Word
Yau zan tafi gida in ga iyali na.
Meaning
Today I will go home to see my family.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Yau zan tafi gida in ga iyali na.
What does Yau mean, and does it have to come at the beginning of the sentence?
Yau means today.
It is a time adverb, and in Hausa it very often appears at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis or clarity:
- Yau zan tafi gida… – Today I will go home…
You can also move it later:
- Zan tafi gida yau in ga iyali na.
The meaning is the same; putting Yau first just emphasizes today a bit more, like in English: Today, I’m going home…
What does zan mean, and how is it formed?
zan means I will and marks the future tense for the first person singular.
It comes from two parts:
- za – future marker (will / going to)
- ni – I / me
Spoken together, za ni becomes zan.
Compare with other persons:
- za ka tafi – you (m.sg.) will go
- za mu tafi – we will go
So zan tafi literally is will‑I go → I will go.
What is the difference between tafi and other Hausa verbs for go, like je?