Learn Chichewa

FOOD - CHAKUDYA

Locally Malawians have three distinctive meals per day, namely:
Breakfast - Kadzusa
Lunch - Nkhumaliro
Supper - Mgonero

OTHER FOODS - ZAKUDYA ZINA

Porridge - Phala
Eggs - Mazira
Maize - Chimanga
Potato - Mbatata
Fish - Nsomba
Meat - Nyama
Beans - Nyemba
Rice - Mpunga
Chicken - Nkhuku
Tomato - Tomato
Onion - Anyezi
Garlic - Adyo
Pumpkins - Mawungu
Cucumber - Nkhaka
Fruits - Zipatso
Water - Madzi
Tea - Tiyi
Milk - Mkaka
Salt - Mchere
Sugar - Shuga
Beer - Mowa
Drinks - Zakumwa

FOOD VERBS

To eat - Kudya
To drink - Kumwa
To cook - Kuphika
To be enough - Kukhuta
To chew - Kutafuna
To taste - Kulawa
To swallow - Kumeza

SENTENCES

I haven't eaten anything today - Sindinadye kalikonse lero
Do you drink beer? - Kodi iwe umamwa Moya?
I like rice with chicken - Ndimakonda mpunga wa nkhuku.
Iye akumwa madzi - She is drinking water.
Ndimadya phala mmawa uliwonse - I eat porridge every morning.

Vocabulary from examples:
Kalikonse - Anything
Lero - Today
Kodi - An interrogative word at the beginning of every question
Sindinadye - I haven't eaten (The negative for: ndadya - I have eaten)
Ndimakonda - I like (-konda - to like/love)
Iye - He/She
Mmawa - Morning
uliwonse - every

Welcome back!
The Lessons will be back soon!

CHICHEWA VERBS

Verbs are words that show an action, occurrence, or state of being.
They create a relationship between the subject and the object, expressing what is happening in a sentence and indicating time through tense.

In Language, every sentence contains a Verb.
it can be an action:

• John plays a drum.
• John amayimba ng'oma.

or it can be a linking verb:

• Mary is intelligent.
• Mary ndi wanzeru.

DID YOU KNOW?
In Language, the ratio of Nouns:Verbs:Adjectives
is estimated to be 14:3:1.
In simple terms it tells that;
if we puts all words found in Chichewa language in equal groups.
14 words in each group will be Nouns
only 3 will be Verbs.
This indicates that, despite their high frequency of use,
verbs are few in number. Making it much easy to master them.
This is an advantage for New Language Learners.

Below is the List of 78 Common Used Verbs in Chichewa.

1. to read - kuwelenga
2. to write - kulemba
3. to go - kupita
4. to come - kubwera
5. to drink - kumwa
6. to eat - kudya
7. to speak - kuyankhula
8. to say - kunena
9. to listen - kumvela
10. to love - kukonda
11. to hate - kuzonda
12. to sell - kugulisa
13. to buy - kugula
14. to cry - kulira
15. to laugh - kuseka
16. to sit - kukhala pansi
17. to watch - kuwonela
18. to want - kufuna
19. to need - kufuna
20. to enter - kulowa
21. to give - kupeleka
22. to call - kuitana
23. to walk - kuyenda
24. to beat - kumenya
25. to open - kusengula
26. to teach - kuphunzisa
27. to receive - kulandira
28. to send - kutumiza
29. to deliver - kupeleka
30. to ask - kufunsa
31. to search - kusaka
32. to look for - kufunafuna
33. to thank - kuthokoza
34. to stop - kuyima/kusiya
35. to play - kusewera.
36. to use - kugwiritsa ntchito
37. to divide - kugawa
38. to feel - kumva
39. to take - kutenga
40. to do/make - kupanga
41. to live - kukhala
42. to finish - kumaliza/kusiriza
43. to wait - kudikira
44. to let - kusiya
45. to meet - kukumana
46. to add - kuphatikiza
47. to die - kufa
48. to kill - kupha
49. to slaughter - kupha
50. to pass - kudusa
51. to wish - kufuna
52. to wear/to put on - kuvala
53. to close - kuseka
54. to push - kukankha
55. to ride - kukwela
56. to bring - kubwelesa
57. to lose - kutaya
58. to kick - kumenya theche
59. to taste - kulawa
60. to draw - kujambula
61. to catch - kugwira
62. to knock - kugogoda
63. to hug - kukhumbatira
64. to kiss - kumpyompyona
65. to miss - kusowa
66. to talk - kuyankhula
67. to regret - kunong'oneza bondo
68. to repair/mend/fix - kukonza
69. to hurt - kupweteka
70. to pay - kulipira
71. to think - kuganiza
72. to gain - kupindura
73. to put/to place - kuyika
74. to save - kusunga
75. to shout - kukuwa
76. to cut - kudula
77. to pray - kupemphera
78. to change - kusintha

