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

Pronunciation guide[edit]

Vowels[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Phrase list[edit]

Basics[edit]

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 Sesotho [well].

[ ]. ( [])

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.

. (Dumela/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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Clock time[edit]

Hour

Hora

Hours

Dihora

Minute

Motsotso

Minutes

Metsotso

Second

Motsotswana

Seconds

Metsotswana

Duration[edit]

Days[edit]

Monday

Mantaha

Tuesday

Labobedi

Wednesday

Laboraro

Thursday

Labone

Friday

Labohlano

Saturday

Moqebelo

Sunday

Sontaha

Weekend

Mafelo a beke

Months[edit]

January

("pherekgong ")

February

("hlakola")

March

("hlakubele")

April

("mmesa")

May

("motsheanong")

June

("phupu")

July

("phupjane")

August

("phato")

September

("lwetse")

October

("motsheanong")

November

("pudungwane")

December

("tshitswe")

Writing time and date[edit]

Colors[edit]

Red

("kgubedu")

Yellow

("tshehla")

Green

("tala")

Blue

("bolou")

Black

("ntsho")

White

("sweu")

Purple

("perese")

Orange

("...")

Brown

("...")

Grey

("putswa")

Pink

("...")

Transportation[edit]

Bus and train[edit]

How much is a ticket to _____?

("...")ke bokaye ticket

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[edit]

Taxi[edit]

Lodging[edit]

===Money===tjhelete Che le te

Eating[edit]

Eat the food

("eja dijo")

Bars[edit]

Shopping[edit]

Driving[edit]

Authority[edit]