Kikaonde
Kaonde
Niger-Congo
Kaonde (Kikaonde) is a Bantu language (Glottolog L41) spoken by approximately 400,000 people in North-Western Province of Zambia, with small populations across the DRC border in Katanga. Kaonde is one of Zambia's seven officially-recognized regional languages and is used in primary education and ZNBC broadcasting alongside Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi, Lunda, and Luvale. Within the L40 Lunda-Kaonde subgroup, Kaonde shares many lexical items with sister languages Lunda (lun) and Luvale (lue), reflecting the Lunda-Luba mfecane migrations from the central Congolese savanna in the 18th century. Linguistically, Kaonde has typical Bantu features (16+ noun classes, complex verbal morphology with multiple tenses and aspect-mood markers, two-tone register system). Wright (1985) Kaonde-English Dictionary is the standard reference.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Kaonde
Water
mema
/mema/
Fire
mujilo
/mudʒilo/
Sun
juba
/dʒuba/
Moon
ñondo
/ɲondo/
Star
lutanda
/lutanda/
Mother
bama
/bama/
Father
batata
/batata/
I
amiwa
/amiwa/
You
obewa
/obewa/
Name
jizhina
/dʒiʒina/
Eye
jiso
/dʒiso/
Hand
kuboko
/kuboko/
Heart
muchima
/mutʃima/
Love
butemwe
/butemwe/
Tree
kichi
/kitʃi/
House
nzubo
/nzubo/
Dog
mbwa
/mbwa/
Cat
kapuso
/kapuso/
Eat
kuja
/kudʒa/
Drink
kutoma
/kutoma/
One
umo
/umo/
Two
bibili
/bibili/
Hello
mwapoñai
/mwapoɲai/
Thank you
nasakwilila
/nasakwilila/
Good
kyawama
/kjawama/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Kaonde | Luvale | Bemba | Luba-Kasai | Lunda | Tonga (Zambia) | Kimbundu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mema /mema/ | meya /meja/ | amenshi /amenʃi/ | mâyi /maːji/ | meji /medʒi/ | meenda /meːnda/ | menha /meɲa/ |
| Fire | mujilo /mudʒilo/ | kakahya /kakahja/ | umulilo /umulilo/ | kapia /kapia/ | kesi /kesi/ | mulilo /mulilo/ | tubia /tubja/ |
| Sun | juba /dʒuba/ | likumbi /likumbi/ | akasuba /akasuba/ | dîba /diːba/ | itaŋwa /itaŋwa/ | zuba /zuba/ | muanya /mwaɲa/ |
| Moon | ñondo /ɲondo/ | kakweji /kakwedʒi/ | umweshi /umweʃi/ | ngondo /ŋɡondo/ | kakweji /kakwedʒi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | ngonde /ŋɡonde/ |
| Star | lutanda /lutanda/ | tanganyeka /taŋɡaˈɲeka/ | intanda /intanda/ | mutoto /mutoto/ | katumbwa /katumbwa/ | nyenyezi /ɲeˈɲezi/ | tetembwa /teˈtembwa/ |
| Mother | bama /bama/ | mama /mama/ | bamayo /bamajo/ | mâmu /maːmu/ | mama /mama/ | bama /bama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | batata /batata/ | tata /tata/ | bataata /bataːta/ | tâtu /taːtu/ | tata /tata/ | bataata /bataːta/ | tata /tata/ |
| I | amiwa /amiwa/ | ami /ami/ | ine /ine/ | meme /meme/ | ami /ami/ | ime /ime/ | eme /eme/ |
| You | obewa /obewa/ | ove /ove/ | iwe /iwe/ | wewe /wewe/ | eyi /eji/ | iwe /iwe/ | eie /eje/ |
| Name | jizhina /dʒiʒina/ | lijina /liˈʒina/ | ishina /iʃina/ | dîna /diːna/ | ijina /idʒina/ | izina /iˈziːna/ | dijina /diˈʒina/ |
| Eye | jiso /dʒiso/ | liso /liso/ | ilinso /ilinso/ | dîsu /diːsu/ | disu /disu/ | liso /liso/ | dixi /diʃi/ |
| Hand | kuboko /kuboko/ | livoko /livoko/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | tshianza /tʃianza/ | chikasa /tʃikasa/ | kuboko /kuboko/ | lukwaku /lukwaku/ |
| Heart | muchima /mutʃima/ | mutima /mutima/ | umutima /umutima/ | mucima /mutʃima/ | muchima /mutʃima/ | moyo /mojo/ | muxima /muʃima/ |
| Love | butemwe /butemwe/ | zangi /zaŋɡi/ | ukutemwa /ukutemwa/ | dinanga /dinaŋɡa/ | kukeŋa /kukeŋa/ | luyando /lujando/ | henda /henda/ |
| Tree | kichi /kitʃi/ | mutondo /mutondo/ | icimuti /itʃimuti/ | mutshi /mutʃi/ | mutondu /mutondu/ | cisamu /tʃisamu/ | mukune /mukune/ |
| House | nzubo /nzubo/ | zuvo /zuvo/ | ing'anda /iŋːanda/ | nzubu /nzubu/ | itala /itala/ | ng'anda /ŋanda/ | inzo /inzo/ |
| Dog | mbwa /mbwa/ | kawa /kawa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | kawa /kawa/ | muvwa /muvwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | kapuso /kapuso/ | katako /katako/ | pushi /puʃi/ | nyao /ɲao/ | — /—/ | kaaze /kaːze/ | kasalu /kasalu/ |
| Eat | kuja /kudʒa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | ukulya /ukulja/ | kudia /kudia/ | kudya /kudja/ | kulya /kulja/ | kudya /kudja/ |
| Drink | kutoma /kutoma/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | ukunwa /ukunwa/ | kunua /kunua/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ |
| One | umo /umo/ | -mwe /mwe/ | cimo /tʃimo/ | umue /umue/ | wumu /wumu/ | -mwi /mwi/ | -moxi /moʃi/ |
| Two | bibili /bibili/ | -vali /vali/ | fibili /fibili/ | bibidi /bibidi/ | ayedi /ajedi/ | -bili /bili/ | -iadi /jaːdi/ |
| Hello | mwapoñai /mwapoɲai/ | mwane /mwane/ | muli shani /muli ʃani/ | moyo /mojo/ | mwani /mwani/ | mwabuka buti /mwabuka buti/ | kiebi /kiebi/ |
| Thank you | nasakwilila /nasakwilila/ | nasakwilila /nasakwilila/ | natotela /natotela/ | tuasakidila /tuasakidila/ | nasakalili /nasakalili/ | twalumba /twalumba/ | kishukutu /kiʃukutu/ |
| Good | kyawama /kjawama/ | -mwaza /mwaza/ | chisuma /tʃisuma/ | bimpe /bimpe/ | chachiwahi /tʃatʃiwahi/ | kabotu /kabotu/ | kiá /kja/ |
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