A collection of useful phrases in Tswana, a Bantu language spoken in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
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.
Notes: sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person), >m = said to males, >f = said to females. The words rra (sir) and mma (madam) are used in formal phrases.
| English | Setswana (Tswana) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | O amogetswe (sg) Le amogetswe (pl) |
| Hello (General greeting) | Dumela |
| How are you? | O tsogile jang (sg) Le kae? (sg) Le tsogile jang? (pl) |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | Ke tsogile sentle (sg) Re teng (sg) Re tsogile sentle (pl) |
| Long time no see | Ke kgale re sa bonane |
| What's your name? | Leina le gago ke mang? (frm) O mang? (inf) |
| My name is ... | Leina la me ke ... |
| Where are you from?< | Ko gae ke kae? |
| I'm from ... | Ke tswa ko ... |
| Pleased to meet you | Ke itumelela go goitsi |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) |
Dumêla rra (frm>m) Dumêla mma (frm>f) |
| Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting) |
Thupama e e monate |
| Good evening (Evening greeting) |
Muitsibowa a a monate |
| Good night | Borôkô! Robala sentle (sleep well) |
| Goodbye (Parting phrases) |
Tsamaya sentle (go well - said when leaving) Sala sentle (stay well - said when staying) Go siame (see you) Ke tla go bona (see you) Ke tla go bôna kamoso (see you tomorrow) Ke tla go bôna kgantele (see you later) |
| Good luck! | Masego ke ao O nne le masego |
| Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) |
Pholo e ntle! |
| Have a nice day | Tlhôla sentle |
| Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
Itumelele dijo |
| Bon voyage / Have a good journey |
Tselatshweu Tsmaya sentle (go peacefully) |
| I understand | Ke a tlhaloganya |
| I don't understand | Ga ke tlhaloganye |
| I don't know | Ga ke itse sepe |
| Please speak more slowly | Bua ka bonya |
| Please say that again | Ke kopa o boeletse gape |
| Please write it down | Ke kopa o e kwale fa fatshe |
| Do you speak Tswana? | A o bua Setswana? |
| Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?') |
Ee, fela ga nnyane |
| How do you say ... in Tswana? | Wa bo o reng ... ka Setswana? |
| Excuse me | Intshwarele |
| I would like ... | Ke kopa ... |
| How much is this? | E ke bokae? |
| Sorry | Ke kopa tshwarelo |
| Please | Tswêê-tswêê |
| Thank you | Ke a leboga, rra (frm>m) Ke a leboga, mma (frm>f) Ke itumetse, rra (frm>m) Ke itumetse, mma (frm>f) |
| Reply to thank you | Ke itumetse, rra (frm>m) Ke itumetse, mma (frm>f) |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | Ntlwana ya boitiketso e kae? |
| This gentleman will pay for everything | Lekau le le tsile go duela tsotlhe |
| This lady will pay for everything | Lekgarebe le le tsile go duela tsotlhe |
| Would you like to dance with me? | A ga o batle go bina? |
| I miss you | Ke go gopotse |
| I love you | Ke a go rata |
| Get well soon | O fole ka potlako |
| Go away! | Tsamaya kwa! |
| Leave me alone! | Ntlogele! |
| Help! | Nthuse! |
| Fire! | Molelo! |
| Stop! | Ema! |
| Call the police! | Bitsa mapodisi! |
| Christmas greetings | Keresemose e e monate le ngwaga o o itumedisang |
| Easter greetings | Malatsi a paseka aa itumedisang |
| Birthday greetings | Letsatsi la tswalo lele monate |
| One language is never enough | Laleme le le lengwe ga le a lekanela |
| My hovercraft is full of eels | Mokoro wa me o tletse ditlhapi |
Tswana phrases and corrections provided by Peter Ndukulu, with additional phrases and corrections by Kgamanyane Ntsie and Hendrick Matlhomola Mantsho
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about Tswana | Phrases | Numbers
Other collections of Tswana phrases
http://www.setswana.info/wiki/index.php?title=Simple_phrases
http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Tswana_phrasebook
http://www.salanguages.com/setswana/words.htm
Bemba, Chichewa, Chokwe, Duala, Herero, Ibinda, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Lozi, Luganda, Ndebele (Northern - South Africa), Ndebele (Northern - Zimbabwe), Ndebele (Southern) Nkore, Northern Sotho, Oshiwambo, Shona, Southern Sotho (seSotho), Swahili, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
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