Ni zan amsa tambaya yanzu.

I

Breakdown of Ni zan amsa tambaya yanzu.

• yanzu: now
• tambaya: the question
• amsa: to answer

Questions & Answers about Ni zan amsa tambaya yanzu.

What does ni mean in this sentence, and do I really need to say it?

Ni is the independent pronoun meaning I / me.

The future marker za already carries a subject pronoun, so zan by itself means I will. That means:

• Zan amsa tambaya yanzu. = I will answer the question now.
• Ni zan amsa tambaya yanzu. = I will answer the question now (with extra emphasis on I).

So you do not have to say ni; it is grammatically optional and mainly adds emphasis or contrast (for example: Not you, I will answer the question now).

What exactly is zan? Is it one word or two?

Zan is the future marker za combined with the pronoun ni (I):

• za + ni → zan

So zan amsa literally means I‑will answer.

Other persons in the future usually keep za and the pronoun separate (except for zai, which is very common):

• I: zan (za + ni) – I will
• you (m sg): za ka – you will
• you (f sg): za ki – you will
• he: zai (za + shi / ya) – he will
• she: za ta – she will
• we: za mu – we will
• you (pl): za ku – you (pl) will
• they: za su – they will