Bemba–English Dictionary

Look up Bemba words and get English translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Browse the common-word table below or type a Bemba word into the lookup tool.

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Browse common Bemba vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
ine	pronoun	I	Ine ndi pano nomba. I am here now.
iwe	pronoun	you	Iwe uli umwine wandi. You are my friend.
ifwe	pronoun	we	Ifwe tuleya ku ng'anda. We are going home.
bena	pronoun	they	Bena bali ku sukulu. They are at school.
cinshi	pronoun	what	Cinshi ulefwaya nomba? What do you want now?
kwi	adverb	where	Uleya kwi? Where are you going?
lilali	adverb	when	Baleisa lilali? When are they coming?
nani	pronoun	who	Nani ali pa mulyango? Who is at the door?
mulandu nshi	adverb	why	Mulandu nshi ule-seka? Why are you laughing?
shani	adverb	how	Uli shani ilelo? How are you today?
ukuba na	verb	to have	Ndi na ibuku. I have a book.
ukucita	verb	to do	Bacita umulimo bwino. They do the work well.
ukuya	verb	to go	Tuleya ku sukulu luli. We go to school early.
ukuisa	verb	to come	Isa pano nomba. Please come here now.
ukumona	verb	to see	Ndemona umweshi ubushiku buno. I see the moon tonight.
ukwishiba	verb	to know	Ndeshiba ilyo lyashi. I know that story.
ukutontonkanya	verb	to think	Tule-tontonkanya pa nshita ileisa. We think about the future.
ukufwaya	verb	to want	Bale-fwaya amenshi ayengi. They want more water.
ukufwaikwa	verb	to need	Ndefwaikwa ubafwilisho bwobe ilelo. I need your help today.
ukupanga	verb	to make
ukutola	verb	to take	Tola ibuku ku ng'anda. Take the book home.
ukupela	verb	to give	Mpelako amenshi. Give me some water.
ukubula	verb	to say	Mbula icine. I say the truth.
ukweba	verb	to tell	Njebako lyashi. Tell me the story.
ukwipusha	verb	to ask	Ipusha kafundisha nomba. Ask the teacher now.
ukusanga	verb	to find	Tusanga ici fungulo caluba. We find the lost key.
ukulangisha	verb	to look	Lolesha ku mulu. Look at the sky.
ukubomfya	verb	to use	Bomfya ino nkombo iyawama. Use this clean cup.
ukubomba	verb	to work	Babomba ubushiku bonse. They work every day.
ukulya	verb	to eat	Abana balya umupunga pano. Children eat rice here.
ukunwa	verb	to drink	Ndenwa tii mu lucelo lonse. I drink tea every morning.
ukulala	verb	to sleep	Umwana alelala bwino. The baby sleeps well.
ukwenda	verb	to walk	Twenda ku katale. We walk to the market.
ukubutuka	verb	to run	Umulumendo alebutuka bwangu. The boy can run fast.
ukubelenga	verb	to read	Ndebelenga iri buku. I read this book.
ukulemba	verb	to write	Lemba ishina lyobe pano. Write your name here.
ukulandapo	verb	to speak
ukutika	verb	to listen	Tika kuli kafundisha bwino. Listen to the teacher carefully.
ukumfwa	verb	to hear	Ndemfwa umuziki kunse. I hear music outside.
ukushita	verb	to buy	Tuleshita umukate ilelo. We buy bread today.
ukushitisha	verb	to sell	Baleshitisha isabi pano. They sell fish here.
ukufuta	verb	to pay	Futa umwendesha nomba. Pay the driver now.
ukwafwa	verb	to help	Wafwa ba mayo bobe. Please help your mother.
ukukunda	verb	to love	Ndekunda ulupwa lwandi. I love my family.
ukwikala	verb	to live	Twikala mu musumba. We live in town.
ukufwa	verb	to die	Ifimena filefwa ukwabula amenshi. Plants die without water.
ukusambilila	verb	to learn	Abana basambilila ku sukulu. Children learn at school.
ukufundisha	verb	to teach	Batufundisha IciBemba. They teach us Bemba.
ukwisula	verb	to open	Isula umulyango panono. Open the door slowly.
