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Zulu Language
Index:
a) Vowels…………………………………………………………………….................. 3
Addition of Vowels
Changing of Vowels
b) Consonants…………………………………………………………………………... 3
c) Syllables
d) Noun Prefixes & Subject Concords………………………………………………... 3
e) Deverbatives………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Nouns referring to people
Nouns referring to things
f) Other Types of Nouns……………………………………………………………….. 5
Proper nouns
Collective nouns
Compound nouns
g) Singular & Plural……………………………………………………………………... 5
With noun classes
With possessive pronouns
With absolute pronouns
h) Vowel Commencing Verbs………………………………………………………….. 6
Rule 1
Rule 2
Rule 3
i) Non-verbs…………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Identifying copulatives
And = “-na-”
Has/ Have = “-na-”
With = “-nga-”
Locative non-verbs
Key For these Notes: = 1 or 2 letters has been cancelled out/ dropped
j) Tenses………………………………………………………………………………... 8
Future tense
Present tense
Recent past tense complete
Recent past tense continuous
Remote past tense complete
Remote past tense continuous
k) Pronouns……………………………………………………………………………… 10
Absolute pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns
l) Locatives……………………………………………………………………………… 11
Locative phrases
Sound changes
Prefixes and suffixes
m) Adjectives & Relatives………………………………………………………………. 13
n) Possessives………………………………………………………………………….. 15
o) Verbal Extensions……………………………………………………………………. 17
Impambosi yokwenzela
Impambosi yokwenzisa
Impambosi yokwenzeka
Impambosi yokwenzana
Impambosi yokwenzisisa
Impambosi yokwenzayenza
Impambosi yokwenziwa
p) Diminutives…………………………………………………………………………… 19
q) Conjunctions…………………………………………………………………………. 20
Group 1
Group 2
r) Object Concords…………………………………………………………………….. 21
s) Stative Verbs……………………………………………………………………….... 22
t) Commands…………………………………………………………………………... 23
a) Vowels:
In Zulu = vowels are not allowed next to one another. To prevent this, there are two rules one can
apply:
a. Addition of vowels:
*This rule is applied when “a-” is on the left…
a+a=a
a+i=e
a+o=o
a+u=o
b. Changing Vowels:
*This rule is applied when “a-” is NOT on the left.
Change:
“i-” “y-”
“u-” “w-”
b) Consonants:
In Zulu, ones lips aren’t meant to touch and therefore certain letters cannot be placed next to each
other.
**Sounds “-th-, -kh- & -ph-” aren’t not allowed to be preceded by letters “n” or “m.” When this
happens, cancel out the letter “h-” (ie: -nth-, -nkh-, -nph- OR -mth-, -mkh-, -mph-)
(This is mainly used in “ulu-” noun plurals and adjectives.)
nkh
**Consonants “w-” & “o-” are not allowed to follow respectively, as both sounds are produced in
the front of the mouth. When this happens, cancel the “w-”
(This is mainly used with the prefixes “lu-” and “ku-” as well as vowel commencing verbs and possessives)
o
c) Syllables
In Zulu, a syllable is always made by cutting the word directly after each vowel
**Always remember this when doing sound changes and in poetry (invumelwano)
e) Deverbatives
Definition: these are nouns that have been derived from verbs
a. Amabizomuntu (nouns referring to people) Note: Some verbs take other noun prefixes:
#Hint: Look at the sentence to decide on the noun prefix, working backwards by looking at the subject
concord, and translating it into the corresponding noun prefix.
Compound nouns are nouns that have been constructed using two different parts of speech.
**Each noun class has a singular and plural form (excluding classes 14 & 15)
Absolute Pronouns:
Possessive Pronouns:
Mina (I) Thina (we)
-mi (mine) -ithu (ours)
Wena (you) Nina (you all)
-kho (yours s.) -inu (yours pl.)
