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Sesotho phrasebook

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Sesotho is the main language of Lesotho and is one of the official languages of South Africa.

[edit] Pronunciation guide

[edit] 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

[edit] 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 

[edit] Common diphthongs

[edit] Phrase list

[edit] Basics

Common signs

OPEN 
CLOSED 
ENTRANCE 
EXIT 
PUSH 
PULL 
TOILET 
MEN 
WOMEN 
FORBIDDEN 
Hello. 
Lumela. (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 [well]. 
[ ]. ( [Ha ke tseba ho bua Sefora/Sekhooa.])
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. 
. (Lumela/Khotso )
Good night. 
. (Lumela/Khotso )
Good night (to sleep) 
Robala hantle. ( )
I don't understand. 
Ha ke utloisise. ( )
Where is the toilet? 
 ? (Ntloaneng ke kae?)

[edit] Problems

Leave me alone. 
("...")
Don't touch me! 
("...")
I'll call the police. 
("...")
Police! 
("...")
Stop! Thief! 
("...")
I need your help. 
("...")
It's an emergency. 
("...")
I'm lost. 
("...")
I lost my bag. 
("...")
I lost my wallet. 
("...")
I'm sick. 
("...")
I've been injured. 
("...")
I need a doctor. 
("...")
Can I use your phone? 
("...")

[edit] 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

[edit] Time

[edit] Clock time

Hour 
Hora
Hours 
Dihora
Minute 
Motsotso
Minutes 
Metsotso
Second 
Motsotswana
Seconds 
Metsotswana

[edit] Duration

[edit] Days

Monday 
Mantaha
Tuesday 
Labobedi
Wednesday 
Laboraro
Thursday 
Labone
Friday 
Labohlano
Saturday 
Moqebelo
Sunday 
Sontaha
Weekend 
Mafelo a beke

[edit] Months

Januaty 
("...")
February 
("...")
March 
("...")
April 
("...")
May 
("...")
June 
("...")
July 
("...")
August 
("...")
September 
("...")
October 
("...")
November 
("...")
December 
("...")

[edit] Writing time and date

[edit] Colors

Red 
("...")
Yellow 
("...")
Green 
("...")
Blue 
("...")
Black 
("...")
White 
("...")
Purple 
("...")
Orange 
("...")
Brown 
("...")
Grey 
("...")
Pink 
("...")

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____? 
("...")
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 _____? 
("...")

[edit] Directions

[edit] Taxi

[edit] Lodging

[edit] Money

[edit] Eating

[edit] Bars

[edit] Shopping

[edit] Driving

[edit] Authority

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Retrieved from "http://wikitravel.org/en/Sesotho_phrasebook"