Khoekhoegowab
Nama (Khoekhoe)
Khoe-Kwadi (Khoisan)
Nama (Khoekhoegowab) is the largest Khoisan language and the most widely spoken click language of the Khoe (Khoisan) family — though the Bantu languages Zulu and Xhosa have far more speakers whose speech includes phonemic clicks — the official language of the Khoekhoe and Damara peoples of Namibia and the Northern Cape of South Africa. It has four phonemic click types — ǀ (dental), ǁ (lateral), ǂ (alveolar palatal), ǃ (postalveolar) — and is conventionally written using IPA-style click symbols. Nama is a recognized national language of Namibia and supports broadcast media, schooling, and a Bible translation tradition.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Nama (Khoekhoe)
Water
ǁgam-i
/ǁɡami/
Fire
ǀae-s
/ǀaes/
Sun
sores
/soɾes/
Moon
ǁkhâb
/ǁkʰãːb/
Star
ǀgamiros
/ǀɡamiros/
Mother
ǁgûs
/ǁɡũːs/
Father
ǁgûb
/ǁɡũːb/
I
tita
/titá/
You
sats
/sats/
Name
ǀons
/ǀòns/
Eye
mûs
/mũːs/
Hand
ǃom-mi
/ǃomːi/
Heart
ǂgaob
/ǂɡaob/
Love
ǀnam
/ǀnam/
Tree
hai-s
/hais/
House
oms
/oms/
Dog
arib
/arib/
Cat
ǀores
/ǀoɾes/
Eat
ǂû
/ǂũː/
Drink
ā
/aː/
One
ǀgui
/ǀɡui/
Two
ǀam
/ǀàm/
Hello
matisâ
/matisãː/
Thank you
aios
/aios/
Good
ǃgâib
/ǃɡãĩb/
Words compared
Compared with related Khoe-Kwadi (Khoisan) languages
| Meaning | Nama (Khoekhoe) | Korana | Hausa | Taa (!Xóõ) | Kpelle | Sandawe | Poqomchi' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ǁgam-i /ǁɡami/ | ǁammi /ǁamːi/ | ruwa /ɾuwaː/ | ǃqhàa /ǃqʰaː/ | ya /ja/ | tsʼa /tsʼa/ | haʼ /haʔ/ |
| Fire | ǀae-s /ǀaes/ | ǀaeb /ǀʔaeb/ | wuta /wuta/ | ǀʼàã /ǀʼãː/ | kɔ̃a /kõa/ | tsʼoo /tsʼoː/ | qʼaaq /qʼaːq/ |
| Sun | sores /soɾes/ | sores /sores/ | rana /ɾaːnaː/ | ǁʼân /ǁʼã/ | pelei /pelei/ | kʼɔɔ /kʼɔː/ | qʼij /qʼih/ |
| Moon | ǁkhâb /ǁkʰãːb/ | ǁkhab /ǁkʰab/ | wata /wata/ | ǃqhàn /ǃqʰã/ | kɔŋɔ /kɔŋɔ/ | tsoa /tsoa/ | ik /ik/ |
| Star | ǀgamiros /ǀɡamiros/ | ǀgami /ǀʔami/ | tauraro /tauraːro/ | ǃqʰái /ǃqʰái/ | ɓɔlɔŋ /ɓɔ̀lɔ̀ŋ/ | hĩǀáwã /hĩ́ǀáwã̀ː/ | chʼumiil /tʃʼumiːl/ |
| Mother | ǁgûs /ǁɡũːs/ | ʔẽs /ʔẽs/ | uwa /uwaː/ | qáe /qae/ | ngaa /ŋaː/ | yei /jei/ | tuut /tuːt/ |
