Lessons

Salibonani bangane (hello friends). For those of you who would like to learn isiNdebele more formally, these are semi-formal lessons we are trying to make. If you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer (we are always happy for help), or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. You can also email us if you want our free little Northern Ndebele Phrasebook, which has some fun sentences we came up with, for you to practice everyday phrases. The lessons are highlighted to help you find the next lesson to go to.



Lesson 1 - Pronunciation

We always have to get this pronunciation out the way first, so don't be scared, it's pretty easy, simple to follow and you'll get it quickly.

Vowels
In Ndebele, the vowels are spoken in a single pure sound without dipthongs [the name means "two voices/ sounds"] (vowels where there is a noticeable sound change or two vowels next to eachother). This makes Ndebele a little easier to read because, unlike similar languages such as Xhosa or other languages such as English, there are no double vowels e.g. "uu".

a e.g. mama (mother), mfana (boy), sala (stay)
e e.g. ye (yes), wena (you)
i e.g. yini? (what?), ilizwi (word)
o e.g. ogogo (grans), isigodo (pole)
u e.g. ufudu (tortoise), umumbu (maize)

Consonants
As seen in the above examples, the consonants are generally easy for English speakers. There are some rules to note though, besides the click sounds which we will cover later. These rules to note are shown here in point form:


  • Aspirated consonants. These consonants are written with an "h" (to show that they are different from non-aspirated ones). You can test that the sound is correct by holding your hand in front of your mouth to feel that air is "aspirated" onto it.
Aspirated:
ph: 
phapha (to fly), phepha! (sorry!), phila (live) e.g. ngiyaphila = I am healthy [in response to Unjani? (how are you?)]
th:
uthango (fence), ulutho (thing)
kh:
ikhabe (watermelon), ukhuni (a piece of firewood), ukhezo (spoon)

Non-aspirated:
p:
impala (impala antelope), impela (indeed), impilo (life, also the name of a hospital)
t:
intango (fences), intengo (price), izinto (things)
k:
inkabi (ox), inkezo (spoons), inkuni (firewood)

  • Explosive and implosive 'b' sound. The b sound has an 'h' added, not because it is aspirated but to show it is explosive, i.e. it is like the English 'b' sound but more sharp.
explosive bh (sharp 'b' sound):
bhala (write), bhema (smoke), ibhiza (horse)

implosive b (this sounds almost like a 'v' sound where the lips are places together, there is a momentary intake of air and then a soft 'b' sound is produced)
bala (read), beka (put), ibizo (name)

  • Consonant combinations
    • tsh. In Ndebele, this sounds like "ch" in "church", unlike in Zulu where it sounds like "sh".
      • isitsha (container), tshiya (leave), tshetsha (walk quickly) tshaya (hit. Sounds like Chaya)
    • ng: this is a nasal sound with 2 ways of saying it depending on the word.
      • 'ng' as in 'singing'. A soft sound with almost silent 'g': e.g. indingindi (measles), thenga (buy)
      • 'ng' as in 'finger'. The 'g' sound is audibly pronounced, sounding almost like a 'k' sound: ngena (come in), ingubo (blanket), ngaki? (how many?), amanga (lies)
    • ny: a "n-ya" or "n-yeah" sound: omunye (another person), nyikinyeka (move)
    • hl: to make this sound, put your tongue on the top of your mouth (roof) like you are make an 'l' sound e.g. "la". Expel air and an almost wet "hl" sound will be made as the air escapes round the sides of your tongue with some friction almost. mhlophe (white), buhlungu (pain), kuhle (well)
    • dl: to make this sound, make the "l" tongue position similar to "hl" sound but use your voice to articulate the "d" sound. indlu (house/ hut), ukudla (food)
    • kl: similar way to "hl" to form this sound but with the tongue in a position similar to when you make a "g" sound. klabalala (shriek), klekla (pierce the ear), kloloda (mock)


Click Sounds

Ok, let's look at the 3 consonants which produce the 3 click sounds found in Ndebele. The positioning of the tongue and how your remove it from where it is pressed, determines the 3 types of sound. The 3 clicks are for an 'x', 'c' and 'q'. I spoke about these before, but here they are again:

  1. c is made by placing the tip of the tongue against the front upper teeth and gums, the centre of the tongue is depressed and the tip of the tongue is drawn backwards. The resulting sound is similar to the sound used in English to express annoyance. Some examples are cina (end), cela (ask).
  2. The q sound is made by raising the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate and touching the gums with the sides and tip of the tongue. The centre of the tongue is depressed and the tip drawn quickly away from the gum. The resulting sound is like the "pop" heard when quickly removing the cork from a bottle. Some examples are qalisa (start), qeda (finish).
  3. The x sound is made by placing the tongue so that the back of the tongue touches the soft palate and the sides and tip of the tongue touch the gums. One side of the tongue is quickly withdrawn from the gums. Some examples are xoxa (discuss), ixoxo (frog).
You can also have:
  • aspirated click sounds (followed by aspirated air from your mouth). e.g. uchago (milk), qha (expresses dryness) e.g. ngiwomile qha! (I am thirsty!)
  • nasal click sounds e.g. nxa (when), inqola (cart), inqenye (part), ingxabano (quarrel)

Other pronunciation such as intonation should be learnt by imitation of Ndebele speakers.

Ok, let's practice what we've learnt in pronunciation before we go onto the next lesson, which will be more fun and less technical:

Ixhegu laqhoqhomela laxamalaza (the old man stood on tiptoe and with feet astride)
Iqaqa lalizigiqagiqa laze laqamula unqala (The polecat was rolling along until it broke its neck)
Iqaqa leyiqayeqha amaqhaqheni
Ixoxo axoxa izindaba ezixhagayo (the frog chats about news)

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.



Lesson 2 - The verb (infinitive)

In Ndebele, the verb has a basic "stem" to which prefixes and suffixes are attached.

for example: 'hamba' is the stem for 'go' and 'ukuhamba' means 'to go'.

To this we can add other prefixes and suffixes e.g. 'ngihamba' means 'I go', 'angihambanga' means 'I have never gone'.

If you look in an Ndebele dictionary, you would look for the letter that the stem word begins with e.g. if you were looking at the word 'ukuhamba', you would look under 'h' in the dictionary for 'hamba'.

You can use 'Hamba!' which means 'Go!' This is the imperative, used when giving a command to one person (e.g. hambani - is saying 'go' to many people). Apart from this situation, the verb stem will always use at least one type of prefix.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.


Lesson 3 - The present tense

Continuing on from lesson 2 about verbs, today we will look at the present tense of a verb.

For example:
'I am going', 'I go' - ngihamba
'I want' - ngifuna
and thus we can say 'ngifuna ukuhamba' - I want to go

Subject concords

1st person singular ngi- I
2nd person singular u- you
3rd person singular u- he/she
1st person plural si- we
2nd person plural li- you (+1 person)
3rd person plural ba- they

Short present tense

This is the subject concord (as described above) + the verb stem. This short present tense is used only when another word follows the verb stem.

For example:
'ngifuna ukuhamba' - I want to go
'ufuna ukuhamba' - You (singular) want to go
'ufuna ukuhamba' - He/she wants to go
'sifuna ukuhamba' - We want to go
'lifuna ukuhamba' - You (plural) want to go
'bafuna ukuhamba' - They want to go

The different versions of 'u-' are distinguished in your speech intonation and gestures. The first (you) has a lower intonation than the second (he/she), which has a higher, slightly longer intonation. Don't worry, this will come later, but you can always gesture towards whom you refer.

Long present tense

If no other words follow the verb (i.e. it is not a longer sentence) than a longer form of the present tense must be used. To form this, we place a '-ya-' between the subject concord and verb stem. You will get used to this so don't worry about the phrasing/ technical names, just practice speaking.

for example:
ngiyafuna - I want
uyafuna - You (sing.) want
uyafuna - He/she wants
siyafuna - We want
liyafuna - You (pl.) want
bayafuna - They want

Conversation:
Ufuna ukuhamba? - You want to go?
Yebo, ngiyafuna - Yes, I want to.


We will look at the short and long forms of the verb in later lessons and you will see that it is quite simple (Lesson 17, for example).