Yena (he/she) Bona (them)
-khe (his/hers) -bo (theirs)
Rule 1:
If the subject concord has two letters (ie: zi-/si-/ ba-/ etc) you need to cancel out the vowel of the
subject concord (excluding subject concords lu- and ku-)
eg. Ikati leba ubisi (the cat steals milk) [ie: li+eba = after cancelling the “-i-” = leba]
Rule 2:
If the subject concord has only 1 letter, that letter needs to be changed.
eg. Inja yeba inyama (the dog steals meat) [ie: i+eba = after changing “i-” to “y-” = yeba]
Umfana welusa izinkomo (the boy heards cows) [ie: u+elusa = after changing “u-” to “w-” = welusa]
Amakati eba ubisi (the cat steals milk) [ie: a+eba = drop “a-” = eba]
Amahhashi apha utshani (the horses give up grass) [ie: a+ipha = drop “i-” = apha]
Rule 3:
For subject concords “lu-” and “ku-” the change depends on the starting vowel of the verb:
**If the verb starts with “e-” or “a-” Change the vowel of the subject concord to “w-”
**If the verb starts with “o-” Drop the vowel of the subject concord
eg. Uhlanya lweba inyama (the lunatic steals meat) [ie: lu+eba = add the “w-” = lweba]
Ukudla kona umzimba (the food destroys a body) [ie: ku+ona = drop the “u-” = kona]
i) Non-Verbs:
1. Identifying Copulatives (Izibanjalo)
In a sentence with an identifying copulative, there will be at least 2 nouns. They follow
consecutively.
Ukuphika (negative) : aku + Absolute pronoun (of first noun) __ second noun
examples: Umama akuyena udokotela
Ikati akulona ingane
Indoda akuyona umkhulu
**Same rule applies when negating Absolute pronouns; Demonstrative
Pronouns; classes 1 & 1a; yena & wena
examples: akulona ikati
akuwona amakati
akuyena umuntu
akuyena.
akuwena.
2. And “na-”
“na-” is used to merge two nouns (ie: in a list) or a noun to a different part of speech.
examples: Umama nobaba (Mother and father) [List – 2 nouns]
` Umama naye (Mom and him) [Absolute Pronoun]
Uthisha nalesi sitshudeni (The teacher and students) [Demonstrative Pronoun]
3. Has or Have “na-”
This is used when showing possession on an object or thing.
Formula:
+ve = Subject Concord + na + Noun/ Pronoun (Absolute = drop the “-na”)
-ve = Negative Subject Concord + na + Absolute pronoun (dropping the “-na”) __ Noun
( of first noun) ( of second noun)
j) Tenses (izinkathi):
For Stative Verbs: +ve = Subject Concord + zo + be __ Subject Concord + Stative Verb
-ve = Subject Concord + zo + be __ Subject Concord + nga+ Stative Verb(i)
Formula: +ve = SF = Subject Concord + Verb(e) + Object OR LF= Subject Concord + Verb(ile)
-ve = Negative Subject Concord + Verb(anga)
Formula: +ve = -be- + Subeject Concord + Verb(a) **Subject concords, ‘u-’and ‘a-’ go before
-ve = -be- + Subject Concord + nga + Verb(i) the ‘-be-’------ eg. ubehamba & abehamba
k) Pronouns (Izabizwana):
For all demonstrative pronouns, make sure to write the pronoun as one word and the noun as a
different word. Also make sure to drop the first vowel of the noun if it follows after the pronoun.
Eduze (close)
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Buqamama (distant)
eg. lelo tafula [ie: leli tafula (eduze) lelo tafula (buqamama)]
Kude (far)
eg. leliya tafula [ie: leli tafula (eduze) leliya tafula (kude)]
Note: Be careful of the last letters (especially the classes with only 2 letters for ‘eduze’ pronoun as
you will need to add -wa-/ -ya-
l) Locatives (Ondaweni):
Locative phrases: After the locative phrase is used, the prefix for the following noun is
“kwa-” (except nouns from class 1a)
Phansi
Phezulu
Phandle eg. Eceleni kwetafula [ie: kwa+itafula = kwetafula]
Phakathi
Kude After the locative phrase is used, for nouns from class 1a, the prefix
Eduze for that noun is “kuka-”
Eceleni
Buqamama eg. Eceleni kukamama [ie: kuka+umama = kukamama]
Emuva
Phambili {Make sure to cancel the first vowel of the noun so vowel addition does not take place}
Phesheya
Enhla After the locative phrases “kude” and “”buqamama” is used, the
Ezansi
prefix for the following noun is “na-”
{DO NOT cancel the first vowel of the noun as vowel addition does take place}
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-mp- -ntsh-
Aba Abe
**Note: The prefix kwa is used to say
Awa Awe “to someones house”
12
In Zulu, there are only 18 adjectival stems where all adjectives are derived, while the rest are called
relatives.
