cite news |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316050452/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |archive-date=16 March 2021 |access-date=7 January 2022 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Languages}}
* [[History of Niger]]
* [[History of Nigeria]]
* [[Kanem Empire]]
* {{annotated link|Klingenheben's law}}
* [[Bornu Empire]]
* [[Bayajidda (mythology)|Bayajidda]]

== Notes ==
<references group="lower-alpha" />

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* [[John Edward Philips|Philips, John Edward]]. “Hausa in the Twentieth Century: An Overview.” in ''Sudanic Africa, ''vol. 15, 2004, pp.&nbsp;55–84. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/25653413 online], on Romanization of the language.
* {{cite book |last=Bauer |first=Laurie |title=The Linguistics Student's Handbook |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7486-2758-5 |location=Edinburgh}}
* {{cite book |last1=Schuh |first1=Russell G. |title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association |last2=Yalwa |first2=Lawan D. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-521-63751-1 |pages=90–95 |chapter=Hausa}}
* {{cite book |author1=Charles Henry Robinson |title=Dictionary of the Hausa Language: Hausa–English |author2=William Henry Brooks |author3=Hausa Association, London |publisher=The Oxford University Press |year=1899}}
* {{cite book |author=Schön, James Frederick (Rev.) |url=https://archive.org/details/grammarofhausal00sch/page/n5 |title=Grammar of the Hausa language |publisher=Church Missionary House |year=1882 |location=London |pages=270 |language=en |access-date=19 October 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20181019202419/https://archive.org/stream/grammarofhausal00sch/grammarofhausal00sch_djvu.txt |archive-date=19 October 2018 |url-status=live |via=[[archive.org]]}} (Now in the [[public domain]]).
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=ha}}
{{Scholia|topic}}
* [https://www.omniglot.com/writing/hausa.htm Omniglot]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140513011326/http://library.columbia.edu/subject-guides/africa/subjects/hausa_bibliography.html Hausa Language Acquisitions] at Columbia University Libraries
* [https://wold.clld.org/vocabulary/4 Hausa Vocabulary List] –World Loanword Database
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040603144544/http://www.univie.ac.at/afrikanistik/oracle/KofarHausaE.html Hausa Dictionary] at [[University of Vienna]]
* [https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED252096 ''Hausar Yau Da Kullum:''] –Intermediate and Advanced Lessons in Hausa Language and Culture
* Robinson, Charles Henry. (1899) ''Hausa-English Dictionary'', in both Latin and Ajami, Vol 1. [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryhausa01englgoog/page/n2/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/dictionaryhausa01englgoog/page/n2/mode/2up]
{{sister bar|auto=1|d=Q56475|wikt=category:Hausa language|voy=Hausa phrasebook|iw=ha}}
{{West Chadic languages}}
{{Languages of Cameroon}}
{{Languages of Chad}}
{{Languages of Niger}}
{{Languages of Nigeria}}{{Hausa}}{{Authority control}}

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