Ok, now to look at some verb vocabulary, look under the vocab tab in the top tabs.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 4 - Noun class 1: UM/ABA

Salibonani bangane. We have 9 classes of nouns in siNdebele, based on how those verbs start i.e. their prefixes. In siNdebele, the noun has 2 parts: the stem and the prefix. 

e.g. umfana (boy) consists of "um' and "fana"
      abafana (boys) consists of "aba" and "fana"
The stem stays the same, but the prefix changes for the singular and plural. The examples given are for the "um/aba" class as the singular uses the prefix "um" and the plural uses "aba". We will look at the other classes in later lessons.

Example sentences:
Umfana omncinyane ogijimayo ucakile.
The boy of small size who is running is thin or just "The little boy who is running is thin".

You will notice that the whole structure of the sentence is based on the noun prefixes, "um" uses "u-cakile". For comparison, let us look at another sentence:

Inja encinyane egijimayo icakile
The little dog which is running is thin

Here, "inja" is from the noun class "i/izi", where inja = dog and izinja = dogs, and you will notice that         "i-cakile" is used for "inja' whereas 'u-cakile" was used for "umfana".

Again, we will look at this more in later lessons and you will start to see that it is quite logical. 

The article in English, such as "a" or "the", does not appear in siNdebele, so the following simply applies, for example:
umfana = a boy/ the boy
abafana = boys/ the boys

Kulungile bangane (ok friends), let us look at some more vocabulary for the first noun class we are looking at lamhla (today):


Nouns

Singular Plural
Ndebele English Ndebele English
umfana boy abafana boys
umfundisi teacher abafundisi teachers
umlimi farmer abalimi farmers
umuntu person abantu people
umntwana child abantwana children
umtshayeli driver abatshayeli drivers
umzali parent abazali parents
umpheki cook abapheki cooks
umbazi carpenter ababazi carpenters
umfazi wife abafazi wives
umakhi builder abakhi builders
umelusi herdsman abelusi herdsmen
umngane friend abangane friends

Yebo bangane, until next lesson, hamba kahle. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.



Lesson 5 - Noun class 2: U/O

Salibonani bangane. As described in Lesson 3, nouns in siNdebele can be put into 9 groups depending on their singular and corresponding plural prefixes. You learn't the first one, Um/Aba in Lesson 3. Lamhla, let's look at the noun class U/O.

The singular prefix is "u-" e.g. umama (mother), ubaba (father), ugogo (grandmother)
The plural noun has a prefix "o-" e.g. omama (mothers), obaba (fathers), ogogo (grandmothers)

The Um/Aba nouns have corresponding concords for sentences. The verb in the sentence must respect the prefix of the noun for the singula (u) and the plural (ba).
e.g. ubaba uyapheka (Father is cooking)
      obaba bayapheka (Our fathers are cooking)

Most of the nouns for family members are u/o, with a few different names  father, mother, grandfather (depending on who's fther it is etc)

ubaba - my/our father
uyihlo - your father
uyise - their/ his/ her father

umama - my/ our mother
unyoko - your mother
unina - his/ her/ their mother

ubabamkhulu - my/ our grandfather
uyihlomkhulu - your grandfather (oyihlomkhulu - your grandfathers)
uyisemkhulu - his/ her/ their grandfather

See if you can fill in the gaps for the plurals above.

For grandmother, you can apply the same rule, however "ugogo" is the common word used for grandmother in siNdebele. So instead of umamakhulu (shortened to umakhulu), one would use "ugogo/ogogo". It should be noted that, for example, if you wanted to insult someone and refered to "umama" instead of "unyoko", you would actually be insulting your own mother!

Also note that in siNdebele, people refer to a "man" as "baba" and a "woman" as "mama" etc. It just follows the respectful way of addressing a person, especially an older person.
e.g. Yebo, unjani baba? - Yes, how are you gentleman?

For a person your age, you use "bude/ sisi" (brother/ sister)
e.g. Yebo sisi, unjani? Yes sister/girl, how are you? (Again, this may not be your actual sister or father etc)

There are also a few insects and animals in the U/O class, for instance:
umangoye/ omngoye - cat/s
ubabhemi/ obabhemi - donkey/s

e.g. obabhemi bayahamba - the donkeys are going


Peoples' names belong in this U/O class also. For example:

The first name (ibizo) given to a child after birth:

USipho uyadlala - Sipho is playing

UThandi uyagijima - Thandi is running


In siNdebele, the first name is used normally to refer to a child, and adults use their father's clan name/ surname (isibongo). So for Sipho Ngwenya:

Ngifuna uNgwenya - I want Ngwenya

Sithanda oNgwenya - We like the Ngwenyas

When a woman is married, the prefix "Ma-" (from umama) is often used, so for Thadi Khumalo:


e.g. UMaKhumalo uyahamba - MaKhumalo is going away


Also, a grandson can take/ use his ancestral nme (isitemo) which is normlly the grandfather's first name, but he still uses his isibongo (surname). There are only a limited number of clan names in siNdebele, so these will be noticed over time.


Kulungile bangane, until Lesson 6, sahle kahle (stay well).


Lesson 6 - The object of the verb

The object concord
The concords for the 1st, 2nd nd 3rd person were looked at previously e.g. ngiyathanda - I like

The concord appears directly before the verb stem when used as the object of the verb. In siNdebele, the object concord never changes this position, which is quite handy.

e.g. Uyangithanda - She likes me
       Uyasithanda - She likes us

The object is similar to the subject concord, but has:
2nd person singular (you) becomes ku from u
3rd person singular (he/she) becomes m from u

e.g. uyangithanda - he likes me
uyakuthanda - he likes you
ngiyamthanda - I like him
uyasithanda - he likes us
ngiyalithanda - I like you
ngiyabathanda - I like them

The object concord may also be put with an infinitive:
e.g. ufuna ukungitshaya - you want to hit me
ngiyasiza umama - I am helping my mother
ngiyamsiza - I am helping her

Noun as the object of the verb

e.g. ubaba uyatshaya umfana - Father is hitting a boy

The object concord may be used together with the noun:
e.g. ubaba uyamtshaya umfana - Father is hitting a boy

the noun may be before the verb e.g. ugogo ngiyambona - I see the grandmother

Kulungile bangane, until Lesson 7, hamba kahle (go well). If you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 7 - Commands and requests (the imperative verb)

The Imperative Verb
We use this form of a verb for commands and requests.

First of all when you speak to one person, you can use main stem of the verb only:
e.g. Hamba!- Go! (singular)
Sebenza!- Work! (singular)
Khangela!- Look! (singular)

Secondly, if you speak to a number of people, add "-ni" after the main verb stem:
e.g. Sebenzani!- Work! (plural)
Khangelani!- Look! (plural)

A third way is not commonly used but it is extra polite, used for plural or singular and involves you adding "-nini" to the end of the main verb stem:
e.g. Dinganini!- Search! (from the verb "dinga" to find/ search)
Fundanini!- Learn! (from "funda" to learn)

There are some irregular imperative forms, such as from the verb "ukuza" (to come) is:
Woza!- Come! (singular)
Wozani!- Come! (plural)

You don't need to put object concords in front of the imperative verbs (e.g. They is "ba-", you is "u-" etc)
The exception is "ngi-", which can be used for the singular imperative:
e.g. Ngikhangela!- Look at me!
Ngisiza!- Help me!

Here are 3 more verbs for vocabulary:
ukulethela- to bring to e.g. Ngilethela! (bring it to me!)
ukunika- to give (to) e.g. nginika! (give it to me!)
ukuyekela- to stop doing e.g. Yekela! (stop it!), yekela ukukhala! (stop crying)

Applying the lesson to talking to people:

When you address someone, you normally drop the initial vowel of the noun you use:
e.g. "umama" (mother) becomes "mama"
Khangela, mama!- Look, mother!

"umfana" (boy) becomes "mfana"
Woza, mfan'ami!- Come here my boy!

"uSipho" (Sipho, a name) simply becomes "Sipho"
Lalela Sipho!- Listen, Sipho!

An exception is the plural noun prefix "o-", such as "omama" (mothers). Remember too, that the polite way of addressing adults is "mama (bomama)" or "baba (bobaba)" even though they may not be your actual mother(s) or father(s)
e.g. Wozani, bomama!- Come, mothers!
Khangelani, bobaba!- Look, fathers!
Ngena mama!- Come inside, mother!
Woza baba!- Come, father!