Adjective Stems: Examples Of Relatives:
-nye (1) Numbers 6-10
-bili (2) Colours
-thathu (3) -qotho (honest)
-ne (4) -lula (easy)
-hlanu (5) -nzima (hard)
Basic relatives
-bi (ugly/bad) -cebile (rich)
-hle (beautiful/good) -buhlungu (painful)
-ngakhi? (how much) -bukhali (sharp)
-dala (old) Esidlalayo
-sha (new) Esidlala kahle
-ningi (many) Esizodla
-khulu (big) Esidlalile
-ncane (small) Esidlale kahle
Tenses
-nci (small) Ebesidlala
-ncinyane (small) Esadlala
-de (tall) Esasidlala
-fushane (short) Esikhathele Stative
-fuphi (short) Esinemoto Has/ Have
Esingudokotela Identifying Copulative
Esisekhaya Locative Non-verb
Adjective Prefixes:
Formula: +ve = after applying the first rule for adjectives above, drop the first vowel.
Eg. umuntu omuhle umuntu muhle [ie: dropped first vowel, “u-”]
13
Relative Prefixes:
-ve = Negative Subject Concord + Relative Stem (relative with any subject concord) eg. isigebengu asiqotho
NB: When doing both adjective and relative copulatives for absolute pronouns, special prefixes are
used:
Note: If the preceding noun is in copulative form, use normal prefixes. (Adjective/relative)
eg. Ngumama (-hle) Ngumama muhle
14
Sound Changes:
Adjective & Relative Prefixes: -b- -tsh- [imbobo]
Class: Noun Prefix: Adjectival Prefix Relative -bh- -j- [isigubhu]
Prefix:
1 Um-/umu- Om-/omu- O- -mb- -nj- [intambo]
1a U- Om-/omu- O-
2 Aba- Aba- Aba- -p- -tsh- -
2a O- Aba- Aba-
3 Umu-/um- Om-/omu- O- -ph- -sh- [iphaphu]
4 Imi- Emi- E-
5 I(li)- Eli- Eli- -mp- -ntsh- -
6 Ama- Ama- A-
-m- -ny- [umlomo]
7 Isi-/Is- Esi- Esi-
8 Izi-/Iz- Ezi- Ezi-
9 In-/Im- En- E-
10 Izin-/Izim- Ezin- Ezi-
11 Ulu- Olu- Olu-
- Izin-/izim-/izi- Ezin-/Ezim-/Ezi- Ezi-
14 Ubu-/Utsh- Obu- Obu-
15 Uku- Oku- Oku-
Absolute Adjectival Relative
Pronouns: Prefix: Prefix: REMEMBER: Class 1a (u-) is
Mina Engim-/Engimu- Engi- used for:
Wena Om-/Omu- O-
Yena Om-/Omu- O- -People’s names = family tree
Thina Esiba- Esiba- names and titles
Bona Aba- Aba-
Nina Eniba Eniba- -Months/years = uKhisimuzi
(Christmas)
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**Do NOT CANCEL SINGLE LETTERED SUBJECT CONCORDS, instead change them.
u- wa- / i- ya- / a- a-/ wa-
Mina -mi
Class: Noun Prefix: Possessives: Possessives: Possessives:
(Classes 1 &1a) (Other Nouns) (Pronouns) Wena -kho
1 Um-/umu- Ka- Wa- Wa-
1a U- Ka- Wa- Wa- Yena -khe
2 Aba- Baka- Ba- Ba-
Thina -ithu
2a O- Baka- Ba- Ba-
3 Umu-/um- Ka- Wa- Wa- Bona -bo
4 Imi- Ka- Ya- Ya-
5 I(li)- Lika- La- La- Nina -inu
6 Ama- Ka- Wa- A-
7 Isi-/Is- Sika- Sa- Sa-
8 Izi-/Iz- Zika- Za- Za-
9 In-/Im- Ka- Ya- Ya-
10 Izin-/Izim- Zika- Za- Za-
11 Ulu- Luka- Lwa- Lwa-
- Izin-/izim-/izi- Zika- Za- Za-
14 Ubu-/Utsh- Buka- Ba- Ba-
15 Uku- Kuka- Kwa- Kwa-
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Formula: Take the verb, drop the last letter, add the respective verbal extension on ending
with “-a” (present tense)
1. Impamposi Yokwenzela
Note: If you are doing something on your behalf (ie: for yourself) we use the concord -zi- to
show it.
eg. Ngiyazifundela.
