Sesotho phrasebook

Sesotho is the main language of Lesotho and is one of the official languages of South Africa.

Pronunciation guide

Vowels

a 

as in spa

e 

as in pit, cafe, or bed

i 

as in beet

o 

as in put, French "oiseau", or board

u 

as in boot

Consonants

b 

same as English, only fully voiced

bj 

pronounced as above, followed by either the s as in vision or the j as in yarn

d 

same as English as an allophone of l that only occurs before i and u

f 

same as English

fj 

pronounced as above, followed by sh as in she

h 

same as English, voiced or unvoiced; it's an allophone, either way

j 

as in vision or jam

k 

as in skill, only unaspirated

kh 

fully aspirated k, which occurs mostly in old loanwords and ideophones

l 

same in English

m 

same in English

n 

same in English

ng 

as in sing

ny 

as in onion or Spanish "el niño"

p 

as in spit, only unaspirated

ph 

fully aspirated p

pj 

pronounced as p, followed by sh as in she

pjh 

aspirated pj

s 

same as English

sh 

as in shoe

t 

as in stalk, only unaspirated

th 

aspirated t

tj 

as in which, only unaspirated

tjh 

aspirated tj

ts 

as in cats, only unaspirated

tsh 

aspirated ts

w 

same in English

y 

as in yarn

Tricky Consonants

hl 

kg 

as in the way the Scottish say loch

r 

as in French, only soft; originally pronounced as an alveolar rolled lingual

tl 

tlh 

aspirated tl

q 

qh 

aspirated q

nq 

Common diphthongs

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs OPEN  CLOSED  ENTRANCE  EXIT  PUSH  PULL  TOILET  MEN  WOMEN  FORBIDDEN

Hello. 

dumela. (doomellah)

Hello. (informal) 

Khotso. (hotsow)

How are you? 

U phela joang? (oo-pee-la-jwang)

Fine, thank you. 

Kea phela (key-ah-pee-la)

What is your name? 

Lebitso la hau ke mang? (leh-beet-saw la-how key-mung)

My name is ______ . 

Lebitso la ka ke ______ . ( _____ .)

Nice to meet you. 

Ke thabela ho u tseba . ( key-ta-bell-a-who-oo-t-see-ba )

Please. 

. (Ke kopa hore o... )

Thank you. 

Kea leboha. ( )

You're welcome. 

. ( )

Yes. 

. (Eea )

No. 

. (Che )

Excuse me. (getting attention) 

. (A k'u ntšoarele hanyane)

Excuse me. (begging pardon) 

. ( )

I'm sorry. 

Ntšoarele. ( )

Goodbye 

Sala hantle. ( )

Goodbye (informal) 

. ( )

I can't speak name of language [well]. 

[ ]. ( [Ha ke tseba ho bua Sefora/Sekhooa.])

Do you speak English? 

U bua sekhooa ? ( ?)

Is there someone here who speaks English? 

? (Hona le motho ea tsebang ho bua Sekhooa?)

Help! 

Ke kopa thuso! ( !)

Look out! 

! (Hlokomela !)

Good morning. 

. (Lumaka/Khotso )

Good evening. 

. (dumela/Khotso )

Good night. 

. (Lumela/Khotso )

Good night (to sleep) 

Robala hantle. ( )

I don't understand. 

Ha ke utloisise. ( )

Where is the toilet? 

? (Ntloaneng ke kae?)

I'm OK or fine (Ke hantle )

Problems

Leave me alone. 

("kgaohana le nna")

Don't touch me! 

("se ntshware")

I'll call the police. 

("ketla founela mapolesa")

Police! 

("mapolesa plr..leponesa sing")

Stop! Thief! 

("Ema!leshodu")

I need your help. 

ke hloka thuso ya hao("...")

It's an emergency. 

("ke tshwanyetso")

I'm lost. 

ke lahlehile ("...")

I lost my bag. 

("ke lahlehetswe ke mokotla waka")

I lost my wallet. 

("ke lahlehetswe ke sepatjhe saka")

I'm sick. 

("ke ya kula")

I've been injured. 

("ke lemetse")

I need a doctor. 

("ke hloka ngaka")

Can I use your phone? 

("Nka sebedisa mohala wa hao wa thekeng")

Numbers

1 

Ngoe

2 

Peli

3 

Tharo

4 

'Ne

5 

Hlano

6 

Ts'elela

7 

Supa

8 

Robeli

9 

Robong

10 

Leshome

11 

Leshome le motso o mong

12 

Leshome le metso e 'meli

13 

Leshome le metso e meraro

14 

Leshome le metso e mene

15 

Leshome le metso e mehlano

16 

Leshome le metso e ts'eletseng

17 

Leshome le metso e supileng

18 

Leshome le metso e robeli

19 

Leshome le metso e robong

20 

Mashome a mabeli

30 

Mashome a mararo

40 

Mashome a mane

50 

Mashome a mahlano

60 

Mashome a ts'eletseng

70 

Mashome a supileng

80 

Mashome a robeli

90 

Mashome a robong

100 

Lekholo

200 

Makholo a mabeli

300 

Makholo a mararo

400 

Makholo a mane

600 

Makholo a mahlano

600 

Makholo a ts'eletseng

700 

Makholo a supileng

800 

Makholo a robeli

900 

Makholo a robong

1000 

Sekete

Time

Clock time

Hour 

Hora

Hours 

Dihora

Minute 

Motsotso

Minutes 

Metsotso

Second 

Motsotswana

Seconds 

Metsotswana

Duration

Days

Monday 

Mantaha

Tuesday 

Labobedi

Wednesday 

Laboraro

Thursday 

Labone

Friday 

Labohlano

Saturday 

Moqebelo

Sunday 

Sontaha

Weekend 

Mafelo a beke

Months

January 

("pherekgong ")

February 

("hlakola")

March 

("hlakubele")

April 

("mmesa")

May 

("motsheanong")

June 

("phupu")

July 

("phupjane")

August 

("phato")

September 

("lwetse")

October 

("motsheanong")

November 

("...")

December 

("tshitswe")

Writing time and date

Colors

Red 

("...")

Yellow 

("...")

Green 

("...")

Blue 

("...")

Black 

("...")

White 

("...")

Purple 

("...")

Orange 

("...")

Brown 

("...")

Grey 

("...")

Pink 

("...")

Transportation

Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____? 

("...")

One ticket to _____, please. 

("...")

Where does this train/bus go? 

("...")

Where is the train/bus to _____? 

("...")

Does this train/bus stop in _____? 

("...")

When does the train/bus for _____ leave? 

("...")

When will this train/bus arrive in _____? 

("...")

Directions

Taxi

Lodging

===Money===tjhelete Che le te

Eating

Bars

Shopping

Driving

Authority