A collection of useful phrases in Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa / Sepedi), a member of the Bantu branch of Niger-Congo languages spoken in South Africa.
See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
Key to abbreviations: sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person).
| Phrase | Sesotho sa Leboa / Sepedi (Northern Sotho) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Re a go amogela (sg) Re a le aomgela (pl) |
| Hello (General greeting) | Dumêlang Thôbêla Helele Hai |
| Hello (on phone) | |
| How are you? | O kae? ("Where are you?") - sg Le kae? (pl) O phela jwang? ("How are you living?") |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | Ke gona wena okae? (sg) Re gona lena le kae? (pl) |
| Long time no see | Ke kgale re sa bonane |
| What's your name? | Ke wena mang? |
| My name is ... | Ke nna ... |
| Where are you from? | O tswa kae? |
| I'm from ... | Ke tšwa ... |
| Pleased to meet you | Ke thabela go go bona |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) |
Dumêlang Mmorong |
| Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting) |
Dumêlang |
| Good evening (Evening greeting) |
Dumêlang Fonaneng |
| Good night | Robalang gabotse |
| Goodbye (Parting phrases) |
Gabotse Re tlo bonana ka pela (see you soon) Re tlo bonana ka morago ga lebakanyana (see you later) Sala hantle (said to person staying) Tsamaya hantle (said to person leaving) |
| Good luck! | Mahlatse |
| Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) |
Bophelo bjo bobotse! (Good health!) |
| Have a nice day | Eba le letšatši le lebotse |
| Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
Ipshine ka dijo |
| Bon voyage / Have a good journey |
O be le leeto le le bolokegilego Tsela tsweu ("white road") |
| I understand | Ke a kwešiša |
| I don't understand | Ga ke kwešiše Ha ke o utlwisisi |
| Yes | Ee |
| No | Aowa |
| Maybe | Mohlômong Mohlômongwê |
| I don't know | Ha ke tsebe |
| Please speak more slowly | Ke kgopela gore o bolele ka go iketla A o ka bolela ka go iketla? |
| Please say that again | Boeletša, hle! A nke o boeletše hle |
| Please write it down | Hle dula fase |
| Do you speak English? | Na o belela Seisimane? |
| Do you speak Northern Sotho? | Na o bolela Sesotho sa Leboa? |
| Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?') |
Ee |
| Speak to me in Northern Sotho | Bolela le nna ka Sesotho sa Leboa |
| How do you say ... in Northern Sotho? | O e bitša bjang ka Sesotho sa Leboa |
| Excuse me | Ntshwarele Tshwarelo |
| I would like ... | Ke kgopela ... |
| How much is this? | Ke bokae? |
| Sorry | Ntshwarele |
| Please | Ka kgopelo |
| Thank you | Ke a leboga Ke a leboga kudu |
| Reply to thank you | Go leboga rena |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | Thoilete e kae? |
| This gentleman will pay for everything | |
| This lady will pay for everything | |
| Would you like to dance with me? | Na o ka rata go tantsha le nna? |
| I miss you | Ke go hlolosetše |
| I love you | Ke a go rata |
| Get well soon | O fole ka pela! |
| Go away! | Tloga! |
| Leave me alone! | Ntlogele! |
| Help! | Thuša! |
| Fire! | Mollo! |
| Stop! | Ema! |
| Call the police! | Bitša maphodisa! |
| Christmas greetings | Mahlogonolo a Keresemose le ngwaga wo moswa wo monate Matswalo a Morena a Lethabo le Ngwaga wo moswa wa Lethabo |
| Easter greetings | Paseka ya Lethabo |
| Birthday greetings | Mahlatse letšatšing la gago la matswalo Letšatši la matswalo la Lethabo |
| One language is never enough | Leleme le tee ga se la lekana |
| My hovercraft is full of eels |
Some phrases provided by Silas Lemekwana
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about Northern Sotho | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel
Other collections of Northern Sotho phrases
https://iitranslation.blogspot.com/p/practice-and-learn-sepedi-words-phrases.html
http://www.salanguages.com/northernsotho/sepwrd.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Sotho_language#Vocabulary
https://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/southafrica/ZA_Sepedi_Language_Lessons.pdf
https://app.memrise.com/course/1317308/learn-sepedi/
Bemba, Chichewa, Chokwe, Duala, Herero, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Lozi, Luganda, Ndebele (Northern - South Africa), Ndebele (Northern - Zimbabwe), Ndebele (Southern) Nkore, Northern Sotho, Oshiwambo, Shona, Southern Sotho (seSotho), Swahili, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
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