A collection of useful phrases in Southern Sotho, a Bantu language spoken in Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia.
See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
Key to abbreviations: frm = formal, inf = informal, sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person).
| English | seSotho (Southern Sotho) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Kena ka kgotso! (sg) Kenang ka kgotso! (pl) |
| Hello (General greeting) | Lumela Dumela (sg) Dumelang (pl) Helele |
| How are you? | O kae? (Where are you?) O phela joang? (How are you living?) |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | Ke teng, wena o kae? (I'm here, where are you?) Ke phela hantle, wena o phela jwang? (I'm living fine, how are you living?) |
| Long time no see | |
| What's your name? | Lebitso la hao ke mang? |
| My name is ... | Lebitso laka ke ... |
| Where are you from? | O tswa kae? |
| I'm from ... | Ke tswa ... |
| Pleased to meet you | |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) |
Mmoro (sg) Mmorong (pl) |
| Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting) |
|
| Good evening (Evening greeting) |
Fonane (sg) Fonaneng (pl) |
| Good night | Fonane (sg) Fonaneng (pl) |
| Goodbye (Parting phrases) |
Sala hantle (to person staying) Tsamaya hantle (to person leaving) |
| Good luck! | Ke u lakaletsa lehlohonolo |
| Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) |
|
| Have a nice day | |
| Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
|
| Bon voyage / Have a good journey |
O tsamaye hantle; Tsela tsweu (white road) |
| I don't know | Ha ke tsebe |
| I don't understand | Ha ke utlwisise |
| Please speak more slowly | |
| Please say that again | |
| Please write it down | |
| Do you speak Sesotho? | O a bua Sesotho? Na o a bua Sesotho? |
| Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?') |
Ee |
| I'm learning Sesotho | Ki eathuta sesotho |
| Do you speak English? | O a bua Senyesemane? Na o a bua Senyesemane? |
| How do you say ... in Sesotho? | |
| Excuse me | Ntshwarele Ntsoarele |
| I would like ... | Ke kopa ... |
| How much is this? | Ke bokae? |
| Sorry | Ntshwarele |
| Thank you | Ke a leboha Ke a leboha haholo |
| Reply to thank you | O amohetswe |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | Ntloana e kae? Batekamore e kae? |
| This gentleman will pay for everything | |
| This lady will pay for everything | |
| Would you like to dance with me? | |
| I love you | Ke a o rata |
| Get well soon | |
| Leave me alone! | Ntohelle kele notsi! |
| Help! | Ke kopa thuso! Thusa! |
| Fire! | |
| Stop! | Ema! |
| Call the police! | |
| Christmas greetings | Keresemese e monate le mahlohonolo a selemo se setjha |
| Easter greetings | |
| Birthday greetings | Letsatsi le monate la tswalo |
| Congratulations! | Kea leboha! |
| One language is never enough | |
| My hovercraft is full of eels |
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Hear some of these phrases being spoken:
Information about Southern Sotho | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel
Other collections of Sesotho phrases
https://youtu.be/bdA9h41yUP8
http://www.sesotho.web.za/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Sesotho_phrasebook
http://sesotho.wikispaces.com/words
Bemba, Chichewa, Chokwe, Duala, Herero, Ibinda, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Lozi, Luganda, Ndebele (Northern - South Africa), Ndebele (Northern - Zimbabwe), Ndebele (Southern) Ngoni, Nkore, Northern Sotho, Oshiwambo, Shona, Southern Sotho (seSotho), Swahili, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
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