Ngiyazihambela.
Baziculela…
Uzidlela…
Examples: Umama uphekela izingane ukudla. [Followed by noun]
Umalume uthengela izingane amaswidi. [Followed by noun]
UThandi ubhekela umngane wakhe imali. [Followed by noun]
UBonisile ufundela uthisha incwadi. [Followed by noun]
Umfana uyaziphekela. [Has -zi-]
Umqeqeshi usebenzela iqembu. [Followed by noun]
2. Impambosi Yokwenzisa
Exceptions: If the last syllable is –ka then the verbal extension is –sa.
eg: -vuka -vusa
If the last syllable is –la then the verbal extension is –za.
eg. -vula -vuza
Examples: Umama udlisa ingane. [Followed by noun]
Uthisha ukhulumisa umfundi. [Followed by noun]
Amaphoyisa agijimisa iziboshwa. [Followed by noun]
Ubaba uhambisa izingane esikoleni. [Followed by noun]
Usisi uphekisa umama. [Followed by noun]
UNozinti ukhulumisa abanye abadlali. [Followed by noun]
3. Impambosi Yokwenzeka
Exceptions: Some words take the verbal extension akala- instead:
-siza -sizakala
-nceda -ncedakala
-bona -bonakala
-thola -tholakala
-zwa -zwakala
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“-iwa” is used for monosyllabic verbs (such as -dla) as well as monosyllabic vowel
commencing verbs.
“-wa” is used for all polysyllabic verbs (such as -hamba) and polysyllabic vowel commencing
verbs.
18
Prefixes used after verbal extension on noun = ng-/ y-/ ngu-/ yi-/ ku and then a verb
**Nouns starting with: i-/ izi-/ isi- take “y-” or “yi-”
a-/ o- take “ng-”
u- take “ngu-”
Sound Changes:
-b- -tsh- [imbobo]
-p- -tsh- -
-mp- -ntsh- -
p) Diminutives (izinciphiso):
By definition, diminutives are when you take a word and you make it smaller.(Its meaning not the
actual word) To do this we use the suffixes “-ana” and “-wana”
eg. Isandla
Itshe
Ikhishi
eg. Imoto
Umuntu
Indlu
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Note: Diminutive sound changes are slightly different to that of adjectives; relatives; verbal
extensions; etc… [The difference is that in diminutives there are a few more]
Sound Changes:
-b- -tsh- -t-
-mp- -ntsh- -
-dl- -l-
-ke (then)
(Next word is from remote past complete)
20
For Group 2
Conjunctions:
Group 2 Conjunctions:
Change:
Uma/ Nxa (if/when) Group 2 Formula:
u- (people) to e-
+ve = Subject Concord + Verb(a)
Ngenkathi (during)
-ve = Subject Concord + nga + Verb (i) ba- to be-
Lapho (while)
For Stative Verbs: a- to
Noma (or/either) -Only change the prefix (if needed) e-
eg. Uma umama ekhathele. ..
-se (still) …noma ingane ikhuluphele.
Yikho-nje/ Yingakho (this is why) For Group 1 Conjunctions then a Vowel Verbs:
-“a-” and “u-” stay as normal vowel verb (drop subject concord)
Yize (even though)
-“ba-” changes to “be-”
Mhla (during)
eg. …ngenkathi ubaba ipha.
-Hlale (always do) …ukuthi abantwana beba.
…mhla amakati osa.
Kade/ Bese (and then)
Ave (emphasising)
Kungani? (why)
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Rule 1
Rule 2
Rule 3
Rule 4
**stative verbs may be used in present tense (without -ya-) as well as in continuous tense
(not in future or in completed tense)
When negating it, you negate it according to each tense however you do not apply any changes to
the suffix.
22
t) Commands
Commands in Zulu are used as a polite instruction.
23