English–Bemba Dictionary

Browse common English words and their Bemba translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Use this dictionary to look up everyday vocabulary or as a starting point for learning Bemba.

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Browse common Bemba vocabulary

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