Elomwe
Lomwe
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Makua-Lomwe)
Lomwe (Elomwe in Mozambique, Cilomwe in Malawi) is a Bantu language of the Makua-Lomwe (P30) cluster, closely related to Makhuwa (vmw). The Lomwe of southern Malawi descend from Mozambican migrants who fled forced labour on Portuguese plantations in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. Despite its large speaker base, Lomwe lacks formal recognition in either country; the NELIMO orthography (Núcleo de Estudo de Línguas Moçambicanas, 1989) is the Mozambican standard.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Lomwe
Water
mahi
/mahi/
Fire
moro
/moɾo/
Sun
nsuwa
/nsuwa/
Moon
mweri
/mweɾi/
Mother
ammai
/amːai/
Father
atati
/atati/
Eat
olya
/oʎa/
Drink
omwa
/omwa/
Love
osivela
/osivela/
Heart
murima
/muɾima/
Tree
mwiri
/mwiɾi/
House
nupa
/nupa/
Dog
nampwe
/nampwe/
Cat
paka
/paka/
Hand
nthata
/ntʰata/
Eye
nito
/nito/
Hello
salama
/salama/
Thank you
ekoshelele
/ekoʃelele/
One
mosaa
/mosaː/
Good
orera
/oɾeɾa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Makua-Lomwe) languages
| Meaning | Lomwe | Makhuwa | Yao | Sena | Makonde | Shambala | Nyaturu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mahi /mahi/ | maasi /maːsi/ | mesi /mesi/ | madzi /madzi/ | mashi /maʃi/ | mazi /mazi/ | maazi /maːzi/ |
| Fire | moro /moɾo/ | moro /moɾo/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | nsuwa /nsuwa/ | ettsuwa /etsuwa/ | lyuwa /ʎuwa/ | dzuwa /dzuwa/ | lyuva /ʎuβa/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | nzua /nzua/ |
| Moon | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwesi /mwesi/ | mwedzi /mwedzi/ | mwedi /mwedi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ |
| Mother | ammai /amːai/ | maama /maːma/ | amao /amaː/ | mai /mai/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | atati /atati/ | paapa /paːpa/ | atati /atati/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | olya /oʎa/ | ohuula /ohuːla/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kudya /kudja/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kuya /kuja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ |
| Drink | omwa /omwa/ | ohwèwa /ohwɛwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| Love | osivela /osivela/ | ophenta /opʰenta/ | chikondi /tʃikondi/ | kufuna /kufuna/ | kupenda /kupenda/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ |
| Heart | murima /muɾima/ | murima /muɾima/ | mtima /mtima/ | mtima /mtima/ | mtima /mtima/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Tree | mwiri /mwiɾi/ | muri /muɾi/ | mtela /mtela/ | mtengo /mteŋɡo/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | nupa /nupa/ | empa /empa/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | nampwe /nampwe/ | mphwa /mpʰwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | nshenye /nʃeɲe/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | paka /paka/ | paaka /paːka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | nthata /ntʰata/ | nikhono /nikʰono/ | ngaila /ŋɡaila/ | nkono /nkono/ | nkono /nkono/ | ukono /ukono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Eye | nito /nito/ | nittho /nitːo/ | liso /liso/ | diso /diso/ | liso /liso/ | izo /izo/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ |
| Hello | salama /salama/ | salaama /salaːma/ | salama /salama/ | mwadzukabwanji /mwadzukabwandʒi/ | nakushukuru /nakuʃukuɾu/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ |
| Thank you | ekoshelele /ekoʃelele/ | kosheni /koʃeni/ | nakwete /nakwete/ | ndatenda /ndatenda/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | asante /asante/ | ahsante /ahsante/ |
| One | mosaa /mosaː/ | mosa /mosa/ | mo /mo/ | posi /posi/ | nimo /nimo/ | imo /imo/ | umwe /umwe/ |
| Good | orera /oɾeɾa/ | ratteene /ɾatːeːne/ | chechete /tʃetʃete/ | nadidi /nadidi/ | shibwana /ʃibwana/ | hedi /hedi/ | kihi /kihi/ |
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