Northern Sotho–English Dictionary

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

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Browse common Northern Sotho vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
nna	pronoun	I	Nna ke mo lehono. I am here today.
wena	pronoun	you	Wena o mogwera wa ka. You are my friend.
yena	pronoun	he	Yena o sekolong bjale. He is at school now.
rena	pronoun	we	Rena re dula ka ntlong ye. We live in this house.
bona	pronoun	they	Bona ba a šoma lehono. They are working today.
eng	pronoun	what	O nyaka eng bjale? What do you want now?
kae	adverb	where	Ba dula kae? Where do they live?
neng	adverb	when	O tla neng? When will you come?
mang	pronoun	who	Ke mang motho yola? Who is that person?
ka lebaka la eng	adverb	why	O nyamile ka lebaka la eng? Why are you sad?
bjang	adverb	how	O tseba bjang? How do you know?
ba	verb	to be	Ba thabile bjale. They are happy now.
ba le	verb	to have	Ke na le puku ye mpsha. I have a new book.
dira	verb	to do	Re dira mošomo wa rena gabotse. We do our work well.
ya	verb	to go	Ke ya sekolong letšatši le letšatši. I go to school daily.
tla	verb	to come	Hle etla ntlong ya ka. Please come to my house.
bona	verb	to see	Ke bona sehlare se segolo. I see the big tree.
tseba	verb	to know	Ba tseba karabo. They know the answer.
nagana	verb	to think	Ke nagana ka lapa la ka. I think about my family.
nyaka	verb	to want	Re nyaka meetse a mantši. We want more water.
hloka	verb	to need	Ke hloka thušo ya gago bjale. I need your help now.
dira	verb	to make
tšea	verb	to take	Tšea puku o ye nayo gae. Take the book home.
fa	verb	to give	Mphe puku ye khubedu. Give me the red book.
bolela	verb	to say	Hle bolela leina la gago gabotse. Please say your name clearly.
botša	verb	to tell	Mpotelele kanegelo ya nnete. Tell me the true story.
botšiša	verb	to ask	Botšiša morutiši bjale. Ask the teacher now.
hwetša	verb	to find	Ke hweditše puku ya ka ya kgale. I found my old book.
lebelela	verb	to look	Lebelela legodimo. Look at the sky.
šomiša	verb	to use	Re šomiša meetse letšatši le lengwe le le lengwe. We use water every day.
šoma	verb	to work	Ba šoma toropong. They work in the city.
ja	verb	to eat	Bana ba ja borotho mesong e mengwe le e mengwe. Children eat bread every morning.
nwa	verb	to drink	Ke nwa teye mesong e mengwe le e mengwe. I drink tea every morning.
roba	verb	to sleep	Ngwana o robala bošego. The child sleeps at night.
sepela	verb	to walk	Re sepela go ya sekolong mmogo. We walk to school together.
kitima	verb	to run	Mošemane o kitima ka lebelo. The boy runs fast.
bala	verb	to read	Ke bala puku ye. I read this book.
ngwala	verb	to write	Ngwala leina la gago mo. Write your name here.
bolela	verb	to speak	Ba bolela polelo gabotse. They speak the language well.
theetša	verb	to listen	Theetša mmino. Listen to the music.
kwa	verb	to hear	Ke kwa phefo ka ntle. I hear the wind outside.
reka	verb	to buy	Re reka dijo lehono. We buy food today.
rekiša	verb	to sell	Ba rekiša dienywa mo. They sell fruit here.
lefa	verb	to pay	Ke lefa tšhelete bjale. I pay the money now.
thuša	verb	to help	Hle thuša ngwana. Please help the child.
rata	verb	to love	Ke rata lapa la ka. I love my family.
phela	verb	to live
hwa	verb	to die	Dihlare tša kgale di ka hwa. Old trees can die.
ithuta	verb	to learn	Bana ba ithuta sekolong. Children learn at school.
ruta	verb	to teach	Ba ruta bana ba banyenyane. They teach young children.
bula	verb	to open	Bula mojako bjale. Open the door now.
tswala	verb	to close
motho	noun	person	Motho yoo ke mogwera wa ka. That person is my friend.
monna	noun	man	Monna o molelele kudu. The man is very tall.
mosadi	noun	woman	Mosadi yoo ke morutiši wa ka. The woman is my teacher.
ngwana	noun	child	Ngwana o robetše bjale. The child is sleeping now.