ukufunga	verb	to close
umuntu	noun	person	Uyo muntu ni wa luse. That person is kind.
umwaume	noun	man	Umwaume alelepa. The man is tall.
umwanakashi	noun	woman	Umwanakashi aleimba. The woman is singing.
umwana	noun	child	Umwana alelala. The child is sleeping.
umulumendo	noun	boy	Umulumendo alebutuka bwangu. The boy runs quickly.
umukashana	noun	girl	Umukashana alebelenga bwino. The girl reads well.
ulupwa	noun	family	Ulupwa lwandi lukalamba. My family is large.
bamayo	noun	mother	Bamayo bandi baleipika. My mother is cooking.
batata	noun	father	Batata bandi balebomba. My father is working.
umwine	noun	friend	Umwine wandi ali pano. My friend is here.
ing'anda	noun	house	Ing'anda ipya. The house is new.
ku ng'anda	noun	home	Tuleya ku ng'anda. We are going home.
sukulu	noun	school	Isukulu ili mupepi. The school is nearby.
umusumba	noun	city	Uyu musumba uli no mulimo mwingi. This city is busy.
icalo	noun	country	Icalo cesu calitutuluka. Our country is peaceful.
isonde	noun	world	Isonde lile-aluka. The world is changing.
chipinda	noun	room	Icipinda cawama. The room is clean.
inshita	noun	time	Inshita ipita bwangu. Time passes quickly.
ubushiku	noun	day	Ilelo bushiku bwawama. Today is a good day.
ubushiku	noun	night	Ubushiku bwatalala. The night is cold.
ulucelo	noun	morning	Ulu lucelo lwalola. This morning is beautiful.
akasuba	noun	evening
umulungu	noun	week	Nkaisa mu mulungu uleisa. I will come next week.
umweshi	noun	month	Uno mweshi uli no mulimo mwingi. This month is busy.
umwaka	noun	year	Uno mwaka wakosa. This year is important.
ilelo	adverb	today	Ndepepa ilelo. I am busy today.
mailo	adverb	tomorrow	Tukaya mailo. We will travel tomorrow.
mailo	adverb	yesterday
nomba	adverb	now	Isa pano nomba. Come here now.
akasuba	noun	sun	Akasuba kalepya. The sun is hot.
umweshi	noun	moon	Umweshi walaba ubushiku buno. The moon is bright tonight.
ulutanda	noun	star	Ulutanda lulebalika mu mulu. A star shines above.
muulu	noun	sky	Muulu walibuta. The sky is blue.
isonde	noun	earth
umulilo	noun	fire	Umulilo walepya sana. The fire is very hot.
amenshi	noun	water	Amenshi yatalala. The water is cold.
imfula	noun	rain	Imfula ilelwa. The rain is falling.
umwela	noun	wind	Umwela wakosa ilelo. The wind is strong today.
umuti	noun	tree	Ulya muti mulepa. That tree is tall.
ululuba	noun	flower	Ululuba lwalola. The flower is beautiful.
ulupili	noun	mountain	Ulupili lulepa. The mountain is high.
umumana	noun	river	Umumana wakula. The river is wide.
ifyakulya	noun	food	Ifyakulya fyapwa. The food is ready.
umukate	noun	bread	Nashita umukate mupya. I bought fresh bread.
umupunga	noun	rice	Tulya umupunga lyonse. We eat rice often.
inyama	noun	meat	Inyama ni bwino. The meat is delicious.
isabi	noun	fish	Bapika isabi ilelo. They cooked fish today.
ilinso	noun	egg	Ilinso nalitobeka. The egg is broken.
amata	noun	milk	Umwana anwa amata. The baby drinks milk.
icisabo	noun	fruit	Ici cisabo cawama. This fruit is sweet.
tii	noun	tea	Anwa tii uwapya. She drinks hot tea.
kofi	noun	coffee	Ndenwa kofi mu lucelo lonse. I drink coffee every morning.
umutwe	noun	head	Umutwe wandi uleuma ilelo. My head hurts today.
ilinso	noun	eye
ukutwi	noun	ear	Ukutwi kwandi kuleuma. My ear hurts.
akanwa	noun	mouth	Isula akanwa kobe sana. Open your mouth wide.
