Sesotho phrasebook
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Pronunciation guide
Vowels
; a : as in spa ; e : as in pit, cafe, or bed; i : as in beet
; o : as in put, French "oiseau", or board
; u : as in boot
Consonants
; b : same as English, only fully voiced; bj : pronounced as above, followed by either the s as in vision or the j as in yarn
; d : same as English as an allophone of l that only occurs before i and u ; f : same as English
; fj : pronounced as above, followed by sh as in she
; h : same as English, voiced or unvoiced; it's an allophone, either way
; j : as in vision or jam
; k : as in skill, only unaspirated
; kh : fully aspirated k, which occurs mostly in old loanwords and ideophones
; l : same in English
; m : same in English
; n : same in English
; ng : as in sing ; ny : as in onion or Spanish "el niño"
; p : as in spit, only unaspirated
; ph : fully aspirated p ; pj : pronounced as p, followed by sh as in she
; pjh : aspirated pj ; s : same as English
; sh : as in shoe
; t : as in stalk, only unaspirated
; th : aspirated t ; tj : as in which, only unaspirated
; tjh : aspirated tj ; ts : as in cats, only unaspirated
; tsh : aspirated ts
; w : same in English
; y : as in yarn
; Tricky Consonants
; hl :
; kg : as in the way the Scottish say loch ; r : as in French, only soft; originally pronounced as an alveolar rolled lingual
; tl :
; tlh : aspirated tl ; q :
; qh : aspirated q ; nq :
Common diphthongs
Phrase list
Basics
Common signs
; OPEN :; CLOSED :
; ENTRANCE :
; EXIT :
; PUSH :
; PULL :
; TOILET :
; MEN :
; WOMEN :
; FORBIDDEN :
; Hello. : dumela. (doomellah)
; Hello. (informal) : Khotso. (hotsow)
; How are you? : U phela joang? (oo-pee-la-jwang)
; Fine, thank you. : Kea phela (key-ah-pee-la)
; What is your name? : Lebitso la hau ke mang? (leh-beet-saw la-how key-mung)
; My name is ______ . : Lebitso la ka ke ______ . ( _____ .)
; Nice to meet you. : Ke thabela ho u tseba . ( key-ta-bell-a-who-oo-t-see-ba )
; Please. : . (Ke kopa hore o... )
; Thank you. : Kea leboha. ( )
; You're welcome. : . ( )
; Yes. : . (Eea )
; No. : . (Che )
; Excuse me. (getting attention) : . (A k'u ntšoarele hanyane)
; Excuse me. (begging pardon) : . ( )
; I'm sorry. : Ntšoarele. ( )
; Goodbye : Sala hantle. ( )
; Goodbye (informal) : . ( )
; I can't speak name of language . : . ( )
; Do you speak English? : U bua sekhooa ? ( ?)
; Is there someone here who speaks English? : ? (Hona le motho ea tsebang ho bua Sekhooa?)
; Help! : Ke kopa thuso! ( !)
; Look out! : ! (Hlokomela !)
; Good morning. : . (Lumaka/Khotso )
; Good evening. : . (dumela/Khotso )
; Good night. : . (Dumela/Khotso )
; Good night (to sleep) : Robala hantle. ( )
; I don't understand. : Ha ke utloisise. ( )
; Where is the toilet? : ? (Ntloaneng ke kae?)
I'm OK or fine
(Ke hantle )
Problems
; Leave me alone. : ("kgaohana le nna"); Don't touch me! : ("se ntshware")
; I'll call the police. : ("ketla founela mapolesa")
; Police! : ("mapolesa plr..leponesa sing")
; Stop! Thief! : ("Ema!leshodu")
; I need your help. : ke hloka thuso ya hao("...")
; It's an emergency. : ("ke tshwanyetso")
; I'm lost. : ke lahlehile ("...")
; I lost my bag. : ("ke lahlehetswe ke mokotla waka")
; I lost my wallet. : ("ke lahlehetswe ke sepatjhe saka")
; I'm sick. : ("ke ya kula")
; I've been injured. : ("ke lemetse")
; I need a doctor. : ("ke hloka ngaka")
; Can I use your phone? : ("Nka sebedisa mohala wa hao wa thekeng")
Numbers
; 1 : Ngoe; 2 : Peli
; 3 : Tharo
; 4 : 'Ne
; 5 : Hlano
; 6 : Ts'elela
; 7 : Supa
; 8 : Robeli
; 9 : Robong
; 10 : Leshome
; 11 : Leshome le motso o mong
; 12 : Leshome le metso e 'meli
; 13 : Leshome le metso e meraro
; 14 : Leshome le metso e mene
; 15 : Leshome le metso e mehlano
; 16 : Leshome le metso e ts'eletseng
; 17 : Leshome le metso e supileng
; 18 : Leshome le metso e robeli
; 19 : Leshome le metso e robong
; 20 : Mashome a mabeli
; 30 : Mashome a mararo
; 40 : Mashome a mane
; 50 : Mashome a mahlano
; 60 : Mashome a ts'eletseng
; 70 : Mashome a supileng
; 80 : Mashome a robeli
; 90 : Mashome a robong
; 100 : Lekholo
; 200 : Makholo a mabeli
; 300 : Makholo a mararo
; 400 : Makholo a mane
; 600 : Makholo a mahlano
; 600 : Makholo a ts'eletseng
; 700 : Makholo a supileng
; 800 : Makholo a robeli
; 900 : Makholo a robong
; 1000 : Sekete
Time
Clock time
; Hour : Hora; Hours : Dihora
; Minute : Motsotso
; Minutes : Metsotso
; Second : Motsotswana
; Seconds : Metsotswana
Duration
Days
; Monday : Mantaha; Tuesday : Labobedi
; Wednesday : Laboraro
; Thursday : Labone
; Friday : Labohlano
; Saturday : Moqebelo
; Sunday : Sontaha
; Weekend : Mafelo a beke
Months
; January : ("pherekgong "); February : ("hlakola")
; March : ("hlakubele")
; April : ("mmesa")
; May : ("motsheanong")
; June : ("phupu")
; July : ("phupjane")
; August : ("phato")
; September : ("lwetse")
; October : ("motsheanong")
; November : ("...")
; December : ("tshitswe")
Writing time and date
Colors
; Red : ("...")
; Yellow : ("...")
; Green : ("...")
; Blue : ("...")
; Black : ("...")
; White : ("...")
; Purple : ("...")
; Orange : ("...")
; Brown : ("...")
; Grey : ("...")
; Pink : ("...")
Transportation
Bus and train
; How much is a ticket to _____? : ("...")ke bokaye ticket; One ticket to _____, please. : ("...")
; Where does this train/bus go? : ("...")
; Where is the train/bus to _____? : ("...")
; Does this train/bus stop in _____? : ("...")
; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : ("...")
; When will this train/bus arrive in _____? : ("...")
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
===Money===tjhelete
Che le te