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 8 - Interjections

Here are some interjections in isiNdebele:

Yebo/ Ye - Yes
Yebo-ke - Certainly ('ke' is used for emphasis)
Ehe - Yes, that's it/ approval
Hayi/ Hatshi - No
Hatshi bo - No way/ Certainly not
A'a/ Ah-ah - No (with disapproval)

Some exclamations of surprise or disapproval can be made with your tone of voice:
Hawu!- Wow!
Bakithi! - My people!
Bantu! - People!
Dadewethu! - Sister!
X! - expression of annoyance, e.g. to naughty dog or child
C! - expressing pity or disgust or grief
Phepha! - Phew! or "that was a lucky catch"
Maye! - expressing dismay or grief for another person
Uxolo! - "I beg your pardon! or "excuse me!" (From ngiyaxolisa - I apologise)

From ukubonga (to thank) you get:
ngibongile/ sibongile - I am thankful/ we are thankful

or to thank someone, use their clan name with "e-" before:
e.g. ENdlovu - Thanks, Ndlovu!
EKhumalo - Thanks, Khumalo!

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 9 - Questioning

To make a sentence into a question, one can add to the end:

1) "na?" For example:


Umngane uyahamba - My friend is going away
Umngane uyahamba na? - is my friend going away?

Abafana bathanda ukugijima kakhulu - The boys like to run fast
Abafana bathanda ukugijima kakhulu na? - Do boys like to run fast?

2)"yini?" For example:

Uyamthanda - you love him
Uyamathanda yini? - Do you (really) love him?

["yini?" by itself means 'What do you want?' or 'What's the matter?' or 'What is it?']

3) "angithi?" For example:

Angithi, ufuna ukufunda? - Isn't it so, you would like to learn?
Ufuna ukufunda, angithi? - You want to learn, don't you?


To answer these in agreement, you can use "sibili" to emphasize or say "indeed"
e.g. Abantwana bathanda ukudla - Ye, sibili!
Children like eating - Yes, indeed (definitely)!

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 10 - Greetings


When one enters a traditional isiNdebele village, one should stand at the gate a call out "Ekuhle". When someone responds to say yes, "Yebo", one may approach the housing and take a seat so that people from that village may greet one.

The greeting dialogue to address some people could be as follows (with an English translation with a similar meaning):

+Salibonani (we see you)
-Yebo, salibonani (yes, we see you)
+Linjani? (how are you [plural]?)
-Sikhona, singabuza lina? (We are here [present], may we ask you?)
+Sikhona (We are present)

This is the plural form of greetings but nowadays may even be used for greeting one person. The singular greeting, however, would be:

+Sakubona (we see you)
-Yebo, sakubona (yes, we see you)
+Kunjani? (how are you [singular]?)
-Sikhona, singabuza lina? (We are here [present], may we ask you?)
+Sikhona (We are present)

In the morning, the greeting in isiNdebele is made by asking about how the person slept or woke up, using the verb "ukuvuka" (to wake up). I, personally, use it as a joke when a colleague has been dozing off in a meeting, in which case I say "uvukenjani?" (how did you wake?), haha. You can thus also ask how a person woke (uvuke njani?) or if they woke up (uvukile?).

+Livukile? (have you [plural] woken up?)
-Sivukile, singabuza lina? (we have woken up, and you [plural]?)
+Sivukile (we have woken up)

Note: Use "uvukile" for the 'you, singular' and "ngivukile" for 'I/me' instead of the plural 'we'

To greet a person in the evening, after you have already seen them that day or recently, use the verb "ukutshona" (to set [the sun]). It describes the sun setting, so is difficult to directly translate, but perhaps use for the below "is your day winding down?" or something equivalent greeting.

+Litshonile? 
-Sitshonile, singabuza lina? 
+Sitshonile

Remember that you can use the singular too - "u-" and "ngi-", and the alternative "utshone'njani?" etc.

"Njani" is an adverb which means "how" and can be used to ask about "how" someone is or "how" something of theirs is.

For example, Linjani/ kunjani? (how are you [plural/ singular]?)
                      Sikhona/ siyaphila? (we are here/ we are healthy) would be possible replies
                      Banjani ekhaya? (how are they at home/) Bayaphila - they are well.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 11 - Saying goodbye

To say goodbye in isiNdebele, one would say either "go well' or "stay well', depending on who is physically leaving that place and who is remaining behind.

The verbs are "ukusala" for to stay/remain, and 'ukuhamba' for to go.

+Uhambe'kuhle (go well [singular])
-Usale'kuhle (stay well [singular])

+Hambani kuhle (go well [plural])
-Salani kuhle (stay well [plural])

There are alternative ways to say goodbye, such as to say goodnight. here one should use the verb "ukulala" (to sleep):

Lala kuhle (sleep well [singular])
or Ulale'kuhle (sleep well [singular])
or Lalani kuhle (sleep well [plural])

Further, one could say if someone has to go off to his home "uyelala" (go sleep) or if someone is leaving, they could say to one, "kuhlwile" (it is dark [outside]).

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 12 - How are you?

To ask about someone's health in isiNdebele, one would use the adverb 'njani' ('how') with the applicable concord before it. For example:

Unjani/ kunjani? (How are you/ greeting? [singular])
Linjani? (How are you? [plural])

Unjani umntwana? (How is the child?)
Banjani abantwana? (How are the children?)
Banjani ekhaya? (How are they at home?)

To answer, for example, one could use 'khona' (to be there/ present) or 'ukuphila' (to live/ be well) to say;

Sikhona (we are present)
Siyaphila (we are well)

also, for example, ukhona - he/ she is present
                              bayaphila - they are well
(see the prefix lesson in Lesson 3 for a recap).

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 13 - Question adverbs

To ask questions in isiNdebele, one should mainly know these four words:

  1. njani? - how?
  2. nini? - when?
  3. ...-ni? (at end of verb) - what?
  4. ngaphi? - where?
These adverbs are used with any Ndebele verb, while the verb is in the short form without "uku" or "ya". The questionning adverb is normally directly after the verb, for example:

uthunga njani? - How do you sew? (u-thunga njani - you-sew how?)
unyoko upheka nini? - When does your mother cook?
ufunani? - What do you want? (as in u-funa-ni? - you want what?)
Basebenza ngaphi khathesi? - Where are you working now?

What is interesting when talking, is that the stress on the word is at the second last syllable, thus 
uFUna, becomes ufuNAni?

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 14 - "Ukuya..", the verb for "to go to..."

Remember that "uku"  is in front of a verb to mean "to", for example "gijima" is "run" and "ukugijima" for "to run". Thus, ukuya is "to go to...".
For example, "uya ngaphi?" (where are you going?)
or abafana bayahamba (the boys are in in the process of walking).


Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 15 - "Ubani?", "whom?"

The word "bani" is often put at the end of a verb to ask a question using "who/ whom". The noun "ubani" or "obani" means "who?" or "who (plural)?"
For example, from the verb "ukudinga" (to look/ search for), similarly to asking "udingani" (what are you looking for?), one could ask "udinga bani?" (Whom are you looking for?).

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 16 - Questioning without using a verb

In English, one would use the verb "to be", as shown by "is" in a sentence such as "Where is father?". In siNdebele, we would simply say "Ungaphi ubaba?" There is no verb used here so it would translate literally to "Where father?" Similarly, we say "Banjani abafana?" for "how are the boys?" Notice the use of prefixes, "u-" and "ba-" for the words "ubaba" and "abafana". This is covered in Lesson 5 and previous lessons on noun classes.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 17 - The present tense: Long form

For the long form, we use the "...ya..." extension, for example:
Ufuna ukunatha itiye na? (Do you want to drink tea?)
Yebo, ngiyafuna (Yes, I do)

The long form is also used for when the verb is still being done. For example, you can say that you are going (Ngiyahamba) versus saying that you go (Ngihamba).

Remember that "na" is placed at the end of a sentence if we would like to make sure an isiNdebele sentence is heard as a question, and not simply a statement. Saying "uyafuna" (you like), would not be a fully understood question if one didn't say "uyafuna na?" (Do you want to?).

The long form is also used when the concord for an object is used with the verb, for example:
uyambona umfana na? - Do you see the boy? [Note the "m" before the word "bona" (to see)] or
uyabafuna abantwana na? Do you want the children?

