Setswana Word of the Week
So, I have decided to start doing a “Setswana word of the week” for all of you out there. I figure this way you get to learn some Setswana and it will help me keep up on learning the language so I can always have new words to teach you!
(I am only backtracking 4 weeks, so to the beginning of being at site not in Botswana, cause that was just too muchJ)
Week 1: Greetings are extremely important in Setswana, so I think it is best to start off with some basic greetings:
o Dumela (doo-mel-a)
o Dumela mma (when greeting a woman) or Dumela rra (when greeting a man)
o Dumela mme or Dumela rre (woman and man respectively again). You can use either version of mma/rra mme/rre, but to use the latter is a sign of respect towards the person you are greeting.
o Dumelang bomma/borra or Dumelang bomme/borre: Dumelang is used when greeting a group
Week 2: After greeting someone it is almost always followed with one of the following:
o O tsogile (toe-he-lay) jang?: Technically it translates to “you rose how?”, but it’s more like “how are you?”
o The answer is: Ke tsogile sentle (tl make a sound like K in English): “I rose well” or “I am fine.”
o During the day you can say, “O tlhotse (klo-tsee) jang?” with the response being the same as above just substitute tlhotse for tsogile, so you get “Ke tlhotse sentle.”
o Most of the time people use tsogile in the morning and during the day
Week 3: So, we have greeted people, but how do we say good-bye?! You have a few options…
o Go siame (see-I-me): I believe it is like “be well”
o Sala sentle (to one person), Salang sentle (to a group): Both are saying Good-bye
o Tsamaya sentle: Go well
o Ke tla a go bona: I will see you
Week 4:
o Ga ke itse: I don’t know. This phrase comes in handy a lot for me. Mostly I use it when people are speaking to me in Setswana and I don’t understand, but also just during normal conversation
o And from the previous one you can get Ke itse: I know. The “Ga” in front is what makes the statement negative.
o Ga ke go tlhaloganye (claw-low-han-E): I don’t understand, also an extremely useful phrase!
Week 5:
o Ke ne ke tshameka: I was joking. I find myself using this one a lotJ.
o Ga ke dumele: I don’t believe it!
Week 6:
o Ga ken a sepe: I don’t care. Very helpful phrase to use when people are bothering me and continually telling me they love me, want to go to America or want to marry me!
o Ga ke go tshepe: I don’t trust you. Once again, goes nicely with the one aboveJ
Week 7:
o monnamogolo: Old man
o mosadimogolo: Old woman
So I posted these from the fact that my parents (probably mostly my motherJ) want to have cool names for themselves as grandparents. Nkoko is grandmother and that is just a little too close to sounding like crazy! So I think old man/woman is a much better fitJ.
Cultural note: it is totally appropriate and a sign of respect to call someone an old woman/man. This is something I love to say all the time because I know that in two years once I go back to America I cannot do this anymore! J
Week 7: Names: I love learning people’s names here because they always have a meaning. So for this week I want to share the meanings of some of my favorite and popular ones.
o Lesego: Luck
o Letumile: Fame
o Koketso: addition, increase
o Kabelo: gift, present
o Mpho: gift, talent
o Naledi: start
o Lorato: love (Olorato which is you have love is the name of yours trulyJ)
o Thapelo: Prayer
o Kagiso: Peace
o Kitso: knowledge
Week 8: Verbs are very important when it comes to expressing yourself, so for this week let us take a look at some popular ones:
o Tshameka: play
o Bolela: tell
o Ema: wait, stop
o Tswala: close
o Bula: open
Week 9: Continuing with verbs, I thought it would be fun to look at the five senses, their names and their actions.
o Tsebe (ear) which you use to reetsa (listen)
o Molomo (mouth) which you use to bua (speak)
o Matlho (eyes) which you use to bona (see)
o Nko (nose) which you use to monkgo (smell)
o Seatla (hand) which you use to ama (feel, touch)
Week 10: Weather is a popular topic of conversation. For this week let’s give that a whirl.
o Ke a sitwa: I am cold
o Ke a fisa: I am hot
o Letsatsi le a fisa: The sun is hot
o Go maruru thata: It is very cold
Week 11: For this week let’s different times of the day.
o Mo mosong: In the morning
o Motshegare: during the day
o Mathapama/tshokologo: in the afternoon
o Bosigo: in the evening or at night
o Bosigogare: at midnight
Week 12: Keeping with the weather and time of day ideas, let’s look at different times of the year.
o letlhafula: autumn
o mariga: winter
o dikgakologo: spring
o selemo: summer
Week 13: And now let’s move on to days of the week.
o Mmantaga/mosupologo: Monday
o Labobedi: Tuesday
o Laboraro: Wednesday
o Labone: Thursday
o Labotlhano: Friday
o Matlhatso/Sateretaga: Saturday
o Latshipi/Sontaga: Sunday
Week 14: Now we will do periods of time.
o Letsatsi: a day, malatsi (days)
o Beke: a week, dibeke (weeks)
o Kgwedi: a month, dikgwedi (months)
o Ngwaga: a year, dinigwaga (years)
o Gompieno: today
o Ka moso: Tomorrow
o Maabane: yesterday
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