me
The Hausa word for 'what' is me.
In informal speech, you may hear Me? used as a standalone question to mean 'What?' or 'Excuse me?', though it can sound abrupt depending on tone.
Meaning: what? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
Did you know?
- When using me to ask 'what' in a formal setting, it is common to precede the question with a greeting or a polite title, as jumping straight to the question can be seen as rude.
- The word me is a tonal word. Depending on the pitch and inflection used, it can shift from a neutral question to an expression of shock or disbelief.
- While me asks 'what', the Hausa language uses a specific set of particles to change a statement into a question, meaning the word order often remains identical to a sentence.
Examples in context
- Mene ne zamu yi?What shall we do?Tatoeba #10843007 by ecorralest101, translation #1793768 by Spamster
- Me ɗalibi ke yi?What are you a student in?Tatoeba #10889629 by ecorralest101, translation #6861511 by kaiperkins271
- Me suka ce ka yi?What did they ask you to do?Tatoeba #10866209 by ecorralest101, translation #3825189 by CK
- 263 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zainab and Umar are talking in their living room.
- ZainabUmar, me kake nema?Umar, what are you looking for?
- UmarIna neman littafi.I am looking for a book.
- ZainabMe kake son karanta?What do you want to read?
- UmarIna son karanta labari.I want to read a story.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
