nawa
nawa is the Hausa way to say "how much".
nawa is used to ask for the cost or price of an item. In a market setting, it is common to simply say nawa? while pointing at an object to ask how much it costs.
Meaning: what is the cost/price? (det)
How does it change in a sentence?
While nawa is used to mean "how much" in the context of price, it also serves as the standard word for "how many" when counting items.
When do people say it?
When shopping in a market, you can use the single word nawa? combined with a gesture toward an object to efficiently ask for its price.
Did you know?
- In Nigerian markets, asking nawa? is often the start of a social ritual called bargaining, where the first price given is rarely the final one.
- If you are asking about the weight of an item using nawa, you are actually asking for the 'count' of units of weight, reflecting how Hausa treats measurement as a countable quantity.
- In traditional Hausa culture, asking nawa? too aggressively or without a polite greeting can be seen as rude or overly transactional.
Examples in context
- Nawa suke biyan ku?How much are they paying you?This sentence is useful for asking how much someone is being paid using nawa.Tatoeba #10881227 by ecorralest101, translation #6012676 by bill
- Nauyi nawa ka rage?How much weight have you lost?This sentence shows how to ask how much weight has been lost using nawa.Tatoeba #10891352 by ecorralest101, translation #6910380 by Eccles17
- Ji mana, nawa wannan?Excuse me, how much is this?This sentence is useful for politely asking the price of an object using nawa.Tatoeba #10866286 by ecorralest101, translation #3847206 by CK
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a local market in Nigeria.
- MusaNawa ne wannan?How much is this?
- AminatuDubu biyu ne.It is two thousand.
- MusaZan iya samun sauki?Can I get a discount?
- AminatuBabu matsala, Musa.No problem, Musa.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
