Basic phrases
Here's a list of useful basic phrases in Sesotho in both the South African and Lesotho orthographies.
|
ENGLISH |
SESOTHO (South Africa) |
SESOTHO (Lesotho) |
| Excuse me. | Ntshwarele | Ntsoarele |
| I beg your pardon. | Tswarelo | Tsoarelo |
| Thank you. | Ke a leboha | Kea leboha |
| Congratulations. | Re a o lebohela | Rea u lebohela |
| Help! | Thusa! | Thusa! |
| Come and help me. | Tlo o tlo nthusa. | Tloo tlo nthusa. |
| No | Tjhee | E-e |
| Yes | Ee | E |
| Please | Ka kopo / Ako.../...hle | Ka kopo / Ak'u .../... hle |
| What is the time? | Ke nako mang? | Ke nako mang? |
| What day is it? | Ke la bokae kajeno? | Ke la bokae kajeno? |
| What month is it? | Ke kgwedi efe e? | Ke khoedi efe e? |
| It is ... Wednesdag/April | Ke ... Laboraro/Mmesa | Ke Laboraro/'Mesa |
| Who are you? | O mang? | U mang? |
| I am Thabo. | Nna ke Thabo. | 'Na ke Thabo. |
| I am not Thabo. | Nna ha ke Thabo. | 'Na ha ke Thabo. |
| You are Lerato. | Wena o Lerato. | Uena u Lerato. |
| You are not Lerato. | Wena ha o Lerato. | Uena ha u Lerato. |
| What is your name? | Lebitso la hao ke mang? | Lebitso la hau u mang? |
| What is your surname? | Fane ya hao ke mang? | Fane ea hau u mang? |
| My name is ... | Lebitso la ka ke ... | Lebitso la ka ke ... |
| My surname is ... | Fane ya ka ke ... | Fane ea ka ke ... |
| Where do you live? | O dula kae? | U lula kae? |
|
I live in Qwaqwa. |
Ke dula Qwaqwa. | Ke lula Maseru. |
| What is your address? | Aterese ya hao e reng? | Aterese ea hau e reng? |
| Where do you come from? | O tswa kae? | U tsoa kae? |
| When is your birthday? | Letsatsi la hao la tswalo le neng? | Letsatsi la hau le tsoalo le neng? |
| How old are you? | O dilemo tse kae? | U lilemo tse kae? |
| Are you happy? | O thabile? | U thabile? |
| I want ... | Ke batla ... | Ke batla ... |
| I don't want ... | Ha ke batle ... | Ha ke batle ... |
| Don't blame me. | Se ke wa mpea molato. | Se ke oa mpea molato. |
| Don't forget. | Se lebale. | Se lebale. |
| Have you met ... | O kopane le ... | U kopane le ... |
| How much is this? | Ke bokae? | Ke bokae? |
| I am listening. | Ke mamela. | Ke mamela. |
| I don't care. | Ha ke na taba. | Ha ke na taba. |
| I don't know. | Ha ke tsebe. | Ha ke tsebe. |
| I don't understand you. | Ha ke o utlwisisi. | Ha ke utloisisi. |
| Watch out! | Hlokomela! | Hlokomela! |
| Send my regards. | Ba dumedise. | Ba lumelise. |
| Truly! | Ka nnete! | Ka 'nete! |
| What are you doing? | O etsang? | U etsang? |
| Where are you going? | O ya kae? | U ea kae? |
| Where is Palesa? | Palesa o kae? | Palesa o kae? |
| Why? | Hobaneng? | Hobaneng? |
| You must. | O tswanetse. | U tsoanetse. |
| Welcome! | Kena ka kgotso! (singular) Kenang ka kgotso! (plural) |
Kena ka khotso!
(singular) Kenang ka khotso! (plural) |
Sesotho.web.za
© J. Olivier
(2009)