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 18 - The present tense: Short form

The short form is different to the long form in that it does not use the "...ya...".
ngiyafuna ukupheka - I am learning to cook (at this exact time) versus
ngifunda ukupheka - I am learning to cook (in general).

Note the short form appears before a infinitive/ general expression such as ngizama ukufuna (I am trying to learn).

Another use of the short form is in a question, where the adverb allows for the use of "na?" to be unnecessary. For example:
umama upheka nini? - When does mother cook? (literally "Mother cooks when?")

If there is no object concord with the verb and there is another word after the verb, one can use the short form, for example, to say:

Ngifuna itiye - I want tea, or
Abafana banatha utshwala na? ... Hayibo, abafana banatha itiye. (Do boys drink beer?.. No way, boys drink tea).

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 19 - The negative of a present tense verb

The negative form of a present tense verb in isiNdebele  is quite simple. We add "ka-" to the beginning of the verb, before a subject concord, and change the final vowel at the end of the word to the letter "-i".

For example, Ngihamba (I go) becomes kangihambi (I don't go).

Often the "ka-" can be shortened to "a-". So angihambi.

In siNdebele, unlike some languages like isiXhosa, two vowels do not appear next to eachother. If two words come together causing two vowels to be next to eachother, either one vowel will be dropped (often using an apostrophe to substitute the dropped vowel), or they may have the letters "w" or "y" placed in between them as a semivowel.
Thus upheka (you cook) would have a negative form with "ka-upheki" which can be written "kawupheki".
Also, the noun object can be dropped, for example, so that "kangifuni ...imali" becomes "kangifuni mali", or (angifuni'mali).

Remember the use of the different types of prefixes for I, you, he/she, we, you plural, they. For example, Omama kabapheki (Our mothers (they) don't cook). Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson.



Lesson 20 - Noun class 3: Um/ Imi 

The third of the noun classes we will look at in Ndebele, is that with:

Um- or umu- as the prefix for the singular noun and
Imi- as the prefix for the plural noun.

Examples:
umfula uyageleza - the river is flowing. Uyageleza (it is flowing).
umlilo uyavutha - the fire is burning. Uyavutha (it is burning).

Imifula iyageleza - the rivers are flowing. Iyageleza.
Imililo iyavutha - the fires are burning. Iyavutha.


Concords with either "w" or "y" before the vowel.
Ngiyawubona umfula - I see the river. Ngiyawubona (I see it)
Ngiyayibona imifula - I see the rivers. Ngiyayibona (I see them).

Finally, let us look at the negative tense. Placing "ka-" in front of the subject concords, to form the negative, we need to put either a "w-" or a "y-" before the vowels. Remember to also end the word with an "-i", not an "-a".

Examples:
Umfula kawugelezi - the river is not flowing.
Imifula kayigelezi - the rivers are not flowing.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 21- Noun class 4: Ili/ Ama

The fourth of the noun classes we will look at in Ndebele, is that with:

Ili- or i- as the prefix for the singular noun and
Ama- as the prefix for the plural noun.

Examples, using concords li- and a- respectively, to make sentences:
Ijaha liyasebenza - The youth is working. Amajaha ayasebenza - The youths are working.
Ilitshe lingaphi? - Where is the stone? Amatshe angaphi? - Where are the stones?

Concords with "w" before the vowel "a-" are needed.
Ngiyalibona ijaha - I see the youth.
Ngiyawabona amajaha - I see the youths.

Finally, let us look at the negative tense. Placing "ka-" in front of the subject concords, to form the negative, we need to put a "w-" before the vowels. Remember to also end the word with an "-i", not an "-a".

Examples:
Ijaha kalisebenzi - The youth is not working.
Amajaha kawasebenzi* - The youths are not working.
*Note: here the two a vowels can be combined when talking, to sound like a long a sound:
 amajaha kasebenzi.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 22- Noun class 5: Isi/ Izi

The fifth of the noun classes we will look at in Ndebele, is that with:

Isi- as the prefix for the singular noun and
Izi- as the prefix for the plural noun.

Examples, using concord si- to make sentences:
Isalukazi siyagula - The old woman is feeling sick. Izalukazi ziyagula - The old women are sick.
Isinkwa singaphi? - Where is the bread? Izinkwa zingaphi? - Where is the bread (plural)?

Object concords with -si- and -zi-.
Ngiyasibona isinkwa - I see the bread.
Ngiyazibona izalukazi - I see the old women.


Finally, let us look at the negative tense. Placing "ka-" in front of the subject concords, to form the negative, and also ending the word with an "-i", not an "-a".

Examples:
Isinkwa kasitshisi -  The bread is not hot
Izalukazi kaziguli - The old women are not ill.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Salibonani bangane (hello friends). For those of you who would like to learn isiNdebele more formally, these are semi-formal lessons we are trying to make. The lessons are highlighted to help you find the next lesson to go to:

Lesson 23 - In/ Izin

The sixth of the noun classes we will look at in Ndebele, is that with:

In- or im- as the prefix for the singular noun and
Izin- or izim- as the prefix for the plural noun.

Examples, using concord i- to make sentences:
Inja iyadla - The dog is eating. Izinja ziyadla - The dogs are eating.
Isinkwa singaphi? - Where is the bread? Izinkwa zingaphi? - Where is the bread (plural)?

Object concords of the vowel i- is with a y, and a z- is for the plural.
Ngiyayibona inja - I see the dog.
Ngiyayibona - I see it.
Ngiyazibona izinja - I see the dogs.

Finally, let us look at the negative tense, again using y-, and placing "ka-" in front of the subject concords, to form the negative, and also ending the word with an "-i", not an "-a".

Examples:
Inja kayidli -  The dog is not eating.
Imbuzi kazidli (goats plural) - The goats are not eating.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 24 - Ulu/ Izin

The seventh of the noun classes we will look at in Ndebele, is that with:

Ulu- or u- as the prefix for the singular noun and
Izin- or izim- as the prefix for the plural noun.

Most nouns (just the noun stems themselves) in this class, have more than one syllable. For these, u- is used, for example ugwalo (book or letter) and izingwalo (books or letters).

For noun stems of only one syllable, ulu- is used. For example, uluthi (stick) and izinti (sticks).

Example sentences:
Ulutho lungaphi - Where is the thing. Izintho zingaphi - Where are the things?.
Usane luyakhala - The baby is crying Insane ziyakhala - The babies are crying

Ngiyalubona uluthi - I see the stick.
Ngiyazibona izinti - I see the sticks

Finally, let us look at the negative tense, again using lu- or zi-, and placing "ka-" in front of the subject concords, to form the negative, and also ending the word with an "-i", not an "-a".

Examples:
Ufudu kaludli - The tortoise is not eating.
Insane kazikhali - The babies are not crying.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab





Lesson 25 - Ubu

This class of noun only has one prefix, Ubu- for the singular and plural.

For example: ubunyonyo - either one ant or many ants,
Ubusuku - night(s)
Ubuhlungu - pain(s)

Most of the nouns are abstract words, such as:
Ubuhle - beauty (from -hle - beautiful).

Two nouns which are in this class, though they appear to have the prefix u- only, are:
utshani - grass
utshwala - beer

Example sentences:
Ubunyonyo buyahamba - the ants are going
Ngiyabubona - I see them
Utshani kabukhuli kuhle - the grass is not growing nicely

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 26 - Uku

This class has the verb infinitives used as nouns. The prefix is Uku-.

For example: ukudla - means both "to eat" (verb infinitive) and "food"
Ukuthula - means "to be quiet", and "peace"

The subject concord is ku-, and the object concord is -ku-. For example:
Ukudla kunjaphi? - Where is the food? (The food is where?)
Ngiyakufuna - I want it (the food)

It should be noted that the ku- concord may be used instead of the pronoun "it", when you are not refering to a particular thing/ person. For example:

Kuhle - It is nice/ good
Kuyini? -  What is it?
Kukhala inyoni - There is a bird crying (it cries, a bird).

For the negative, as usual, you change the last letter from the verb from "-a" to "-i", for example:
Ukuthula kakufiki -  Peace does not come.

Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 27 - Words derived from different languages

For this lesson, we will look at the use of nouns derived from other languages, such as English. The words often have their spelling changed, in order to adopt them for isiNdebele use. For example, "police" becomes "ipholisa". These derived nouns can be sorted into the noun types/ classes discussed previously, such as I-/Ama-, In-/Izin- (mostly for borrowed words beginning with a M or N), Isi-/Izi- (mostly for words beginning with a S), U-/O- (mostly for words for people).

Some examples:
Ipholisa liyafika - The policeman is arriving
Amapholisa ayafika - The policemen are arriving.

Injini ihamba kuhle - The engine is going well.

Isikolo singaphi? Ngiyasidinga - Where is the school? I am looking for it.

Udokotela ungaphi? Where is the doctor?
Ngiyawabona amadokotela - I see the doctors.

There are other noun classes that the derived words can be placed in, but these are the main ones. More can be seen in the vocabulary pages.

Ok, sahle kahle (stay well) until next lesson.



Lesson 28 - Using "here is..." or "there is..."

For this lesson, we use "here is" to indicate a person or object. In Ndebele, we should use, depending on the noun which follows, either "nan-" or "nam-" to say "here is...".

e.g. Nangu umama (nangu'mama) - Here is mother
Alternatively, you could say Umama nangu.

There are three slight variations, depending on whether you say "here is...", "there is..." or "over there is...".

e.g. Nanzi izinja - Here are the dogs
Nanzo izinja - There are the dogs
Nanziya izinja - Over there are the dogs

In the last instance, -ya or -yana can be used. For example, nankaya amaqanda - over there are the eggs. If you want to ask where something is and reply simply, it would be:
Ungaphi umganu? - Where is the plate?
Nanku - Here it is

Ok, sahle kahle (stay well) until next lesson. If you have any questions, you can ask in the Community Questions tab:




Lesson 29 - Adverbs for Relative Positions of Items

For this lesson, we will look words used for the relative positions of items, such as "behind" in
Inja isemuva - The dog is behind

The main adverbs for positioning are:
phandle (outside) and phakathi (inside)
khonapho (there) and khonapha (here)
khatshana (far) and eduze (near)
emuva (behind) and phambili (in front)
phansi (down/ on the floor) and phezulu (up/ in the sky)
phetsheya - on the other side (also used for something/someone who is abroad)

In a sentence, for example, we would use them as:
Abantu bavela phetsheya - the people are coming from abroad.
Imbiza iphansi - the pot is on the floor.
Inja kayisemuva - the dog is not behind.
Unyoko ukhona na? - Is your mother present? (Remember "na" is used to make the sentence a question)
Ye, umama ukhona phakathi - Yes, mother is here inside.
Amabhasi akhona koGwanda - There are buses in Gwanda.


Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab




Lesson 30 - Adjectives and Words for Relative Sizes of Items

To describe things using adjectives such as -mnandi (nice), we must use connecting words or stems, such as "ku-" in this example:
Ukudla ku-mnandi (The food is nice. Ukudla kumnandi).

Some of the adjectives include:
-lula (light or easy)
-nzima (heavy)
-mnandi (sweet or nice or delicious)
-buhlungu (painful/ sore) such as umunwe u-buhlungu (the finger is sore)

A negative can also be made from these words, for example:
Umunwe kawubuhlungu (The finger is not painful)
Ukudla kakumnandi (the food is not delicious)


Sala kahle (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 31 - The Past Tense and Perfect Tense

In Ndebele, there are two ways to talk about the past. For this lesson, we will look at these two ways. It is either using the Past Tense (for something which happened quite long ago in the past) or the Perfect Tense (for something that happened not long ago; in the last few days or so).

In the Present Tense, use 'a' instead of 'i', for example, ngi becomes nga, ngibona becomes ngabona.
In the Perfect Tense, use '-ile' at the end of the verb, for example hamba becomes hambile.

For example: 'Amajaha abona' would be used to say the young people saw, in the past tense.
'Ijaha lihambile' would be used to say the young person has left, in the perfect tense.

'Inja yabona' - The dog saw (past tense)
'Inja kayibonanga' - The dog did not see (past tense, in the negative)
'Umfana ubonile' - The boy has seen (in the perfect tense, so it happened recently)
'Umfana kambonanga' - The boy did not see (note that the negative is the same in the two tenses)

There are some exceptions to this -ile rule, and they will be discussed in the next lesson.
Hambani kahle (go well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 32 - The Perfect Tense for Verbs ending in -ala, -ana, or -ela

Salibonani.
There are some exceptions to the rules in isiNdebele, just like in English and other languages. Today we will cover three of these, where the verbs do not end with -ile, in the perfect tense. These are the verbs ending in -ala, -ana, or -ela, when used in the perfect tense. In today's lesson, we will give examples of each, and then you should remember these exceptions after we explain it.

-ala. For example, ulala (sleep), becomes ulele, in the perfect tense. Umama ulala (mother is sleeping), becomes umama ulele (mother has fallen asleep). However, a few exceptions of -ala verbs end in -ile, in the perfect tense. Umfana udlala (the boy plays) becomes umfana udlalile (the boy has played).


The general rule is that if the -ala Ndebele verb is short (1 or 2 syllables), it uses -ile, whereas if it is longer, 3 or more syllables, it uses -ele.

-ana. For example, uhlangana (meet up), becomes uhlangene (has met up). Thus Abafana bahlangana (the boys meet up) becomes Abafana bahlangene (the boys have met up).

-ela. For example, uhlabela (sing) becomes uhlabele (sung), so ubaba uhlabela (dad sings) becomes ubaba uhlabele (dad did sing/ sung). There is a second exception, for -ela Ndebele verbs which are short (2 syllables), and that is to become -ile, in the perfect tense. For example, utshela (tell) can be used as ngimtshelile (I have told her).

Hambani kahle (go well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 33 - The Perfect Tense for the Verbs ukuPhatha and ukuThatha

Salibonani bangane.
Lamhla, let us look at the verbs ukuphatha (to carry) and ukuthatha (to take). These are two common, everyday verbs, and can sometimes be interchangeable, for example, you could ngiphatha amagroceries (carry the groceries in your hands) or you could ngithatha amagroceries (take the groceries somewhere). The exception for these two verbs is that they do not use the -ile rule when they are in the perfect tense. Let us look at how they look:

Umama uphethe magroceries - Mum is holding the groceries in her hands.
Ubaba uthethe magroceries na? - Has dad taken the groceries?
As you can see, this is quite different to the previous lessons on the perfect tense, but luckily it is just these 2 exceptions you must remember.
Kuhle, salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 34 - The Perfect Tense for the Verbs Ending with "ala", "ana", "ela" or "ila"

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at the verbs ending with "ala", "ana", "ela" or "ila". These are verbs which don't obey the general ending in the perfect tense, of ending with "ile".

For verbs ending in "ala", the ending in the perfect tense becomes "ele", examples being:
ukulala (to sleep/ rest) becomes umfana ulele (the boy is sleeping).
ukulimala (to be hurt) becomes ubaba ulimele (father was hurt).

For verbs ending in "ana", the ending in the perfect tense becomes "ene", examples being:
ukuhlangana (to meet up) becomes ogogo bahlangene (the old ladies/ grannies have met up, though you can use izalukazi for old ladies too).
ukufumana (to discover/find) becomes ulefumene (you have found it).

For verbs ending in "ela", the ending in the perfect tense becomes "ele", examples being:
ukutshela (to tell someone) becomes ngimtshelile (I have told them).
ukufumana (to discover/find) becomes ulefumene (you have found it).

These are some exceptions, whereas other verbs will end with "ile", we just need to be aware of the exceptions in the perfect tense.
Kuhle, salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 35 - The Perfect Tense for Describing a Present State of Something/ Someone

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at how the state that someone or something is in, at the moment, is described in siNdebele. This ties in with the previous lesson with "ile" endings. For example, you could say "ukudla kusele na?" - Is there any food left (currently/ at this present time)? Other examples used to describe the current time are:

ukuphatha (to carry). Inkazana iphethe ugwalo - The girl is carrying the book.
ukulamba (to be hungry). Ngilambile - I am hungry (currently)
ukuphila (to be well). Ngiphelile - I am well (at the moment). Similar to the present tense, Ngiyaphila (I am well).
ukufanela (to have to do something). Bafanele ukufunda - They must learn
ukumela (to have to also). Bamele ukulalela - They must listen.
ukubambeka (to be busy). Ngibambekile - I am busy.