mošemane	noun	boy	Mošemane o bala puku. The boy reads a book.
ngwanenyana	noun	girl	Ngwanenyana o thabile kudu. The girl is very happy.
lapa	noun	family	Lapa la ka le dula mo. My family lives here.
mma	noun	mother	Mma o gae. My mother is at home.
tate	noun	father	Tate o šoma ka thata. My father works hard.
mogwera	noun	friend
ntlo	noun	house	Ntlo ya rena e kgolo kudu. Our house is very big.
gae	noun	home	Re ya gae bjale. We are going home now.
sekolo	noun	school	Sekolo se kgauswi. The school is nearby.
toropo	noun	city	Toropo ye e swaregile kudu. This city is very busy.
naga	noun	country	Naga ya rena e botse. Our country is beautiful.
lefase	noun	world	Lefase le legolo kudu. The world is very big.
seterata	noun	street	Seterata se selelele. The street is long.
phapoši	noun	room	Phapoši e hlwekile. The room is clean.
nako	noun	time	Re na le nako ye nnyane. We have little time.
letšatši	noun	day	Lehono ke letšatši le lebotse. Today is a good day.
bošego	noun	night	Bošego bo a tonya. The night is cold.
mosong	noun	morning	Ke nwa teye mosong o mongwe le o mongwe. I drink tea every morning.
mantšiboa	noun	evening	Re sepela mantšiboeng. We walk in the evening.
beke	noun	week	Ke šoma beke e nngwe le e nngwe. I work every week.
kgwedi	noun	month	Kgwedi ye e telele kudu. This month is very long.
ngwaga	noun	year	Ngwaga wo o bohlokwa. This year is important.
lehono	adverb	today	Ke thabile lehono. I am happy today.
gosasa	adverb	tomorrow	Re tla ya gosasa. We will go tomorrow.
maabane	adverb	yesterday	O tlile maabane mosong. He came yesterday morning.
bjale	adverb	now	Etla mo bjale. Come here now.
letšatši	noun	sun	Letšatši le a fiša. The sun is hot.
ngwedi	noun	moon
naledi	noun	star	Naledi yela e phadima. That star is bright.
legodimo	noun	sky	Legodimo le le tala. The sky is blue.
lefase	noun	earth	Lefase ke gae ga rena. The earth is our home.
mollo	noun	fire	Mollo o a fiša. The fire is hot.
meetse	noun	water	Meetse a bohlokwa kudu. Water is very important.
pula	noun	rain	Pula e a tla. The rain is coming.
phefo	noun	wind	Phefo e matla lehono. The wind is strong today.
sehlare	noun	tree	Sehlare sela se telele kudu. That tree is very tall.
letšoba	noun	flower	Letšoba le lebotse. The flower is beautiful.
thaba	noun	mountain	Thaba e godimo kudu. The mountain is very high.
noka	noun	river	Noka e telele. The river is long.
lewatle	noun	sea	Lewatle le legolo kudu. The sea is very big.
dijo	noun	food	Dijo di lokile. The food is ready.
borotho	noun	bread	Ke ja borotho letšatši le lengwe le le lengwe. I eat bread daily.
raese	noun	rice	Re ja raese bošegong bjo. We eat rice tonight.
nama	noun	meat	Nama e a fiša. The meat is hot.
hlapi	noun	fish	Re apea hlapi. We are cooking fish.
lee	noun	egg	Lee le robegile. The egg is broken.
maswi	noun	milk	Ngwana o nwa maswi. The child drinks milk.
dienywa	noun	fruit	Dienywa di loketše bana. Fruit is good for children.
teye	noun	tea	Teye e a fiša. The tea is hot.
kofi	noun	coffee	Ke nwa kofi bjale. I drink coffee now.
hlogo	noun	head	Hlogo ya ka e a opša. My head is sore.
leihlo	noun	eye	Leihlo la ka le khubedu. My eye is red.
tsebe	noun	ear	Tsebe ya gagwe e a opša. His ear is sore.
molomo	noun	mouth	Bula molomo wa gago kudu. Open your mouth wide.
nko	noun	nose	Nko ya ka e a tonya. My nose is cold.
seatla	noun	hand	Hlatswa seatla sa gago bjale. Wash your hand now.
leoto	noun	foot	Leoto la ka le a opša. My foot is sore.
pelo	noun	heart
leina	noun	name	Leina la gago ke mang? What is your name?
