Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni zan tafi shago yanzu.

zan already contains the meaning “I will” (it comes from za “will” + ni “I”).
Ni at the beginning is optional; it’s used for emphasis:
- Zan tafi shago yanzu. – I will go to the shop now. (neutral)
- Ni zan tafi shago yanzu. – I will go to the shop now (not someone else). / It’s me who will go.

So ni isn’t grammatically required; it just highlights “me, specifically”.

Can I just say Zan tafi shago yanzu? Is that correct and natural?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and very natural.

Zan tafi shago yanzu. – fully normal, everyday way to say “I will go to the shop now.”
Ni zan tafi shago yanzu. – adds emphasis on I, often in contrast to someone else.

In many situations, Hausa speakers would more often drop ni and just say Zan tafi shago yanzu.

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

In standard Hausa spelling:

zan is written as one word, but historically it comes from za ni:
- za – future particle, roughly “will”
- ni – “I”

Over time, za ni → zan, za ka → za ka (often together in speech), za mu → za mu, etc.

Common future forms:

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

What’s the difference between tafi and je? Could I say Zan je shago yanzu instead?

Both tafi and je can translate as “go”, but there are nuances:

tafi – “go, leave, depart, travel”; often emphasizes the act of going / leaving.
je – “go (to a place)”; often emphasizes the destination.

In practice:

Zan tafi. – I will leave / I’ll be off / I’ll go (away).
Zan je shago. – I will go to the shop.

Your sentence Zan tafi shago yanzu is still understood as “go to the shop,” and many speakers accept it, but many would find Zan je shago yanzu a bit more idiomatic for “go to the shop (as a destination).”

Why is there no word for “to” before shago? Why not something like … tafi zuwa shago?

Hausa often doesn’t need a separate word for English “to” after verbs of motion:

Zan je gida. – I will go home. (literally: I‑will go home)
Zan tafi Kano. – I will go to Kano.

The destination noun usually follows directly after the verb.

You can say tafi zuwa shago (literally “go to shop”), but:

It sounds a bit more formal or heavy in such a simple sentence.
In everyday speech, tafi/je + place without zuwa is most common.

So Zan tafi shago yanzu already means “I will go to the shop now.” without needing an extra “to.”

In English we say “the shop” or “a shop.” Why does shago appear without any article?

Hausa does not have articles like English a/an or the. The bare noun shago can mean:

a shop
the shop

The meaning (definite vs. indefinite) is understood from context, not from a separate word.

Examples:

Zan je shago yanzu. – could be “I’ll go to the shop now” or “I’ll go to a shop now,” depending on what is known in the situation.
Na ga sabuwar mota. – “I saw a/the new car.”

So you don’t need to add anything to shago for “the” or “a.”

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Zan tafi yanzu shago instead?

The normal, neutral order is:

[Subject] + [future marker + verb] + [place] + [time]
Ni zan tafi shago yanzu.

Zan tafi shago yanzu. – very natural
Zan tafi yanzu shago. – sounds odd or at least marked; yanzu (now) usually comes after the place in this kind of sentence.

You can move words around for special emphasis, but as a learner, it’s safest to keep:

Verb → place → time: … tafi shago yanzu

Does Ni zan tafi shago yanzu mean a planned future (“I will go later”) or more like “I’m going now”?

Zan expresses future, but in real speech it can cover:

Near future / immediate decision – very close to English “I’m going (now)” or “I’ll go (now)”:
- Zan tafi shago yanzu. – “I’ll go to the shop now / I’m going to the shop now.”
More distant future –
- Zan tafi shago gobe. – “I will go to the shop tomorrow.”

If you want a clearly present, ongoing idea (“I am on my way / I’m going right now”), you might hear:

Ina zuwa shago yanzu. – “I am going to the shop now (in progress / about to go).”

But in many real situations Zan tafi shago yanzu is exactly what people say when they’re about to leave.

How would I say “I will not go to the shop now” using this pattern?

Negating zan tafi uses ba … ba around the clause:

Ba zan tafi shago yanzu ba. – I will not go to the shop now.

Structure:

Ba
- zan tafi shago yanzu
  - ba
Verb zan tafi stays the same; it’s the ba … ba frame that marks the negation.

How would I turn this into a question: “Will you go to the shop now?”

Change the subject from I to you and keep the same structure; the question relies on intonation:

To a man (singular): Za ka tafi shago yanzu? – Will you (m.sg) go to the shop now?
To a woman (singular): Za ki tafi shago yanzu? – Will you (f.sg) go to the shop now?

There’s no extra word like English “do/will”; the same future form za ka / za ki is used, and your voice rising at the end signals a question.

Is Ni always needed when I say zan or other future forms?

No. In the future, the subject is already encoded in zan, za ka, za su, etc., so the independent pronoun (ni, kai, ku…) is usually omitted unless you want emphasis.

Examples:

Neutral:
- Zan tafi. – I will go.
- Za ka tafi. – You (m.sg) will go.
- Za su tafi. – They will go.
Emphatic:
- Ni zan tafi. – I will go (not you).
- Kai za ka tafi. – You will go.
- Su za su tafi. – They will go.

So, Ni in your sentence is emphatic, not required for basic grammar.

Is there any difference in politeness or formality between Ni zan tafi shago yanzu and Zan je shago yanzu?

Both are acceptable in normal conversation; the differences are more about style and nuance than politeness:

Ni zan tafi shago yanzu.
- Slight emphasis on “I”.
- Uses tafi, which can sound like “I will leave / set off (to the shop) now.”
- Could appear if you’re contrasting with someone else’s plan.
Zan je shago yanzu.
- No extra emphasis; just a plain statement of intention.
- je + place is a very straightforward, idiomatic way to say “go to (a place).”
- Many speakers might prefer this as the neutral form for “I’ll go to the shop now.”

Neither is inherently more polite; politeness would more likely come from added phrases like don Allah (“please”), tone of voice, etc.