Kuhle, salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab



Lesson 36 - The Future Tense for Describing Future Happenings

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at how to say that you will do something in the future. In isiNdebele, you add a "-za" after the subject concord and before the stem of the verb. For example, you can use the present tense sentense "ngihamba" (I go), and then add the "-za" to make it future tense to say "Ngizahamba". Technically you can use in full "ukuhamba" (to go, remember that "uku-" makes the verb into "to do something"), so you can say in the future tense "ngizakuhamba" (I am going to go). Kuhle, let us go over a few more future tense examples for you to practice putting the "-za" with the verb and with the verb preceeded by "uku-" and also with the negative case "Ka-" added at the beginning. 

Ugogo uzahamba - Granny will go. 
Ngizambona kusasa - I shall see her tomorrow (note the addition of the "m" object concord before the verb, because you are not going to "see tomorrow", but "see her tomorrow").
Ubaba uzakudla - Father will eat (is going to eat in the future).
Umama kazukudla - Mother will not eat (note the use of "ka-" to make it negative future tense).
Kangiyikudla - I shall not eat (Note the "ka-" to make it negative, and the long form "yiku" in this case).

Salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 37 - The isiNdebele Verbs Beginning with Vowels (a,e,i,o,u)

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at some verbs that begin with vowels. Remember that the vowels are a,e,i,o, and u, and are defiierent to consonents. Kulungile, so the verbs thus start with a,e,i,o, or u, and can be a bit confusing at first, if you are used to verbs beginning with consonents, such as uku-dla, or uku-hamba (to eat and to go). Some of the verbs beginning with vowels are fairly common, so look through the list below and then learn how to use them:

-enza - make or do,
-oma - get thirsty or dry,
-esaba - be scared or fear,
-ala - refuse (not want to),
-azi - know,
-esula - wipe up or wipe clean,
-akha - construct or build.

There are others but these are some common verbs beginning with vowels. So if you -akha (build), then the usual way to show a verb is to use uku- (to), such as ukuhamba (to go), so it would be uku-akha, which becomes ukwakha as two vowels cannot be next to eachother in isiNdebele. The common way to join these verbs starting with a vowel, is using "w" or "y" or dropping a vowel. For example:

uku-akha (to build) becomes ukwakha,
uku-azi (to know) becomes ukuyazi,
uku-oma (to become thirsty) is ukoma.

Other examples include:
u-enzani (remember the -ni on the end is to ask a question) becomes wenzani? (what is she doing?), or yenza itiye (make the tea),
uku-ala becomes ukwala (to refuse)
uku-azi (to know) becomes ukwazi such as ngiyazi (I know), angazi (I don't know), ngiyakwazi (I know it), angikwazanga (I didn't know it), angikwazi ukupheka (I don't know how to cook).

Salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 38 - The isiNdebele Verbs Beginning with Vowels (a,e,i,o,u)

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at some verbs that begin with vowels. Remember that the vowels are a,e,i,o, and u, and are defiierent to consonents. Kulungile, so the verbs thus start with a,e,i,o, or u, and can be a bit confusing at first, if you are used to verbs beginning with consonents, such as uku-dla, or uku-hamba (to eat and to go). Some of the verbs beginning with vowels are fairly common, so look through the list below and then learn how to use them:

-enza - make or do,
-oma - get thirsty or dry,
-esaba - be scared or fear,
-ala - refuse (not want to),
-azi - know,
-esula - wipe up or wipe clean,
-akha - construct or build.

There are others but these are some common verbs beginning with vowels. So if you -akha (build), then the usual way to show a verb is to use uku- (to), such as ukuhamba (to go), so it would be uku-akha, which becomes ukwakha as two vowels cannot be next to eachother in isiNdebele. The common way to join these verbs starting with a vowel, is using "w" or "y" or dropping a vowel. For example:

uku-akha (to build) becomes ukwakha,
uku-azi (to know) becomes ukuyazi,
uku-oma (to become thirsty) is ukoma.

Other examples include:
u-enzani (remember the -ni on the end is to ask a question) becomes wenzani? (what is she doing?), or yenza itiye (make the tea),
uku-ala becomes ukwala (to refuse)
uku-azi (to know) becomes ukwazi such as ngiyazi (I know), angazi (I don't know), ngiyakwazi (I know it), angikwazanga (I didn't know it), angikwazi ukupheka (I don't know how to cook).

Salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions, or if you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or get involved as a volunteer by emailing us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. For any questions, please ask and answer those of other learners in the Community Questions tab


Lesson 39 - The Subjunctive Mood ("let me...", "may I..." etc)

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at the subjunctive mood which can be used in the future or present tense in isiNdebele. The subjunctive mood is formed when the verb ending 'a' is changed to an 'e'. For all the concords we have covered, besides the u- concord (as in from um/aba), uses the 'a' to connect the sentence. During pronunciation, the stress is on the second last syllable in the verb. Kulungile, let us show this in some examples to make it clear.

We know ukuhamba is "to go". We can say siyahamba "we are going". Now with the subjunctive mood, we can say sihambe "let us go/ may we go". In practice, 'a-' is used as a prefix so it becomes "asihambe" for "let's go". For the negative, the last vowel of the verb, changes from '-a' to '-i' as in previous negatives from earlier lessons, and "nga" is added after the verb concord. Thus, "let us not go" would be asingahambi. A useful and nice way to ask something in the subjunctive mood, is to use "Ake" before the sentence. For example, Ake sihambe for "Please let us go".

We know from previous lessons that ukusiza is "to help", as in ngiyasiza, "I am helping". Now for the subjunctive mood, the ending 'a' becomes an 'e' as we discussed. Thus we have Ubaba usize, 'father may you help me', ngikusize "may I help you?", with "ake" it would be akungisize for "please help me".

Salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. If you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele .



Lesson 40 - The Imperative or Emphatic Verb using "-bo"

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at how to emphasize that something "must be done" using "-bo" as in the examples below.

Siyasebenza - we are working,
Sibosebenza - we must work.

To speak in the third person, you can connect a noun and verb using "a-" such as:

Umfana abosebenza - the boy must work.
Abokwenza - he must make.

To use the negative form and "-bo", you use "-nga-" such as in the examples below.

Umfana angabosebenza - the boy must not work.
Ungabokwenza - he must not work.

Now to use the imperative verb with an object instead of a person, you can change the verb stem to "-e", such as in the examples below.

Nanti igwili, lipheke - here is a potato, it must be cooked,
Nanka amagwili, aphekeni - here are some potatoes, they ought to be cooked.

Salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. If you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.



Lesson 41 - To Express the Ability or Potential

Salibonani bangane.
 Lamhla, let us look at how to express that you are able to do something, in a potential mood. Here it may be confusing because "-nga-" is used, but it is not to express a negative. Some examples are below.

Siyapheka - we are cooking,
Singapheka - we can cook,
Ubaba uyapheka - father is cooking,
Ubaba angapheka - father can/ has the ability to cook.

Some ways that you can use this expression of having an ability to do something are given below:

Ungahamba - you may go,
Inja ingaluma - the dog might bite,
Ngingathwala lokho - I can carry that.

Conversely, you can express the negative or one's inability to do something, is to use "-ehluleka" which means "to fail". Examples are thus as given below.

Ubaba uyehluleka ukupheka - father cannot cook (fails to cook)
Siyehluleka ukupheka - we cannot cook
Ngiyehluleka ukupheka, mina - Myself, I cannot cook.

Salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. If you would like to support us, please go to our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/NorthernNdebele or email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.





Lesson 42 - Pronouns for me, you, they etc
Salibonani bangane. Lamhla, let us look at how to say things like "he/ she" or "they" with the appropriate isiNdebele pronouns. For each subject concord, there is an appropriate pronoun. Some examples of pronouns that go with concords are below.

Mina - me/ I, for the concord ngi-,
Wena - you, for the concord u-,
Yena - he/she or him/her, for the concord u-,
Thina - us/we, for the concord si-,
Lina - you (plural), for the concord li-,
Bona - them/they, for the concord ba-,

As can be seen, the first letter is added to "-ona" for they/ them, as b-ona. This "-ona" is used often. For concords with u- or a-, it becomes "wona", while for concord i- it is "yona". The exception is the concord u- when used for a person, is "yena". Here are some practice sentences:

Bona? NgoNdlovu. - Them? They are the Ndlovus.
Mina, ngithanda ukudlala kodwa wena uthanda ukusebenza kakhulu - Myself I like to play but you you like to work a lot.

