Your Very First steps in Chichewa - Some important words Print

interrogatives

chifukwa chiyani? (why?)
kuti? (where?)
pa njira yanji? (how?; in which manner?)
pa nthawi yanji? (when?; at what time?)
liti? (when?; on which day?)
ndani? (who?)

conjunctions

ndi (and)
ngakhale (although)
chifukwa (because)

nouns of time

nthawi\nthawi - time
nthawi wosatha - eternity
tsiku\masiku - day
mwezi\miyezi - month
chaka\zaka - year
zana\mazana - century
ora\maora - hour
mawa - tomorrow
m'mawa - in the morning
masana - around noon
madzulo - late in the afternoon
usiku - night,evening
dzana - the day before yesterday
mawa wa mawa - the day after tomorrow

professions

mlimi\a- - farmer
mphunzitsi\a- - teacher
mbusa\a- - pastor, shepherd
sing'anga\a- - doctor
womanga\o- - builder
msilikali\a- - soldier
polisi\a- - policemen
mlonda\a- - watchman
mfumu\mfumu - village chief, king
wokonza njinga - bicycle repairer
wokonza nsapato (cobbler = shoemaker)
wokonza galimoto - mechanic
woyendetsa galimoto - driver

adverbs

choyamba (in the first place)
chachiwiri (secondly)
chachitatu (thirdly)
chachinayi (fourthly)


Assignment: These are the well known verses Chibvumbulutso (Revelation) 1: 4,5.

‘Chisomo kwa inu ndi mtendere, zochokera kwa Iye amene ali, ndi amene
adali, ndi amene alinkudza; ndi kwa mizimu isanu ndi iwiri yokhala ku
mpando wa chifumu wake; ndi kwa Yesu Khristu mboni yokhulupirikayo,
wobadwa woyamba wa akufa, ndi mkulu wa mafumu a dziko la pansi'.

* study how the word ‘ndi’ is used and indicate whether it is used as a conjunctive or as a verb.

**define all the words in this text.

 

< Back to the course index

 
Providing a tool for communication in Chichewa/ Chinyanja speaking Africa   Webmaster -  Copyright © 2024 Steven Paas