puku	noun	book	Puku ye ke ye mpsha. This book is new.
lentšu	noun	word	Lentšu leo le bohlokwa. That word is important.
polelo	noun	language	Polelo ye e botse. This language is beautiful.
tšhelete	noun	money	Ga ke na tšhelete. I have no money.
mošomo	noun	work	Mošomo o boima. The work is hard.
lerato	noun	love	Lerato le bohlokwa kudu. Love is very important.
mmino	noun	music	Mmino o monate. The music is beautiful.
kanegelo	noun	story	Kanegelo e bose kudu. The story is very good.
tsela	noun	way	Tsela ye e bonolo. This way is easy.
selo	noun	thing	Selo sela ke se seswa. That thing is new.
bophelo	noun	life	Bophelo bo bohlokwa kudu. Life is very important.
mojako	noun	door	Mojako o bulegile. The door is open.
tafola	noun	table	Tafola e kgolo. The table is big.
setulo	noun	chair	Setulo se robegile. The chair is broken.
sefatanaga	noun	car	Sefatanaga se seswa. The car is new.
botse	adjective	good	Puku ye e botse. This book is good.
mpe	adjective	bad	Dijo di mpe. The food is bad.
kgolo	adjective	big	Ntlo ya rena e kgolo. Our house is big.
nyane	adjective	small	Phapoši e nyane. The room is small.
mpsha	adjective	new	Ke na le sefatanaga se seswa. I have a new car.
kgale	adjective	old	Ntlo yela ke ya kgale. That house is old.
telele	adjective	long
kopana	adjective	short
godimo	adjective	high	Thaba yela e godimo. That mountain is high.
fase	adjective	low
fiša	adjective	hot	Meetse a a fiša. The water is hot.
tonya	adjective	cold	Bošego bo a tonya. The night is cold.
thabile	adjective	happy	Bana ba thabile. The children are happy.
nyamile	adjective	sad	Ke nyamile lehono. I am sad today.
botse	adjective	beautiful	Letšoba le lebotse. The flower is beautiful.
bonolo	adjective	easy	Mošomo wo o bonolo. This work is easy.
ka lebelo	adjective	fast	Sefatanaga se sepela ka lebelo. The car is fast.
nanya	adjective	slow
nepagetše	adjective	right	Karabo ya gago e nepagetše. Your answer is right.
fošagetše	adjective	wrong	Karabo yela e fošagetše. That answer is wrong.
bohlokwa	adjective	important	Meetse a bohlokwa bophelong. Water is important for life.
nnete	adjective	true	Kanegelo ya gagwe ke nnete. His story is true.
tletše	adjective	full
se na selo	adjective	empty	Phapoši ga e na selo. The room is empty.
mofsa	adjective	young	Ngwana o sa le mofsa. The child is young.
matla	adjective	strong	Monna yola o na le matla. That man is strong.
fokola	adjective	weak	Ngwana o fokola. The child is weak.
khubedu	adjective	red	Letšoba le khubedu. The flower is red.
tala	adjective	blue	Legodimo le le tala. The sky is blue.
tala	adjective	green	Sehlare se setala. The tree is green.
serolwana	adjective	yellow
ntsho	adjective	black	Sefatanaga se ntsho. The car is black.
šweu	adjective	white	Maswi a šweu. The milk is white.
ee	interjection	yes	Ee, ke a mo tseba. Yes, I know him.
aowa	interjection	no	Aowa, ga ke tsebe. No, I do not know.
ga	adverb	not	Ga ke šome lehono. I do not work today.
le	conjunction	and	Mma le tate ba mo. Mother and father are here.
goba	conjunction	or	Teye goba kofi go lokile. Tea or coffee is fine.
eupša	conjunction	but	Ke nyaka teye eupša kofi e lokile. I want tea but coffee is fine.
ge	conjunction	if	Ge o etla, ke tla thuša. If you come, I will help.
ka gobane	conjunction	because	Ke thabile ka gobane o tlile. I am happy because you came.
le	preposition	with	Ke dula le lapa la ka. I live with my family.
ntle le	preposition	without	O ile ntle le tšhelete. He went without money.
bakeng sa	preposition	for	Dijo tše ke bakeng sa bana. This food is for children.
go tšwa	preposition	from	Ke tšwa toropong ye. I come from this city.
go	preposition	to	Re ya go sekolo. We go to school.