From the singular and plural of the noun classes discussed in previous lessons, here are the corresponding pronouns:

u- yena,
ba- bona,
u- wona,
i- yona,
li- lona,
a- wona,
si- sona,
zi zona,
i- yona,
zi- zona,
lu- lona,
zi- zona,
bu- bona,
ku- khona.


Salani kahle bangane (stay well friends), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. We are working on a simple introduction to Northern Ndebele booklet, so let us know if you want us to email it to you when it's done. If you would like to work with us, please say hi at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.




Lesson 43 - Using verbs to address two nouns
Salibonani bangane. Lamhla, let us look at something which might be confusing in any language, and the same in isiNdebele. It is if you want to use a verb to say that you are going to do something, but refer to two separate objects. 

For example, say you want to say that you will give father some food, and not to give some father to the food. Thus you would say: 

Ngizanika ubaba ukudla. I will give father some food. 

Here the order is important so you should usually put the person first and then the other object you are giving second. Following with the example, you can correctly say:

Ngizamnika ukudla - I will give him some food.
...njalo ngizabanika abantwana isinkwa - ...and I will give some bread to the children.

Lisale (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. We are working on a simple introduction to Northern Ndebele booklet, so let us know if you want us to email it to you when it's done. If you would like to work with us, please say hi at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.



Lesson 44 - Using the words "All" or "Every"
Salibonani bangane. Lamhla, let us look at how you would describe items using the word for "all". This is not so straightforward in isiNdebele as it depends on the noun you are referring to, though the word for "all" always ends with -nke. This is both to do with the spelling of the noun, and also for people, whether it is in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person. Let us deal with the latter first.

For the 3rd person, use ba- such as to say "all of them" is bona bonke,
for the 2nd person, use li- such as for "all of you" is lina lonke,
and finally for the 1st person, use si- such as for "all of us" is thina sonke.

Ok, now for the use of -nke with spelling of the noun. Go back to the previous lessons if you have forgotten the noun classes such as um/imi, isi/izi and their associated pronouns. Here are examples of the main options in isiNdebele:

Umuntu ... wonke - the entire person,
abantu ... bonke - all of the people,
umuzi ... wonke - the whole village,
imizi ... yonke - all of the villages,
iqanda ... lonke - all of the egg,
amaqanda ... wonke - all of the eggs,
isihlahla ... sonke - all of the tree,
izihlahla ... zonke - all of the trees,
ukudla ... konke - all of the food.

Lisale (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. We are working on a simple introduction to Northern Ndebele booklet, so let us know if you want us to email it to you when it's done. If you would like to work with us, please say hi at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.



Lesson 45 - Expressing doing something "With" someone

Salibonani bangane. Lamhla, let us look at how you would say that you are doing something with someone else. Here in isiNdebele we use "la-" before the other person. Remember from previous lessons, that the vowel changes depending on the word that the "la-" coalesces or joins to.

For example:

Ngiyahamba la - ubaba becomes ngiyahamba lobaba (I go with father).

As a reminder, here the ending -a coalesces with the beginning u- to form "o-".

The other 3 rules to remember are:

a- and a- remain a-,
a- and i- become e-,
and for the plurals in isiNdebele, you add or insert a "-b-", 
for example ngiyahamba la- omama becomes ngiyahamba labomama, I am going with the mothers.

Mina lomama, siyahamba - myself and mother (mother and I) we are going.
Inja lomangoye uyahamba - the dog and cat are going.

Lisale (stay well), until next lesson, check out the other tabs on the Northern Ndebele website, such as the Community Questions where you can answer or ask questions. If you would like to contribute or get involved as a volunteer, or if you have suggestions, please email us at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com. We have been working on a simple introduction to Northern Ndebele booklet, so let us know if you want us to email it to you. If you would like to work with us, please say hi at northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.



Reminder Lesson on Greetings

In isiNdebele, here is a reminder of some of the greetings again, to say hello, but also to say goodbye.

Lala kuhle - sleep well,
Hamba kuhle - go well (said to say goodbye to one who is leaving),
Sala kuhle - stay well (said to the person staying),
Salibonani - Greetings to you (it literally means "we see you"),
Sakubona - Greetings to you (said to one person),
Kunjani/ Linjani? - How are you (singular/ plural)?
Ngikhona/ Sikhona - I/ We are here (and ok),
Ngiyaphila/ siyaphila - I/ we are healthy,
Uvukile? - How did you wake/ sleep? (said in the morning usually),
Sivukile, singabuza lina? - We have woken well, and what about you?





105 comments:

  1. thanx umgani, uyasiza kakhulu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Siyajabula ukuzwa ukuthi uyafunda kahle, mngane. Siyajabula kakhulu. (We are happy to know that you are learning well, friend; very happy).

      Delete
  2. thanks, i really want to learn isiNdebele

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:12 AM

      You are very welcome. We hope you can learn happily here, with the different tabs and content available here.

      Delete
  3. I am and will be living in the city of kings for the next few years, i want to learn the language and culture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:20 AM

      That is great news. Bulawayo is a very nice city. We hope the lessons, books and content here on the blog, can help you to pick up isiNdebele, and grow your understanding.

      Delete
  4. this is great!!!! good job keep the good work!!!! WELL DONE :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:15 AM

      Ah, siyabonga kakhulu.

      Delete
  5. This good I am impressed I could give u £/$5000

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:11 AM

      Well, that is a generous offer. If you would like to support the blog, and help us to bring out new content, consider becoming a Patron on our shiny new Patreon site, or make a donation via the pathways on the Contact tab. You can contact us too on our email. That would be great, and we appreciate your comments and just to know that you are enjoying learning isiNdebele on the blog.

      Delete
  6. Ngiya bonga kakhulu. my native tongue is Shona and i find this very helpful in my quest to be multilingual.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:14 AM

      Sure Anonymous, siyajabula you are learning. Hopefully you will enjoy the blog and learning isiNdebele.

      Delete
  7. Would want to learn isiNdebele private tutor lessons I live in the uk London, please let me know

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately we don't give 1 on 1 sessions at this time.

      Delete
  8. it was not much help it needs stuff like bathandana njenga mathe le limi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you have suggestions, we welcome things to add, please email your thoughts to northernndebeleblog@gmail.com .

      Delete
  9. pretty good lessons! keep it up! ngiyathanda isiNdebele lehliziyo yami yonke!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. U say 'Ngiyasithanda isiNdebele ngenhliziyo yami yonke".

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good stuff but I feel we must differentiate between spoken and correct language. I have made few observations on this lessons:
    1. Inkezo I think you should also highlight that it also means a cup.
    2. Where you say 'ixhegu laxoxomela laxamalaza' am not sure whether 'xoxomela' is regional because most people use 'qoqomela' instead.
    3. Where you say' umfana omncinyane ogijimayo ucakile', ucakile is spoken language but the correct language ucakile is used for animals and the correct word to used for people is uzacile.
    4. Brother/Sister (bhudi/sisi), the correct words to use is Brother {mfowethu/ mnewethu for older brother/ mnawami for younger brother} and Sister (dadewethu).
    5. isitemo is widely used but the most correct word is (isangelo).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ngiyabonga mngane. We appreciate feedback and contribution in this community, and are happy to improve together. Email us any time, northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.

      Delete
  12. thank you ,'Ngiyasithanda isiNdebele kakhulu"

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for the lessons. do also do 1 on 1 sessions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately we don't give 1 on 1 sessions at this time.

      Delete
  14. I note a couple of people have asked for i on 1 sessions, do you offer these at all?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Unfortunately we don't give 1 on 1 sessions at this time.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lessons appreciated. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Pliz I need help with translating court terms, I need a tutor or a book for interpreters

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kwaze kwakuhle sibili,ngiyabonga mina

    ReplyDelete
  19. Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:25 AM

      Siyabonga Yooh, we are glad you find the different places on the blog useful, with stuff to help on your journey learning isiNdebele.

