Sesotho sa Leboa
Northern Sotho
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Sotho-Tswana)
Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa, also called Pedi or Sepedi) is one of South Africa's eleven official languages, spoken in Limpopo, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga provinces. The standard groups together about 30 closely related dialects, with Sepedi as the prestige variety. Like other Sotho-Tswana Bantu languages, it has seventeen noun classes, agglutinative concordial agreement, and tonal distinctions, and is widely used in radio, television, and parliamentary translation.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Northern Sotho
Water
meetse
/meːtse/
Fire
mollo
/molːo/
Sun
letšatši
/letʃatʃi/
Moon
ngwedi
/ŋwedi/
Star
naledi
/naledi/
Mother
mma
/mːa/
Father
tate
/tate/
I
nna
/nna/
You
wena
/wena/
Name
leina
/leina/
Eye
leihlo
/leiɬo/
Hand
seatla
/seatɬa/
Heart
pelo
/pelo/
Love
lerato
/leɾato/
Tree
sehlare
/seɬare/
House
ntlo
/ntɬo/
Dog
mpša
/mpʃa/
Cat
katse
/katse/
Eat
go ja
/ɡodʒa/
Drink
go nwa
/ɡonwa/
One
tee
/teː/
Two
pedi
/pedi/
Hello
dumela
/dumɛla/
Thank you
ke a leboga
/ke a leboɣa/
Good
botse
/botse/
Computer
khomphutha
/kʰompʰutʰa/
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Sotho-Tswana) languages
| Meaning | Northern Sotho | Tswana | Sesotho | Lozi | Tsonga | Venda | Xhosa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | meetse /meːtse/ | metsi /metsi/ | metsi /metsi/ | mezi /mezi/ | mati /mati/ | maḓi /maɖi/ | amanzi /amaːnzi/ |
| Fire | mollo /molːo/ | molelo /moleːlo/ | mollo /molːo/ | mulilo /mulilo/ | ndzilo /ndzilo/ | mulilo /mulilo/ | umlilo /umlilo/ |
| Sun | letšatši /letʃatʃi/ | letsatsi /letsatsi/ | letsatsi /letsatsi/ | lizazi /lizazi/ | dyambu /dʒambu/ | ḓuvha /ɖuvʱa/ | ilanga /ilaːŋɡa/ |
| Moon | ngwedi /ŋwedi/ | ngwedi /ŋwedi/ | khoeli /kʰwɛːli/ | kweli /kweli/ | n'weti /ŋweti/ | ṅwedzi /ŋwedzi/ | inyanga /iɲaːŋɡa/ |
| Star | naledi /naledi/ | naledi /naledi/ | naledi /naledi/ | naleli /naleli/ | nyeleti /ɲeleti/ | ṋaledzi /n̪aledzi/ | inkwenkwezi /iŋkʷeŋkʷezi/ |
| Mother | mma /mːa/ | mmê /mːɛ/ | mmè /mːɛ/ | ma /ma/ | manana /manana/ | mme /mːe/ | umama /umaːma/ |
| Father | tate /tate/ | rrê /rːɛ/ | ntate /ntate/ | ndate /ndate/ | tatana /tatana/ | khotsi /kʰotsi/ | utata /utaːta/ |
| I | nna /nna/ | nna /nːa/ | nna /nːa/ | na /na/ | mina /mina/ | nṋe /n̪ːe/ | mna /mna/ |
| You | wena /wena/ | wena /wena/ | wena /wena/ | wena /wena/ | wena /wena/ | iwe /iwe/ | wena /wena/ |
| Name | leina /leina/ | leina /leina/ | lebitso /lebitso/ | libizo /libizo/ | vito /vito/ | dzina /dzina/ | igama /iɡaːma/ |
| Eye | leihlo /leiɬo/ | leitlho /leitɬʰo/ | leihlo /leiɬo/ | liito /liːto/ | tihlo /tiɬo/ | iṱo /it̪o/ | iliso /iliso/ |
| Hand | seatla /seatɬa/ | seatla /seatɬa/ | letsoho /letsoho/ | lizoho /lizoho/ | voko /voko/ | tshanḓa /tʃʰaɳɖa/ | isandla /isandɮa/ |
| Heart | pelo /pelo/ | pelo /peːlo/ | pelo /pelo/ | pilu /pilu/ | mbilu /mbilu/ | mbilu /mbilu/ | intliziyo /intɬizijo/ |
| Love | lerato /leɾato/ | lerato /leɾato/ | lerato /leɾato/ | lilato /lilato/ | rirhandzu /riɾandzu/ | lufuno /lufuno/ | uthando /utʰando/ |
| Tree | sehlare /seɬare/ | setlhare /setɬʰaɾe/ | sefate /sefate/ | kota /kota/ | nsinya /nsiɲa/ | muri /muɾi/ | umthi /umtʰi/ |
| House | ntlo /ntɬo/ | ntlo /ntɬo/ | ntlo /ntɬo/ | ndu /ndu/ | yindlu /jindɮu/ | nnḓu /nɖu/ | indlu /indɮu/ |
| Dog | mpša /mpʃa/ | ntša /ntʃa/ | ntja /ntʃa/ | nja /ndʒa/ | mbyana /mbjana/ | mmbwa /mːbwa/ | inja /indʒa/ |
| Cat | katse /katse/ | katse /katse/ | katse /katse/ | kaze /kaze/ | mangoyi /maŋɡoji/ | katse /katse/ | ikati /ikati/ |
| Eat | go ja /ɡodʒa/ | ja /dʒa/ | ho ja /ho dʒa/ | kuca /kutsa/ | ku dya /ku dʒa/ | u ḽa /u ɭa/ | ukutya /ukutʲa/ |
| Drink | go nwa /ɡonwa/ | nwa /nwa/ | ho noa /ho noa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | ku nwa /ku nwa/ | u ṅwa /u ŋwa/ | ukusela /ukusɛla/ |
| One | tee /teː/ | nngwe /ŋːwe/ | nngwe /ŋːwe/ | nyinwi /ɲiŋʷi/ | rin'we /riŋwe/ | nthihi /ntʰihi/ | inye /iɲɛ/ |
| Two | pedi /pedi/ | pedi /pedi/ | pedi /pedi/ | peli /peli/ | mbirhi /mbiri/ | mbili /mbili/ | mbini /mbiːni/ |
| Hello | dumela /dumɛla/ | dumela /dumeːla/ | dumela /dumɛla/ | eni sha /ɛni ʃa/ | avuxeni /avuʃeni/ | ndaa /ndaː/ | molo /molo/ |
| Thank you | ke a leboga /ke a leboɣa/ | ke a leboga /ke a leboɣa/ | kea leboha /kea leboha/ | nitumezi /nitumezi/ | inkomu /iŋkomu/ | ndo livhuwa /ndo livʱuwa/ | enkosi /ɛnkosi/ |
| Good | botse /botse/ | siame /siaːme/ | monate /monate/ | nde /nde/ | kahle /kaɬe/ | zwavhuḓi /zwavʱuɖi/ | lungile /luŋɡilɛ/ |
| Computer | khomphutha /kʰompʰutʰa/ | khomphuta /kʰompʰuta/ | khomputa /kʰomputa/ | — | — | — | ikhompyutha /ikʰompjutʰa/ |
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