Useful foreign phrases |
Numbers |
Colours |
Kinship |
Idioms |
Tongue twisters |
Proverbs |
Other multilingual pages
Useful foreign phrases |
Numbers |
Colours |
Kinship |
Idioms |
Tongue twisters |
Proverbs |
Other multilingual pages
A collection of useful phrases in Tswana. You can see them in many other languages by clicking on the English versions.
Notes: sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person). The words rra (sir) and mma (madam) are used in formal phrases.
| English | Setswana (Tswana) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | O amogetswe (sg) Le amogetswe (pl) |
| Hello | Dumela |
| How are you? Reply |
O tsogile jang? Le kae? (sg) Le tsogile jang? (pl) |
| Ke tsogile sentle / Re teng (sg) Re tsogile sentle (pl) |
|
| Long time no see | Ke kgale re sa bonane |
| What's your name? My name is ... |
Leina le gago ke mang? (frm) O mang? (inf) |
| Leina la me ke ... | |
| Where are you from? I'm from ... |
Ko gae ke kae? |
| Ke tswa ko ... | |
| Pleased to meet you | Ke itumelela go goitsi |
| Good morning | Dumêla rra/mma (frm) |
| Good afternoon | Thupama e e monate |
| Good evening | Muitsibowa a a monate |
| Good night | Borôkô! Robala sentle (sleep well) |
| Goodbye | Tsamaya sentle (Go well - said to the those leaving) Sala sentle (Stay well - said to the those staying) Go siame / Ke tla go bona (see you) Ke tla go bôna kamoso (see you tomorrow) Ke tla go bôna kgantele (see you later) |
| Good luck | Masego ke ao / o nne le masego |
| Cheers/Good health! | |
| Have a nice day | Tlhôla sentle |
| Bon appetit | |
| Bon voyage | |
| I understand | Ke a tlhaloganya |
| I don't understand | Ga ke tlhaloganye |
| I don't know | Ga ke itse sepe |
| Please speak more slowly | Bua ka bonya |
| Please say that again | Ke kopa o boeletse gape |
| Please write it down | Ke kopa o e kwale fa fatshe |
| Do you speak Tswana? Yes, a little |
A o bua Setswana? |
| Ee, fela ga nnyane | |
| How do you say ... in Tswana? | Wa bo o reng ... ka Setswana? |
| Excuse me | Intshwarele |
| How much is this? | E ke bokae? |
| Sorry | Ke kopa tshwarelo |
| Please | Tswêê-tswêê |
| Thank you Response |
Ke a leboga, rra/mma Ke itumetse, rra/mma |
| Where's the toilet? | Ntlwana ya boitiketso e kae? |
| This gentleman/lady will pay for everything |
Lekau / Lekgarebe le le tsile go duela tsotlhe |
| Would you like to dance with me? |
A ga o batle go bina? |
| I miss you | Ke go gopotse |
| I love you | Ke a go rata |
| Get well soon | O fole ka potlako |
| Go away! | Tsamaya kusa! |
| Leave me alone! | Ntlogele! |
| Help! Fire! Stop! |
Nthuse! Molelo! Ema! |
| Call the police! | Bitsa mapodisi! |
| Merry Christmas and Happy New Year |
Keresemose e e monate le ngwaga o o itumedisang |
| Happy Easter | Malatsi a paseka aa itumedisang |
| Happy Birthday | Letsatsi la tswalo lele monate |
| One language is never enough |
Laleme le le lengwe ga le a lekanela |
| My hovercraft is full of eels |
Tswana phrases and corrections provided by Peter Ndukulu
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, please contact me.
Other collections of Tswana phrases
http://hope4kalahari.org/?page_id=116
http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/botswana/Bw_Setswana_Language_Lessons.pdf
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