| Father | ǁgûb /ǁɡũːb/ | ǁnaob /ǁnaob/ | uba /ubaː/ | a̰a /a̰a/ | laai /laːi/ | ai /ai/ | ajaab /ahaːb/ |
| I | tita /titá/ | tita /titá/ | ni /niː/ | ń /ŋ̩/ | ŋá /ŋá/ | tsi /tsíː/ | hin /hin/ |
| You | sats /sats/ | sats /sats/ | kai /kai/ | a /aː/ | í /í/ | hapu /hapu/ | hat /hat/ |
| Name | ǀons /ǀòns/ | ǀons /ǀons/ | suna /suːnaː/ | ǀqʼûle /ǀʛûle/ | laa /lâː/ | ǁwâ /ǁʷâ/ | bʼih /ɓih/ |
| Eye | mûs /mũːs/ | mũb /mũb/ | ido /idoː/ | ǃʼûĩ /ǃʼũĩ/ | ŋɛ /ŋɛ/ | gaa /ɡaː/ | nakʼ /nakʼ/ |
| Hand | ǃom-mi /ǃomːi/ | ǃumma /ǃumːa/ | hannu /hanːu/ | ǀkxʼàa /ǀkxʼaː/ | yee /jeː/ | kxʼaa /kxʼaː/ | qʼab /qʼab/ |
| Heart | ǂgaob /ǂɡaob/ | ǂaob /ǂaob/ | zuciya /zutʃija/ | ǀqʼàn /ǀqʼã/ | lii /liː/ | ǁʼampoo /ǁʼampoː/ | kʼuxl /kʼuʃl/ |
| Love | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | ǀnam /ǀnam/ | ƙauna /kʼauna/ | — /—/ | gboma /ɡboma/ | kalokisi /kalokisi/ | rahaal /rahaːl/ |
| Tree | hai-s /hais/ | hais /haìs/ | bishiya /biʃija/ | ʼʘnàje /ʔʘnaje/ | woo /woː/ | hetsʼee /hetsʼeː/ | cheeʼ /tʃeʔ/ |
| House | oms /oms/ | oms /oms/ | gida /ɡida/ | — /—/ | pere /pere/ | ge /ɡe/ | paat /paːt/ |
| Dog | arib /arib/ | arib /arib/ | kare /kaɾe/ | ǂqhài /ǂqʰai/ | nyila /ɲila/ | ǀɔɔ /ǀɔː/ | tzʼiʼ /tsʼiʔ/ |
| Cat | ǀores /ǀoɾes/ | — /—/ | kyanwa /kʲanwa/ | — /—/ | gbele /ɡbele/ | misho /miʃo/ | mees /meːs/ |
| Eat | ǂû /ǂũː/ | ǂʼũ /ǂʼũ/ | ci /tʃiː/ | ʼâã /ʔãː/ | nyii /ɲiː/ | ǁee /ǁeː/ | wai /wai/ |
| Drink | ā /aː/ | xʼā /xʼaː/ | sha /ʃaː/ | kxʼāhã /kxʼaːhã/ | yiti /jiti/ | ʔee /ʔeː/ | uuk /uːk/ |
| One | ǀgui /ǀɡui/ | ǀui /ǀui/ | ɗaya /ɗaja/ | ǂʼûã /ǂʼũã/ | taa /taː/ | tsʼekʼe /tsʼekʼe/ | jino /hino/ |
| Two | ǀam /ǀàm/ | ǀgam /ǀʔam/ | biyu /biju/ | ǂnûm /ǂûm/ | feere /fèːɽè/ | kisó /kísôxì/ | kiʼib /kiʔiɓ/ |
| Hello | matisâ /matisãː/ | — /—/ | sannu /sanːu/ | — /—/ | halee /haleː/ | gabaeesa /ɡabaeːsa/ | ma chaa /ma tʃaː/ |
| Thank you | aios /aios/ | — /—/ | na gode /na ɡode/ | — /—/ | balika /balika/ | musʼokoyo /musʼokojo/ | tioxlaab /tjoʃlaːb/ |
| Good | ǃgâib /ǃɡãĩb/ | ǃãĩ /ǃãĩ/ | nagari /naɡaɾi/ | — /—/ | nyaŋa /ɲaŋa/ | tlʼobe /tɬʼobe/ | saqʼwach /saqʼwatʃ/ |
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