English–Southern Sotho Dictionary

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

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Browse common Southern Sotho vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
I	pronoun	ke	I am here now. Ke mona jwale.
you	pronoun	wena	You are very kind. Wena o mosa haholo.
he	pronoun	yena	He is my brother. Yena ke moholwane wa ka.
she	pronoun	yena	She is at home. Yena o hae.
we	pronoun	rona	We are going home. Rona re ya hae.
they	pronoun	bona	They live in town. Bona ba dula toropong.
what	pronoun	eng	What do you want? O batla eng?
where	adverb	kae	Where is my book? Buka ya ka e kae?
when	adverb	neng	When will you come? O tla tla neng?
who	pronoun	mang	Who is that person? Motho eo ke mang?
why	adverb	hobaneng	Why are you sad? O hloname hobaneng?
how	adverb	jwang	How do you know? O tseba jwang?
to be	verb	ba	We are happy today. Re thabile kajeno.
to have	verb	ba le	I have a new car. Ke na le koloi e ntjha.
to do	verb	etsa	They do the work well. Ba etsa mosebetsi hantle.
to go	verb	ya	I go to school. Ke ya sekolong.
to come	verb	tla	Please come here now. Tloo mona jwale.
to see	verb	bona	I see the mountain. Ke bona thaba.
to know	verb	tseba	I know the answer. Ke tseba karabo.
to think	verb	nahana	We think about the problem. Re nahana ka bothata.
to want	verb	batla	I want some water. Ke batla metsi.
to need	verb	hloka	We need more time. Re hloka nako e eketsehileng.
to make	verb	etsa	She makes good bread. O etsa bohobe bo monate.
to take	verb	nka	Take the book home. Nka buka o ye hae.
to give	verb	fa	Give me the pen. Mphe pene.
to say	verb	re	They say good morning. Ba re dumela hoseng.
to tell	verb	bolella	Tell me the truth. Mpolelle nnete.
to ask	verb	botsa	I ask one question. Ke botsa potso e le nngwe.
to find	verb	fumana	We found the lost key. Re fumane senotlolo se lahlehileng.
to look	verb	sheba	Look at the sky. Sheba lehodimo.
to use	verb	sebedisa	Use this small knife. Sebedisa thipa ena e nyane.
to work	verb	sebetsa	They work every day. Ba sebetsa letsatsi le leng le le leng.
to eat	verb	ja	We eat rice tonight. Re ja raese bosiung bona.
to drink	verb	nwa	Drink clean water now. Nwa metsi a hlwekileng jwale.
to sleep	verb	robala	The child sleeps early. Ngwana o robala kapele.
to walk	verb	tsamaya	We walk to town. Re tsamaya ho ya toropong.
to run	verb	matha	The boy runs fast. Moshanyana o matha ka potlako.
to read	verb	bala	I read this book. Ke bala buka ena.
to write	verb	ngola	She writes a letter. O ngola lengolo.
to speak	verb	bua	They speak softly here. Ba bua butle mona.
to listen	verb	mamela	Listen to the teacher. Mamela titjhere.
to hear	verb	utlwa	I hear the music. Ke utlwa mmino.
to buy	verb	reka	We buy fresh fruit. Re reka ditholwana tse foreshe.
to sell	verb	rekisa	They sell bread here. Ba rekisa bohobe mona.
to pay	verb	lefa	I pay the driver. Ke lefa mokganni.
to help	verb	thusa	Please help the child. Ka kopo thusa ngwana.
to love	verb	rata	I love my family. Ke rata lelapa la ka.
to live	verb	phela	They live in the city. Ba phela motseng.
to die	verb	shwa	Old trees die slowly. Difate tsa kgale di shwa butle.
to learn	verb	ithuta	Children learn at school. Bana ba ithuta sekolong.
to teach	verb	ruta	They teach young children. Ba ruta bana ba banyenyane.
to open	verb	bula	Open the door now. Bula monyako jwale.
to close	verb	kwala	Close the window please. Kwala fensetere ka kopo.
person	noun	motho	That person is friendly. Motho eo o na le botswalle.
man	noun	monna	The man is tall. Monna o molelele.
woman	noun	mosadi	The woman is singing. Mosadi o a bina.
child	noun	ngwana	The child is sleeping. Ngwana o robetse.
boy	noun	moshanyana	The boy runs outside. Moshanyana o matha kantle.
girl	noun	ngwanana	The girl reads well. Ngwanana o bala hantle.
family	noun	lelapa	My family is large. Lelapa la ka le leholo.
mother	noun	mme	My mother is kind. Mme wa ka o mosa.
father	noun	ntate	My father works here. Ntate wa ka o sebetsa mona.
friend	noun	motswalle	She is my friend. Ke motswalle wa ka.
house	noun	ntlo	The house is new. Ntlo e ntjha.
home	noun	hae	We are going home. Re ya hae.
school	noun	sekolo	The school is nearby. Sekolo se haufi.
city	noun	motse	The city is busy. Motse o phathahane.
country	noun	naha	Our country is beautiful. Naha ya rona e ntle.
world	noun	lefatshe	The world is changing. Lefatshe le a fetoha.
street	noun	seterata	The street is long. Seterata se selelele.
room	noun	kamore	This room is clean. Kamore ena e hlwekile.
time	noun	nako	Time goes very quickly. Nako e feta ka potlako.
day	noun	letsatsi	Today is a good day. Kajeno ke letsatsi le letle.
night	noun	bosiu	The night is cold. Bosiu bo a bata.
morning	noun	hoseng	The morning is fresh. Hoseng ho ho botjha.
evening	noun	mantsiboya	The evening is quiet. Mantsiboya a kgutsitse.
week	noun	beke	This week is busy. Beke ena e phathahane.
month	noun	kgwedi	This month is long. Kgwedi ena e telele.
year	noun	selemo	This year is important. Selemo sena se bohlokwa.
today	adverb	kajeno	I am busy today. Ke phathahane kajeno.
tomorrow	adverb	hosane	We will travel tomorrow. Re tla tsamaya hosane.
yesterday	adverb	maobane	She arrived yesterday morning. O fihlile maobane hoseng.
now	adverb	jwale	Come here now. Tloo mona jwale.
sun	noun	letsatsi	The sun is hot. Letsatsi le a tjhesa.
moon	noun	kgwedi	The moon is bright. Kgwedi e a kganya.
star	noun	naledi	That star is bright. Naledi eo e a kganya.
sky	noun	lehodimo	The sky is blue. Lehodimo le putswa.
earth	noun	lefatshe	The earth is round. Lefatshe le pota-potile.
fire	noun	mollo	The fire is hot. Mollo o a tjhesa.
water	noun	metsi	The water is cold. Metsi a a bata.
rain	noun	pula	The rain is falling. Pula e a na.
wind	noun	moya	The wind is strong. Moya o matla.
tree	noun	sefate	The tree is tall. Sefate se selelele.
flower	noun	palesa	The flower is beautiful. Palesa e ntle.
mountain	noun	thaba	The mountain is high. Thaba e phahameng.
river	noun	noka	The river is wide. Noka e pharaletse.
sea	noun	leoatle	The sea is rough. Leoatle le befile.
food	noun	dijo	The food is ready. Dijo di lokile.
bread	noun	bohobe	The bread is fresh. Bohobe bo foreshe.
rice	noun	raese	The rice is hot. Raese e tjhesa.
meat	noun	nama	The meat is cooked. Nama e phehilwe.
fish	noun	hlapi	The fish tastes good. Hlapi e monate.
egg	noun	lehe	The egg is broken. Lehe le robehile.
milk	noun	lebese	The milk is warm. Lebese le futhumetse.
fruit	noun	tholwana	This fruit is sweet. Tholwana ena e monate.
tea	noun	tee	The tea is hot. Tee e tjhesa.
coffee	noun	kofi	The coffee is strong. Kofi e matla.
head	noun	hlooho	My head hurts today. Hlooho ya ka e bohloko kajeno.
eye	noun	leihlo	Her eye is red. Leihlo la hae le lefubedu.
ear	noun	tsebe	My ear hurts. Tsebe ya ka e bohloko.
mouth	noun	molomo	Open your mouth wide. Bula molomo wa hao haholo.
nose	noun	nko	My nose is cold. Nko ya ka e a bata.
hand	noun	letsoho	Wash your hand well. Hlatswa letsoho la hao hantle.
foot	noun	leoto	His foot is injured. Leoto la hae le lemetse.
heart	noun	pelo	Her heart is strong. Pelo ya hae e matla.
name	noun	lebitso	My name is Thabo. Lebitso la ka ke Thabo.
book	noun	buka	This book is interesting. Buka ena e a thabisa.
word	noun	lentswe	This word is difficult. Lentswe lena le thata.
language	noun	puo	This language is beautiful. Puo ena e ntle.
money	noun	tjhelete	I need more money. Ke hloka tjhelete e eketsehileng.
work	noun	mosebetsi	The work is hard. Mosebetsi o thata.
love	noun	lerato	Love is very important. Lerato le bohlokwa haholo.
music	noun	mmino	The music is loud. Mmino o hodimo.
story	noun	pale	The story is true. Pale ke nnete.
way	noun	tsela	This way is easier. Tsela ena e bonolo.
thing	noun	ntho	This thing is useful. Ntho ena e a thusa.
life	noun	bophelo	Life is precious. Bophelo bo bohlokwa.
door	noun	monyako	The door is open. Monyako o butswe.
table	noun	tafole	The table is clean. Tafole e hlwekile.
chair	noun	setulo	The chair is broken. Setulo se robehile.
car	noun	koloi	The car is fast. Koloi e lebelo.
good	adjective	ntle	This food is good. Dijo tsena di ntle.
bad	adjective	mpe	The weather is bad. Boemo ba lehodimo bo mpe.
big	adjective	kgolo	That house is big. Ntlo eo e kgolo.
small	adjective	nyane	The room is small. Kamore e nyane.
new	adjective	ntjha	I bought a new book. Ke rekile buka e ntjha.
old	adjective	kgale	That car is old. Koloi eo e kgale.
long	adjective	telele	The road is long. Tsela e telele.
short	adjective	kgutshwane	The stick is short. Thupa e kgutshwane.
high	adjective	phahameng	The mountain is high. Thaba e phahame.
low	adjective	tlase	The wall is low. Lerako le tlase.
hot	adjective	tjhesa	The tea is hot. Tee e tjhesa.
cold	adjective	bata	The water is cold. Metsi a bata.
happy	adjective	thabile	The children are happy. Bana ba thabile.
sad	adjective	hloname	She feels sad today. O hloname kajeno.
beautiful	adjective	ntle	The flower is beautiful. Palesa e ntle.
easy	adjective	bonolo	This lesson is easy. Thuto ena e bonolo.
hard	adjective	thata	This work is hard. Mosebetsi ona o thata.
fast	adjective	potlako	That horse is fast. Pere eo e potlakile.
slow	adjective	butle	The turtle is slow. Kgudu e tsamaya butle.
right	adjective	nepahetseng	Your answer is right. Karabo ya hao e nepahetse.
wrong	adjective	fosahetseng	That answer is wrong. Karabo eo e fosahetse.
important	adjective	bohlokwa	This meeting is important. Kopano ena e bohlokwa.
true	adjective	nnete	That story is true. Pale eo ke nnete.
full	adjective	tletse	The cup is full. Komiki e tletse.
empty	adjective	se nang letho	The room is empty. Kamore ha e na letho.
young	adjective	monyenyane	The child is young. Ngwana o monyenyane.
strong	adjective	matla	The man is strong. Monna o matla.
weak	adjective	fokola	The patient is weak. Mokudi o fokola.
red	adjective	fubedu	The flower is red. Palesa e kgubedu.
blue	adjective	putswa	The sky is blue. Lehodimo le putswa.
green	adjective	tala	The grass is green. Jwang bo botala.
yellow	adjective	tshehla	The sun looks yellow. Letsatsi le shebahala le tshehla.
black	adjective	ntsho	The dog is black. Ntja e ntsho.
white	adjective	tshweu	The wall is white. Lerako le lesweu.
yes	interjection	e	Yes, I understand. E, ke a utlwisisa.
no	interjection	tjhe	No, I cannot go. Tjhe, nke ke ka ya.
not	adverb	ha ...	I am not ready. Ha ke a itokisetsa.
and	conjunction	le	Tea and bread are ready. Tee le bohobe di lokile.
or	conjunction	kapa	Tea or coffee is fine. Tee kapa kofi ho lokile.
but	conjunction	empa	I tried, but failed. Ke lekile, empa ka hloleha.
if	conjunction	haeba	If it rains, stay inside. Haeba pula e na, dula ka hare.
because	conjunction	hobane	I stayed because it rained. Ke dutse hobane pula e na.
with	preposition	le	I came with my friend. Ke tlile le motswalle wa ka.
without	preposition	ntle le	He left without money. O tsamaile ntle le tjhelete.
for	preposition	bakeng sa	This gift is for you. Mpho ena ke bakeng sa hao.
from	preposition	ho tswa	She came from town. O tlile ho tswa toropong.
to	preposition	ho	We went to school. Re ile sekolong.