impa	noun	nose
ukuboko	noun	hand	Samba ukuboko kobe bwino. Wash your hand well.
ukulu	noun	foot	Ukulu kwandi kuleuma. My foot is painful.
umutima	noun	heart
ishina	noun	name	Ishina lyandi ni John. My name is John.
ibuku	noun	book	Iri buku lipya. This book is new.
icebo	noun	word	Ico cebo cakosa. That word is difficult.
ululimi	noun	language	IciBemba lulimi. Bemba is a language.
andalama	noun	money	Ndefwaya andalama ishingi. I need more money.
umulimo	noun	work	Umulimo wakosa. The work is hard.
ukukunda	noun	love	Ukukunda kuleta umutende. Love brings peace.
umuziki	noun	music	Umuziki walola. The music is beautiful.
lyashi	noun	story	Ilyo lyashi lyacine. That story is true.
inshila	noun	way	Iyi nshila yakwelela. This way is easier.
icintu	noun	thing	Ici cintu cingabomfiwa. This thing is useful.
ubuumi	noun	life	Ubuumi bwakosha sana. Life is very precious.
umulyango	noun	door	Umulyango naisuka. The door is open.
imeza	noun	table	Imeza yawama. The table is clean.
intebe	noun	chair	Intebe naitobeka. The chair is broken.
imotoka	noun	car	Imotoka yalubilo. The car is fast.
bwino	adjective	good	Ifi fyakulya ni bwino. This food is good.
bibi	adjective	bad	Yalya menshi mabi. That water is bad.
ikalamba	adjective	big	Twamona ing'anda ikalamba. We saw a big house.
inono	adjective	small	Umwana munono. The child is small.
ipya	adjective	new	Nashita ibuku lipya. I bought a new book.
yakale	adjective	old	Ilya ng'anda yakwe yakale. That house is old.
italamuka	adjective	long
ipipi	adjective	short
ukulepa	adjective	high	Ulupili lulepa. The mountain is high.
panshi	adjective	low
uwapya	adjective	hot	Tii uwapya. The tea is hot.
uwatalala	adjective	cold	Amenshi yatalala. The water is cold.
uwansansa	adjective	happy	Umwana alasansa. The child is happy.
uwalanda	adjective	sad
uwalola	adjective	beautiful	Ululuba lwalola. The flower is beautiful.
ukwelela	adjective	easy	Uyu mulimo wakwelela. This work is easy.
ukukosa	adjective	hard
bwangu	adjective	fast	Imotoka yalubilo. The car is fast.
panono	adjective	slow
icalungama	adjective	right	Ukwasuka kobe kwalungama. Your answer is right.
icalubana	adjective	wrong	Ico kwasuka calubana. That answer is wrong.
cakosa	adjective	important	Ici cisambililo cakosa. This lesson is important.
cacine	adjective	true	Ilyo lyashi lyacine. That story is true.
ukwisula	adjective	full
ubula kantu	adjective	empty
mukankalala	adjective	young
wakosa	adjective	strong	Ulya mwaume wakosa. That man is strong.
wanaka	adjective	weak	Umwana anaka. The child is weak.
ukutuba	adjective	red
akatuntulu	adjective	green
umufita	adjective	black
umupela	adjective	white
ee	interjection	yes	Ee, ndeumfwa. Yes, I understand.
iyo	interjection	no	Iyo, nshingesa. No, I cannot come.
na	conjunction	and	Tii na mukate fyapwa. Tea and bread are ready.
nangu	conjunction	or	Tii nangu kofi bwino. Tea or coffee is fine.
lelo	conjunction	but	Nacita, lelo nacilufyanya. I tried, but failed.
nga	conjunction	if	Nga imfula yaisa, ikala mukati. If it rains, stay inside.
pantu	conjunction	because	Naikala pantu imfula. I stayed because of rain.
na	preposition	with	Naishile na mwine wandi. I came with my friend.
ukwabula	preposition	without
pa	preposition	for	Ici cipe ni pa iwe. This gift is for you.
ukufuma	preposition	from	Naishile ukufuma ku sukulu. I came from school.
ku	preposition	to	Twaya ku musumba. We went to town.