Kongo Gender
Welcome to the fifth Kongo lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Kongo to help you practice your daily phrases.
man yakala |
woman nkento |
husband bakala |
wife nkento |
boy mwana yakala |
girl mwana nkento |
father tata |
mother mama |
Gender Grammar Rules
In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.
| Grammar + Rules - Kongo |
|---|
| my son is a student [masculine + noun] mwana na mono ya yakala ikele mwana ya nzonkanda |
| her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] mwana na yandi ya nkento ikele mwana ya nzonkanda |
| he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] yandi kele na mpangi ya yakala ya nda |
| she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] yandi kele na mpangi ya nkento ya nda |
| his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] bampangi na yandi ya bayakala bo kele bana ya fioti |
| his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] bampangi na yandi ya bankento bo kele bana ya fioti |
The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.
son mwana ya yakala |
daughter mwana ya nkento |
brother mpangi ya yakala |
sister mpangi ya nkento | grandfather nkaka ya yakala |
grandmother nkaka ya nkento |
child mwana |
children bana |
Expressions in Kongo
Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Kongo, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.
| English - Kongo |
|---|
| What do you mean? nge ke zola kutuba inki? |
| I don't understand mono ke bakisa ve |
| I don't know mono ke zaba ve |
| What is that called in Kongo? nki bo ke binga yo na kikongo? |
| What is this? yai ke nki? |
| What does that word mean in English? ngogo yai ke tendula nki na angele? |
| Sorry (if you made a mistake) lolula mono |
I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the gender in Kongo. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.
Inspirational Quote: High achievement always takes place in a framework of high expectation. Jack Kinder |