CHICHEWA VERBS

Sentences are made-up of a combination of words.
• A boy is drinking water.
• Mnyamata akumwa madzi.

At the center of a Sentence is a verb. A Verb describes an action that is happening.
• drinking - kumwa

Unlike in English where Verbs act as standalone words, Chichewa Verbs do not only express ACTION they carry other details like:
• the subject - who is doing the action
• the object - who is receiving the action
• the tense - time and manner of an action
• etc

It is for this reason that Chichewa verbs can form a sentence on their own.

EXAMPLE 1:
Ndimakukonda - I love you.
Tamuwona - We have seen him.

I am aware that a sudden change of a single word
'Tamuwona' into a sentence 'We have seen him'
might seem scary to someone new to the language, but after our subsequent lessons you will appreciate how it all works.

A FRIEND FROM THE PAST
Before we look deeper into our Example 1, let's remember. Subject-Very-Object.
A simple sentence is made up of
• a subject
• a verb
• and an object.
A Subject do an Action
A Verb describes an Action being done
An Object receives an Action.

EXAMPLE 2:
The boy is kicking a ball.
Mnyamata akumenya mpira.

• The boy (Subject)
• Kick (Verb)
• Ball (Object)

I LOVE YOU
« Back to Example 1.
• Ndimakukonda - I love you.
Even though the Chichewa equivalent of the popular romantic phrase comes as a single word 'Ndimakukonda', it is actually a group of words attached to a Verb.
Let's breakup the word and face each member one by one:

Ndi-ma-ku-konda
Ndi- is a Subject Prefix for ' I '
ma- is a Tense Infix
ku- is an Object Infix for ' you '
konda is a Stem Verb for ' love '

After this I believe that our verb 'Ndimakukonda' looks a little friendly.

Ndi - I
ma - describes frequency(often or always)
ku - you
konda - to love.

Ndimakukonda - I love you.

VOCABULARY FOR EXAMPLES
kuwona - to see
kukonda - to love
kumenya - to kick
kumwa - to drink
mpira - ball
madzi - water

TOMORROW
In our next chapters we will look into Verb Prefixes and Infix in detail.

DAYS OF THE WEEK - MASIKU A PA SABATA

ENGLISH - CHICHEWA

Monday - Lolemba
Tuesday - Lachiwiri
Wednesday - Lachitatu
Thursday - Lachinayi
Friday - Lachisanu
Saturday - Loweluka
Sunday - Lamulungu

EXAMPLES

Today is Saturday - Lero ndi Loweluka.
Tomorrow will be Sunday - Mmawa lizakhala Lamulungu
Yesterday was Friday - Dzuro linali Lachisanu
Ndimapita ku tchalitchi Lamulungu lirilonse - I go to church every Sunday.
What day is today? - Kodi lero ndi lachingati?/ Kodi lero ndi tsiku lanji?

In Chichewa, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday derived their names from the Chichewa tradition numbers (Previous Post on this Page) of
-wiri (two), -tatu (three), -nayi (four), -sanu (five).

