Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni bana son in zauna tsawon lokaci ba tare da motsa jiki ba. - I do not like to sit for a long time without exercising.

In Hausa, Ni is an independent pronoun (I), and -na inside bana is also “I”.
So Ni bana son… is literally like saying “Me, I don’t like…”.

You can say:

Bana son in zauna… – I don’t like to sit… (perfectly correct)
Ni bana son in zauna… – Me, I don’t like to sit… (adds emphasis, contrast, or clarity)

The extra Ni is used for emphasis, focus, or when contrasting yourself with others, just like in English:
“I don’t like sitting for a long time (even if others do).”

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

Bana is usually written as one word, but it comes from two parts:

ba – negative marker
na – “I” (progressive/habitual subject)

So:

Ina son… = I like / I want…
Ba na son… (often pronounced and written bana son) = I don’t like / I don’t want…

In running speech, ba na fuses to bana, which is why you often see bana son instead of ba na son. Both are understood; bana is just the common spoken (and now standard) form.

Why is it son and not so in bana son in zauna?

The basic word is so = to like / to love / to want.

In Hausa, so behaves like a verbal noun, and before its “object” (a thing, a person, or a clause), it usually takes a linking -n:

so + abinci → son abinci – liking of food → “likes food”
so + in zauna → son in zauna – liking of (my) sitting → “likes to sit”

So:

Ina so. – I want / I like (in general).
Ina son abinci. – I like food.
Bana son in zauna. – I don’t like to sit.

You can think of son as “so + of”, used before whatever you like/want.

What is the role of in in in zauna?

In here is the subjunctive / complement marker for “I”:

in + zauna ≈ that I sit / for me to sit / to sit

When so/son is followed by a verb, Hausa normally uses this subjunctive form:

Ina son in zauna. – I want to sit (I want that I sit).
Bana son in yi haka. – I don’t like to do that.

So in is not the English word “in”; it’s a grammatical particle meaning roughly “that I (should) …”.

What is the difference between in zauna, ina zaune, and zan zauna?

They are different forms of the verb zauna (to sit / stay / reside), with different meanings:

in zauna – subjunctive: that I sit / (for me) to sit
- Used after verbs like so: Ina son in zauna. – I want to sit.
ina zaune – progressive state: I am sitting / I am (in a sitting state).
- Ina zaune a gida. – I am staying at home.
zan zauna – future: I will sit / I will stay.
- Zan zauna a nan. – I will sit/stay here.

In Ni bana son in zauna…, you need in zauna because it’s the complement of son (“to sit”), not a description of what you are doing now or will do later.

What does tsawon lokaci mean literally, and why is tsawon used?

Literally:

tsawo – length (tallness/longness)
lokaci – time

When tsawo is followed by another noun in a possessive/genitive relationship, it takes a linking -n, becoming tsawon:

tsawo + n lokaci → tsawon lokaci – length of time

Idiomatic meaning: “for a long time / a long period”.

So in zauna tsawon lokaci = to sit/stay for a long time.

You could also hear dogon lokaci (a long time), but tsawon lokaci focuses on the duration/length more literally.

How does ba tare da motsa jiki ba work? Why are there two ba’s?

Ba … ba is a common negative “wrapper” in Hausa.
The structure here is:

tare da motsa jiki – together with exercise / with physical movement
ba … ba around it → ba tare da motsa jiki ba – not with exercise → without exercise

So:

tare da = together with, along with, with
ba tare da … ba = without … (literally: not together with …)

You often see this pattern:

Ya tafi ba tare da ni ba. – He went without me.
Ta ci abinci ba tare da ruwa ba. – She ate without water.

In your sentence:

tsawon lokaci ba tare da motsa jiki ba
= for a long time without exercise

Why is tare da (which means “together with”) used to say “without”?

The idea is:

tare da X – together with X / with X
Make it negative: ba tare da X ba – not together with X → without X

So Hausa expresses “without X” as “not together with X”.

Tare da abokai – with friends
Ba tare da abokai ba – without friends
tare da motsa jiki – with exercise
ba tare da motsa jiki ba – without exercise

What does motsa jiki literally mean, and is it a fixed expression?

Literally:

motsa – to move (something), to stir
jiki – body

So motsa jiki = moving the body.

Idiomatic meaning: exercise, physical exercise.

It’s a very common fixed phrase:

Ina yin motsa jiki. – I do exercise / I work out.
Motsa jiki yana da muhimmanci. – Exercise is important.

So in your sentence, ba tare da motsa jiki ba is best understood as “without exercise”, not just any random “body movement”.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move ba tare da motsa jiki ba earlier in the sentence?

Some movement is possible, but the given order is very natural:

Ni bana son in zauna tsawon lokaci ba tare da motsa jiki ba.

You could also say, for example:

Ni bana son in zauna ba tare da motsa jiki ba tsawon lokaci.
(grammatical, but less smooth and less typical)
Bana son in zauna tsawon lokaci ba tare da motsa jiki ba.
(dropping Ni—still natural)

Normally, the duration phrase (tsawon lokaci) comes right after the verb, and the “without …” part (ba tare da motsa jiki ba) comes afterwards, exactly as in the original sentence.

Could I replace in zauna with a noun form like zama and say bana son zama tsawon lokaci ba tare da motsa jiki ba?

Yes, that is also a natural sentence, with a slightly different structure:

bana son in zauna… – literally: I don’t like to sit… (I don’t like that I sit…)
bana son zama… – literally: I don’t like sitting… (I don’t like the act of sitting…)

Zama is a verbal noun meaning sitting / staying.
Both forms are acceptable and common; the meaning difference is subtle, like English “I don’t like to sit…” vs “I don’t like sitting…”.

Why is there no explicit word for “for” before tsawon lokaci?

In Hausa, duration is often expressed just by putting a time expression after the verb, without a preposition:

Na jira shi awa biyu. – I waited (for) two hours.
Ya yi aiki shekara ɗaya. – He worked (for) one year.

Similarly:

in zauna tsawon lokaci – to sit (for) a long time

So tsawon lokaci by itself, after the verb, already carries the sense of “for a long time”. No extra word like English “for” is needed.