      Delete
  20. I have been looking for such lessons online for the past six months. ngizoba inxitshi. ngayabonga kakhulu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:23 AM

      Sure Tafadzwa, we wish you had found our community blog sooner, haha. Enjoy learning isiNdebele and exploring all the tabs on the blog here. Siyabonga kakhulu

      Delete
  21. Ngiyabonga , ye sibili. Ngibongile mfundisi.

    ReplyDelete
  22. You are a life saver. Been struggling for months to find easy to follow Ndebele lessons that go beyond basic greetings. Ngiyabonga, ngiyabonga, ngiyabonga!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Ai ngi jabule ka khulu..ngi fundile uku khuluma indebele.
    Ngini thanda nonke ��
    #TswanaQueen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TswanaQueen, mina ngiyajabula futhi. Khuluma phela. Isindebele is yours, have fun and keep learning.

      Delete
  24. Thank you for the lessons. How do you write, 'Konthutu ziyatunqa,' and what does it mean?

    ReplyDelete
  25. thank you so much. My son is very interested in Isindebele and just knew Salibonani and names of animals. siyabonga umgane wami...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Your impressive and unique content amazed me. You have written perfect piece. Thanks for sharing this with all of us.
    Amazing

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you for this wonderful work. Don't get tired. Keep going.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:18 AM

      Siyabonga Davison, we hope to keep improving the blog to help the community to learn isiNdebele.

      Delete
  28. Ngiyabonga baba ,zinhle izifundo Lexi

    ReplyDelete
  29. Ngyabonga mgane wami ngifundile isiNdebele kodwa ngifuna ukufunda yonke

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thank you my friend that i am learning isiNdebele and i wish to learn the whole language.

      Delete
    2. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:07 AM

      That is great, that is what this community blog is for. You made our day, keep enjoying isiNdebele.

      Delete
  30. Kuhle kuyabukeka lokhu mfowethu. muhle umsebenzi owenzayo. ngizizwa ngilomlandu omkhulu wokufundisa abanye abantu ulimi lwesiNdebele. Mina ngizaqala ukufundisa abantu isinNdebele 1-on-1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kuhle sibili, email northernndebeleblog@gmail.com.

      Delete
  31. Surely 'school' is not isitolo? I thought that meant town or shop? What is "school" in isiNdebele?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are 100% correct, ngiyabonga Unknown, we have corrected the spelling mistake, thank you.

      Delete
    2. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:05 AM

      Siyabonga, spelling mistakes can happen, so we appreciate it. Isikolo is a school.

      Delete
  32. Keep it up Ngowethu/Dadewethu uyabukekha umsebenzi wakho muhle

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi,I was born in Zimbabwe but I left at 8 and forgotten how to speak isiNdebele. Is it possible to get in contact with an online tutor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:00 AM

      Hi Charmaine. You are very welcome. We plan to add some more features in the future. For now, check out our Lessons tab for over 30 lessons from basic to intermediate. Also, under the Books tab, we have 2 beginner books currently available on Amazon. Look around the blog and hopefully you can remember some phrases, and pick up some new words. We welcome community questions in that tab here on the blog too.

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  34. Ngiyabonga kakhulu, ngiceli ukhuthi unikhe more syllables

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    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 3:02 AM

      Siyabonga Anonymous, we appreciate your feedback. What do you mean by "syllables"? We are constantly trying to improve the blog so will be happy to try add what you want too.

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  35. This is a nice piece of work. I want to learn isiNdebele and I found this so helpful. I was not fortunate to be exposed to Ndebele but believe that living in a diverse world were we are united requires that we be equipped with the mode of communicating through language. Ngiyabonga.Sala Kahle.

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    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 2:55 AM

      Very well put, Trust. You are most welcome here ��.

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  36. Great job. My husband is Ndebele but I'm not from Zim so I desperately want to learn. There's a lot to learn here. Will you be adding more lessons?

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  37. Kuhle sibili, we are glad you're learning siNdebele. Siyabonga. For sure, we will add some more lessons this week. We also have two Northern Ndebele books for sale on Amazon. The book called "Northern Ndebele Phrasebook" has useful everyday sentences you can use with your husband. The second little book is called "Northern Ndebele for Beginners" on Amazon. Both have a red (bomvu) top half of the front cover.

    Keep enjoying the Lessons tab and also check out the other tabs on the website to keep learning about Ndebele.

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  38. Siyabonga kakhulu umngane! Went from almost zero to 120 in a matter of days. Thanks. If you could also add a future lesson for linking words (?) like but, because, and, if, although etc that would take us even further. This cannot have been easy. Siyabonga kakhulu again!

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    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 2:54 AM

      Siyajabula Lutha, we're happy you are enjoying learning with us. That is great. We are always trying to improve the community blog so appreciate your feedback. We are looking at offering more on the blog, and have created a Patreon page for fans, so we can record audio too. For now we are all hoping for the Covid19 emergency to decrease, so remember hlala ekhaya - stay home and stay safe.

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  39. Thanks so much.You just made the language easy and interesting to learn. Looking forward to the next lesson

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    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogApril 21, 2020 at 2:48 AM

      You are welcome, Unknown. We are glad you are enjoying learning isiNdebele here. For now, we hope this Covid19 emergency passes without affecting too many people. What we can say is hlala ekhaya - stay home.

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  40. Wooow. This has been super helpful. Ngcono ngigijime kuAmazon ngizithengele ibhuku lokubala lelo. Sicela amanye amalessons futhi kublog yenu.

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  41. One of the most helpful blogs i have come across in a lifetime....keep it up guys, you are doing extremely well !!!!

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  42. I have been looking for this for years, now l can learn isindebele. Would be nice if you can attach some clip vidoes for pronunciation. This is brilliant,good work.

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  43. Salibonani bangani. Ngiyathemba kuthi Lina lizahamba pambili lomsebezini wokufundisa Bantu isiNdebele. AmaPost akho ale great basics Loma fundamentals. UNkulunkulu abe lali. Ngiyabonga bangane

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  44. Thanks so much guys, I hope you will send more staff soon I'm really enjoying these lessons and I have learnt a lot from them. Siyabonga kakhulu.

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  45. Finally i get to learn my favorite language the easy. I have been dying to get IsiNdebele lessons. Ngiyabonga

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  46. Finally i get to learn my favorite language the easy way . I have been dying to get IsiNdebele lessons. Ngiyabonga

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  47. very informative and i am learning isiNdebele more comfortably. ngiyabonga kakhulu mngane wami

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  48. I am humbled by such dedication and zeal to teach fellow brothers & sisters!

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    1. Yebo! Imbiza ibila ngokukhwezelwa. :)

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  49. An interesting native langauge ,ngiyajabula ukukwazi isindebele. Ngiyabonga !!!!!

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  50. This is so helpful, me and my son are excited to start the lessons.

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    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogJuly 4, 2023 at 1:35 AM

      Kuhle sibili! Very good, that is great to hear. Inkomo ikhula lamanono ayo, develop the skills from young. Enjoy the journey both of you.

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  51. Thank you for lesson

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  52. wow you have a way of making the lessons interesting .greatly appreciate you.Siyabonga

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    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogJuly 4, 2023 at 1:29 AM

      Siyabonga. This makes us so happy to hear. Enjoy them.

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  53. Thankyou so much. I love Sindebele. Please help with , thankyou, for a meal?
    I think you. We thank you?

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    1. Hi Gogs, you can ask questions in the Community Questions tab too. If you are satisfied after food, you can say sengisuthi. You can use -bonga to say thanks, so ngiyabonga/ siyabonga for you. Check the Lessons tab for more.

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  54. Ngiyabonga this is very detailed and helpful although is there like a document that can be accessed offline?

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  55. This is Isizulu not IsiNdebele. Most of the words are written in IsiZulu only few words are written in IsiNdebele.

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    1. NorthernNdebeleBlogJuly 4, 2023 at 1:23 AM

      Hi Anonymous, thank you for your comment. This blog is about the Northern Ndebele language, which is primarily spoken in Zimbabwe. There are similarities with isiZulu and other Bantu languages, and the languages are mutually intelligible to some degree.

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  56. thank you so much

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  57. Thank you very much

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  58. This is helpful thank you so much, im enjoying this journey of learning isindebele

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  59. Thank you. I am a Shona, I was looking for something to help me learn Ndebele. I will come with feedback soon. I am very excited.

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Comment lapha please