In Literally translation
Lachiwiri means Day two
Lachitatu means Day three
Lachinayi means Day four
Lachisanu means Day five
While the others literally means
Lolemba - Day of writing (kulemba - to write)
Loweruka - Day of retiring/resting (kuweruka - to retire)
Lamulungu - Day of God ( Mulungu - God).

VOCABULARY: TIME

Time - Nthawi
What time is it? - Nthawi ili bwanji?
What time? - Nthawi yanji?
Morning - Mmamawa
Afternoon - Masana
Evening - Mazulo
Night - Usiku
Midnight - Pakati pa usiku
Year - Chaka
Month - Mwezi
Week - Sabata
Day - Siku
Hour - Ola
Minute - Phindi
Past - Kale
Future - Tsogolo
Now - Pano
Today - Lero
Yesterday - Dzuro
Tomorrow - Mmawa

FAMILY

Let's learn the common nouns related to Family.

NOUNS (Mayina)
ENGLISH - CHICHEWA

Family - Banja
Father - Bambo
Mother - Mayi
Parents - Makolo; Parent - Kholo
Grandparents - Agogo
Grandfather - Agogo Aamuna
Grandmother - Agogo Aakazi
Children - Ana ; Child - Mwana
Grandchildren - Zidzukulu; Grandchild - Chidzukulu
Son - Mwana wa mamuna
Daughter - Mwana wa mkazi
Brother - Mchimwene
Sister - Chemwali
Relatives - Achibale/Abale
Uncle - Malume
Aunt - Zakhali
Stepfather - Bambo opeza
Stepmother - Mayi opeza
Stepchild - Mwana opeza
Father-in-law/Mother-in-law - Apongozi
Son-in-law/Daughter-in-law - Mpongozi
Brother-in-law/Sister-in-law - Mlamu
Boyfriend/Girlfriend - Chibwenzi
Person - Munthu
People - Anthu
Twins - Mapasa
Friend - Mzake

NUMBERS

There are Two groups of Numbers that are used in Chichewa to describe quantity
1. TRADITIONAL NUMBERS

ENGLISH - CHICHEWA
1 One -modzi
2 Two -wiri
3 Three -tatu
4 Four -nayi
5 Five -sanu
6 Six -sanu ndi modzi
7 Seven -sanu ndi wiri
8 Eight -sanu ndi tatu
9 Nine -sanu ndi nayi
10 Ten -khumi

In Chichewa, nouns are grouped. Hence, numbers always have to agree with the preceding noun class.
we will learn more about noun classes in our coming lessons.

EXAMPLE
Ana awiri = two children
Nyumba ziwiri = two houses
Anyamata asanu ndi anayi - Nine boys

2. SIMPLIFIED NUMBERS

Modern Chichewa users and speakers rarely use the traditional numbers from 4 upwards.
A simplified form of numbers derived from the English equivalents are in use mostly in today's spoken Chichewa.

ENGLISH - CHICHEWA
1 One -modzi
2 Two -wiri
3 Three -tatu
4 Four - folo
5 Five - fayifi
6 Six - sikisi
7 Seven - seveni
8 Eight - eyiti
9 Nine - nayini
10 Ten - teni

In spoken language the sound of these numbers is the same as their English counterparts.

EXAMPLES

Ndagula tomato teni. - I bought ten tomatoes
Ali ndi ana seveni - She has seven children
Mbalame zitatu - Three birds

VOCABULARY IN EXAMPLES

Ana - Children (plural) [singular: Mwana - Child]
Nyumba - House/s ['Nyumba' is both plural and singular]
Anyamata - Boys (plural) [singular: Mnyamata - A Boy]
Ndagula - I bought [Nda-gula; Nda - subject prefix for 'I'; gula - verb 'to buy']
Ali - She has [A-li; A - subject prefix for 'He/She'; li - verb 'to have']
Mbalame - Bird/s ['Mbalame' is both plural and singular]

INTERROGATIVE WORDS

Who? - Ndani?
Where? - Kuti?
What? - Chiyani?
How many? - Angati?
What time? - Nthawi yanji?
When? - Liti?
How much? - Ndalama zingati?
Why? - Chifukwa chiyani?
How? - Bwanji?
Because - Chifukwa

GREETINGS / MONI

How are you? - Muli bwanji?
I am fine, and you? - Ndili bwino, kaya inu?
I am fine, how about you? - Ndili bwino, kaya inu muli bwanji?
I am not fine. - Sindili bwino. (Negative)

MULI BWANJI? is a general greeting that is can be used throughout a day, despite the time of the day.

