Sesotho phrasebook

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

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

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs

OPEN
bula
CLOSED
kwala
ENTRANCE
EXIT
PUSH
PULL
hula
TOILET
ntlwaneng
MEN
monna
WOMEN
mosadi
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 Sesotho [well].
[ ]. ( [])
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

Clock time

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

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
("pudungwane")
December
("tshitswe")

Colors

Red
("kgubedu")
Yellow
("tshehla")
Green
("tala")
Blue
("bolou")
Black
("ntsho")
White
("sweu")
Purple
("perese")
Orange
("...")
Brown
("...")
Grey
("putswa")
Pink
("...")

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 _____?
("...")

Lodging

===Money===tjhelete Che le te

Eating

Eat the food
("eja dijo")

Authority

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