Hausa

American  

[hou-sah, -suh, -zuh] / ˈhaʊ sɑ, -sə, -zə /

Or Haussa

noun

plural

Hausas,

plural

Hausa

1. a member of an Indigenous people of northern Nigeria and southern Niger whose culture has been strongly influenced by Islam.

2. the language of the Hausa people, belonging to the Chadic branch of the Afroasiatic family, widely used in Africa as a language of commerce.

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Hausa British  

/ ˈhaʊsə /

noun

1. a member of a Negroid people of W Africa, living chiefly in N Nigeria

2. the language of this people: the chief member of the Chadic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages. It is widely used as a trading language throughout W Africa and the S Sahara

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Example Sentences

Traditional Hausa society stresses background checks on lineage, morality and family reputation before marriage.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

Most Nigerian films on major streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime are from the country's richer south, where Hausa is a minority language.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

It is linked to the Islamic State group and has emphasised more moderate messaging in comparison to Boko Haram and proselytises in Hausa and other local languages to attract recruits.

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025

The languages recorded included Kikuyu and Dholuo in Kenya, Hausa and Yoruba in Nigeria and isiZulu and Tshivenda in South Africa, some of which are spoken by millions of people.

From BBC • Sep. 3, 2025

Richard caught the end of it—“But the man’s ghost came out and spoke to the vandals in Hausa and they left his house alone”—and he envied her belief in ghosts.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie