English–Tswana Dictionary

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

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Browse common Tswana vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
I	pronoun	nna	I am here now. Nna ke fano jaanong.
you	pronoun	wena	You are my friend. Wena o tsala ya me.
he	pronoun	ene	He is at home. Ene o kwa gae.
she	pronoun	ene	She is very happy. Ene o itumetse thata.
we	pronoun	rona	We work every day. Rona re dira letsatsi lengwe le lengwe.
they	pronoun	bone	They are in the house. Bone ba mo ntlong.
what	pronoun	eng	What do you want? O batla eng?
where	adverb	kae	Where is the school? Sekolo se kae?
when	adverb	leng	When will you come? O tla tla leng?
who	pronoun	mang	Who is that person? Motho yoo ke mang?
why	adverb	goreng	Why are you sad? O hutsafetse goreng?
how	adverb	jang	How do you know? O itse jang?
to be	verb	bo	I am very tired. Ke lapile thata.
to have	verb	na le	I have a book. Ke na le buka.
to do	verb	dira	They do the work. Ba dira tiro.
to go	verb	ya	We go to school. Re ya sekolong.
to come	verb	tla	Please come tomorrow morning. Tswee-tswee tla ka moso mo mosong.
to see	verb	bona	I see the moon. Ke bona ngwedi.
to know	verb	itse	I know your name. Ke itse leina la gago.
to think	verb	akanya	We think about life. Re akanya ka botshelo.
to want	verb	batla	They want more water. Ba batla metsi a mangwe.
to need	verb	tlhoka	I need your help. Ke tlhoka thuso ya gago.
to make	verb	dira	She makes good bread. Ene o dira senkgwe se se molemo.
to take	verb	tsaya	Take the book home. Tsaya buka o ye nayo gae.
to give	verb	naya	Give me the water. Naya metsi.
to say	verb	raya	They say the story well. Ba raya kgang sentle.
to tell	verb	bolelela	Tell me the truth. Mpolelele boammaaruri.
to ask	verb	botsa	Ask the teacher now. Botsa morutabana jaanong.
to find	verb	bona	I found my book. Ke bone buka ya me.
to look	verb	leba	Look at the sky. Leba legodimo.
to use	verb	dirisa	Use this small table. Dirisa tafole eno e nnye.
to work	verb	dira	They work every week. Ba dira beke nngwe le nngwe.
to eat	verb	ja	We eat rice tonight. Re ja raese bosigo jono.
to drink	verb	nwa	Drink the milk now. Nwa mashi jaanong.
to sleep	verb	roba boroko	The child sleeps early. Ngwana o roba boroko ka bonako.
to walk	verb	tsamaya	We walk to town. Re tsamaya re ya toropong.
to run	verb	taboga	The boy runs fast. Mosimane o taboga ka bonako.
to read	verb	bala	I read this book. Ke bala buka eno.
to write	verb	kwala	Write your name here. Kwala leina la gago fano.
to speak	verb	bua	They speak Tswana well. Ba bua Setswana sentle.
to listen	verb	reetsa	Listen to the teacher. Reetsa morutabana.
to hear	verb	utlwa	I hear the music. Ke utlwa mmino.
to buy	verb	reka	We buy fresh bread. Re reka senkgwe se sesha.
to sell	verb	rekisa	They sell fruit here. Ba rekisa maungo fano.
to pay	verb	duela	I pay the money. Ke duela madi.
to help	verb	thusa	Help the small child. Thusa ngwana yo monnye.
to love	verb	rata	I love my family. Ke rata lelapa la me.
to live	verb	tshela	We live in the city. Re tshela mo motseng.
to die	verb	shwa	All people die someday. Batho botlhe ba a swa ka letsatsi lengwe.
to learn	verb	ithuta	Children learn at school. Bana ba ithuta kwa sekolong.
to teach	verb	ruta	They teach the children. Ba ruta bana.
to open	verb	bula	Open the door now. Bula lebati jaanong.
to close	verb	tswala	Close the window now.
person	noun	motho	That person is kind. Motho yoo o pelonomi.
man	noun	monna	The man is strong. Monna o nonofile.
woman	noun	mosadi	The woman is singing.
child	noun	ngwana	The child is sleeping. Ngwana o robetse.
boy	noun	mosimane	The boy reads quietly. Mosimane o bala ka tidimalo.
girl	noun	mosetsana	The girl is happy. Mosetsana o itumetse.
family	noun	lelapa	My family is big. Lelapa la me le legolo.
mother	noun	mme	My mother is here. Mme wa me o fano.
father	noun	rre	My father works hard. Rre o dira ka natla.
friend	noun	tsala	She is my friend. Ene ke tsala ya me.
house	noun	ntlo	The house is new. Ntlo e ntšhwa.
home	noun	gae	We are going home. Re ya gae.
school	noun	sekolo	The school is nearby. Sekolo se gaufi.
city	noun	motse	The city is very big. Motse o mogolo thata.
country	noun	naga	Our country is peaceful. Naga ya rona e na le kagiso.
world	noun	lefatshe	The world is changing. Lefatshe le a fetoga.
street	noun	mmila	The street is busy today. Mmila o tletse gompieno.
room	noun	phaposi	This room is small. Phaposi eno e nnye.
time	noun	nako	Time moves very fast. Nako e tsamaya ka bonako thata.
day	noun	letsatsi	Today is a good day. Gompieno ke letsatsi le lentle.
night	noun	bosigo	The night is cold. Bosigo bo tsididi.
morning	noun	moso	The morning is beautiful. Moso o montle.
evening	noun	maitseboa	We work in the evening. Re dira maitseboeng.
week	noun	beke	A week has seven days. Beke e na le malatsi a supa.
month	noun	kgwedi	This month is busy. Kgwedi eno e tshwaregile.
year	noun	ngwaga	This year is new. Ngwaga ono o mosha.
today	adverb	gompieno	I am working today. Ke dira gompieno.
tomorrow	adverb	kamoso	We will go tomorrow. Re tla ya kamoso.
yesterday	adverb	maabane	She came yesterday morning. Ene o tlile maabane mo mosong.
now	adverb	jaanong	Come here now. Tla fano jaanong.
sun	noun	letsatsi	The sun is hot. Letsatsi le mogote.
moon	noun	ngwedi	The moon is bright tonight. Ngwedi o tshwanetse bosigo jono.
star	noun	naledi	That star is bright. Naledi ele e phatsima.
sky	noun	legodimo	The sky is blue. Legodimo le le tala.
earth	noun	lefatshe	The earth is our home. Lefatshe ke gae ga rona.
fire	noun	molelo	The fire is very hot. Molelo o mogote thata.
water	noun	metsi	The water is cold. Metsi a tsididi.
rain	noun	pula	The rain is coming. Pula e a tla.
wind	noun	phefo	The wind is strong. Phefo e maatla.
tree	noun	setlhare	The tree is tall. Setlhare se seleele.
flower	noun	lelomo	The flower is beautiful. Lelomo le lentle.
mountain	noun	thaba	The mountain is high. Thaba e telele.
river	noun	noka	The river has water. Noka e na le metsi.
sea	noun	lewatle	The sea is very big. Lewatle le legolo thata.
food	noun	dijo	The food is ready. Dijo di siamile.
bread	noun	senkgwe	The bread is fresh. Senkgwe se sesha.
rice	noun	raese	We eat rice often. Re ja raese gantsi.
meat	noun	nama	The meat is hot. Nama e mogote.
fish	noun	tlhapi	The fish is fresh. Tlhapi e sesha.
egg	noun	lee	The egg is broken. Lee le thubegile.
milk	noun	mashi	The milk is warm. Mashi a bothitho.
fruit	noun	maungo	Fruit is good food. Maungo ke dijo tse di molemo.
tea	noun	tee	The tea is hot. Tee e mogote.
coffee	noun	kofi	The coffee is strong. Kofi e bogale.
head	noun	tlhogo	My head hurts today. Tlhogo ya me e botlhoko gompieno.
eye	noun	leitlho	Her eye is red. Leitlho la gagwe le khibidu.
ear	noun	tsebe	My ear hurts now. Tsebe ya me e botlhoko jaanong.
mouth	noun	molomo	Open your mouth wide. Bula molomo wa gago thata.
nose	noun	nko	My nose is cold. Nko ya me e tsididi.
hand	noun	seatla	Wash your hand now. Tlhapa seatla sa gago jaanong.
foot	noun	lonao	His foot is strong. Lonao lwa gagwe lo nonofile.
heart	noun	pelo	My heart is calm. Pelo ya me e ritibetse.
