Hausa Alphabet | Hausa Boko
The Hausa alphabet consists of 23 letters using the Latin script, known as Boko, with special characters for Hausa sounds.
A a
A
a
B b
Be
b
Ɓ ɓ
Ɓe
b
C c
Ce
ch
D d
De
d
Ɗ ɗ
Ɗe
d
E e
E
e
F f
Fe
f
G g
Ge
g
H h
He
h
I i
I
i
J j
Je
j
K k
Ke
k
Ƙ ƙ
Ƙe
k
L l
Le
l
M m
Me
m
N n
Ne
n
O o
O
o
R r
Re
r
S s
Se
s
Sh sh
She
sh
T t
Te
t
Ts ts
Tse
ts
U u
U
u
W w
We
w
Y y
Ye
y
Ƴ ƴ
Ƴe
y
Z z
Ze
z
Download Alphabet Chart
About the Hausa Alphabet
The Hausa alphabet uses the Latin script with 23 letters, including special characters (Ɓ, Ɗ, Ƙ, Ƴ) for implosive and ejective consonants. This Latin-based orthography is called Boko and is the most widely used writing system for Hausa. Hausa is one of the most widely spoken languages in West Africa.
History
Hausa was traditionally written in Ajami (Arabic script) since the 14th century. The Latin-based Boko alphabet was introduced by British colonizers in the early 20th century and became the official orthography. The current standardized alphabet was established in the 1930s and has been refined over time.
Key Features
- Written from left to right
- 23 letters
- Includes implosive consonants
- Called Boko alphabet
- Standardized in 1930s
- Most widely used in West Africa