During other times of the day, there are some greetings that are specific with the time.
_______________________________
Good morning? - Mwadzuka bwanji?
Response: Tadzuka bwino. Kaya inu?
Counter response: Tadzuka bwino.

If otherwise the response can be:
I am not fine - Sindinadzuke bwino (Negative)

MWADZUKA BWANJI? can literary be translated as:
'How did you feel when you woke up this morning?'
Hence the response:
'I woke up feeling fine, how about you?'
And then
'I woke up feeling fine'.
_________________________________
Good afternoon/evening - Mwaswera bwanji?
Response: Taswera bwino, kaya inu?
Counter response: Taswera bwino.

If otherwise the response can be:
I am not fine - Sindinaswere bwino (Negative)

MWASWERA BWANJI? can literary be translated as:
'How have you been feeling through the day?'
Hence the response
'I have been feeling good, how about you?'
And then
'I have been feeling fine.'
__________________________________
Good night - Usiku wabwino.
Response:
Good night - Usiku wabwino
Good night too! - Nanunso usiku wabwino
Same to you - Nanunso chimodzimodzi

Mostly given when people are retiring for the night. Or in the evening as a farewell if they will not see each other until the next day.

SUBJECT PRONOUNS.

In order to use verbs, you will need first to learn about subject pronouns.
A Subject Pronoun replaces a name or title of a person or thing and acts as the subject of the verb.
In both Chichewa and English, subject pronouns are divided into three groups;
first person, second person and third person.

SINGULAR
I - ine
You (Familiar) - iwe
You (Formal) - inu
He/She - iye

PLURAL
We - ife
You - inu
They - iwo

* Chichewa has two subject pronouns that mean 'You' (singular).
Use 'Iwe' when addressing a friend, a close family member, or a child.
Use 'Inu' when to address a person with whom you have a formal or more distant relationship, such as a superior at work, a teacher, or any person older than you.

EXAMPLES:

I don't have money.
Ine ndilibe ndalama.

You, come here.
Iwe, bwera kuno.

You can sit here.
Inu mungathe kukhala apa.

She is going to the market.
Iye akupita ku msika.

We are teachers.
Ife ndi aphunzitsi.

You (group) have played very well.
Inu mwasewera bwino kwambili.

They like drinking beer.
Iwo amakonda kumwa mowa.

GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION

VOWELS (a,e,i,o,u)
A as in ‘far’ Examples: vala {wear} mwala {stone} ana {children}
E as in ‘wet’ Examples: yenda {walk} eya {yes}
I as in ‘inn’ Examples: imba {sing} Ine {I, me} fika {arrive}
O as in ‘ore’ {never as in ‘hope’ as often mistakenly pronounced by White} Examples: ona {see} gona {sleep}
U as in ‘full’ Examples: usi {smoke} kumba {dig} funa {want}

CHEWA LANGUAGE

Chewa (also known as Nyanja, /ˈnjændʒə/) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi and Zambia, where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zimbabwe where it is a recognised minority language.

The noun class prefix chi- is used for languages, so the language is usually called Chichewa and Chinyanja (spelled Cinianja in Mozambique).

In Malawi, the name was officially changed from Chinyanja to Chichewa in 1968 at the insistence of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda(himself of the Chewa people), and this is still the name most commonly used in Malawi today.

In Zambia, the language is generally known as Nyanja or Cinyanja/Chinyanja '(language) of the lake' (referring to Lake Malawi).