name	noun	leina	Your name is beautiful. Leina la gago le lentle.
book	noun	buka	This book is new. Buka eno e ntšhwa.
word	noun	lefoko	This word is important. Lefoko leno le botlhokwa.
language	noun	puo	Tswana is a language. Setswana ke puo.
money	noun	madi	I need more money. Ke tlhoka madi a mangwe.
work	noun	tiro	This work is hard. Tiro eno e thata.
love	noun	lorato	Love is very important. Lorato le botlhokwa thata.
music	noun	mmino	The music is beautiful. Mmino o montle.
story	noun	kgang	The story is interesting. Kgang e a kgatlha.
way	noun	tsela	This way is easy. Tsela eno e motlhofo.
thing	noun	selo	That thing is new. Selo seo se sesha.
life	noun	botshelo	Life is not easy. Botshelo ga bo motlhofo.
door	noun	lebati	The door is open. Lebati le butswe.
table	noun	tafole	The table is big. Tafole e kgolo.
chair	noun	setulo	The chair is broken. Setulo se thubegile.
car	noun	koloi	The car is fast. Koloi e bofefo.
good	adjective	molemo	This food is good. Dijo tseno di molemo.
bad	adjective	maswe	The weather is bad.
big	adjective	kgolo	The house is big. Ntlo e kgolo.
small	adjective	nnye	The room is small. Phaposi e nnye.
new	adjective	ntšhwa	I bought a new book. Ke rekile buka e ntšhwa.
old	adjective	kgologolo	That house is old.
long	adjective	telele	The road is long. Tsela e telele.
short	adjective	khutshwane	The rope is short.
high	adjective	godimo	The mountain is high. Thaba e kwa godimo.
hot	adjective	mogote	The tea is hot. Tee e mogote.
cold	adjective	tsididi	The water is cold. Metsi a tsididi.
happy	adjective	itumetse	The child is happy. Ngwana o itumetse.
sad	adjective	hutsafetse	She feels very sad. Ene o hutsafetse thata.
beautiful	adjective	montle	The flower is beautiful. Lelomo le lentle.
easy	adjective	motlhofo	This work is easy. Tiro eno e motlhofo.
hard	adjective	thata	This question is hard. Potso eno e thata.
fast	adjective	bofefo	The car is fast. Koloi e bofefo.
slow	adjective	bonya	The tortoise is slow.
right	adjective	siame	Your answer is right. Karabo ya gago e siame.
wrong	adjective	phoso	That answer is wrong. Karabo eo e phoso.
important	adjective	botlhokwa	This book is important. Buka eno e botlhokwa.
true	adjective	ammaaruri	That story is true. Kgang eo ke ammaaruri.
full	adjective	tletse	The cup is full.
empty	adjective	lolea	The room is empty. Phaposi e lolea.
young	adjective	monnye	The child is young. Ngwana o monnye.
strong	adjective	nonofile	That man is strong. Monna yoo o nonofile.
weak	adjective	bokoa	The child is weak.
red	adjective	khibidu	The flower is red. Lelomo le khibidu.
blue	adjective	tala	The sky is blue. Legodimo le le tala.
green	adjective	tala	The grass is green.
yellow	adjective	serolwana	The flower is yellow.
black	adjective	ntsho	The car is black. Koloi e ntsho.
white	adjective	tshweu	The milk is white. Mashi a masweu.
yes	interjection	ee	Yes, I am ready. Ee, ke siametse.
no	interjection	nnyaa	No, I do not know. Nnyaa, ga ke itse.
not	adverb	ga	I am not tired. Ga ke a lapa.
and	conjunction	le	Tea and bread are ready. Tee le senkgwe di siamile.
or	conjunction	kgotsa	Tea or coffee is fine. Tee kgotsa kofi go siame.
but	conjunction	mme	I tried, but failed.
if	conjunction	fa	If it rains, stay home. Fa pula e na, nna gae.
because	conjunction	ka gonne	I stayed home because it rained. Ke nnile gae ka gonne pula e nele.
with	preposition	le	I came with my friend. Ke tlile le tsala ya me.
without	preposition	ntle le	He left without money. O tsamailwe ntle le madi.
for	preposition	bakeng sa	This gift is for you. Neo eno ke bakeng sa gago.
from	preposition	go tswa	She comes from school. Ene o tswa sekolong.
to	preposition	go	We went to town. Re ile toropong.