Hausa overview

Free Hausa starter kit — 57 phrases you can print

A one-page Hausa cheat sheet for absolute beginners. Every phrase shows the Hausa spelling, what it means, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud today. Northern Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Chad, Cameroonaround 80 million including second-language speakers.

First words

Greet someone and be polite

  • SannuHello/SAN-noo/
  • Na godeThank you/na GO-deh/
  • Barka da zuwaWelcome/BAR-ka da ZOO-wa/
  • Sai an jimaGoodbye/sigh an-JEE-ma/
  • IiYes/EE/
  • A'aNo/AH-ah/
  • Don AllahPlease/don al-LAH/
  • Yi haƙuriSorry/yee ha-KOO-ree/

Free starter kit

Get all 57 Hausa phrases

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Is Hausa hard to learn?

  • Hausa uses hooked letters ɓ, ɗ and ƙ for sounds English does not have.
  • It is tonal, with high, low and falling tones.
  • Long and short vowels are different words, so vowel length matters.