Xhosa Adjectives

Welcome to the second Xhosa lesson about adjectives. This time we will first learn about colors, followed by grammar rules, then weather expressions, finally a conversation in Xhosa to help you practice your daily phrases.

black siziba

grey mthubi

white mnyama

blue mhlophe

green mdaka

yellow luhlaza okwesibhakabhaka

red luhlaza okotyani

brown bomvu

Adjectives Grammar Rules

In general adjectives are words which describe or modify another person or object in a given sentence. For example: a beautiful flower the adjective is [beautiful] because it describes the noun [flower]. The following examples use adjectives in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Grammar Rules - Xhosa
my house is white [noun + adjective] indlu yam imhlophe
your country is big [noun + adjective] izwe lakho likhulu
new books are expensive [plural + adjective] iincwadi ezintsha ziyabiza
we are happy here [pronoun + verb + adjective] sonwabile apha
she has three small dogs [adjective + plural] unezinja ezincinane ezintathu
this language is very easy [adverb + adjective] olulwimi lulula kakhulu
I have a small green house [adjective + adjective] ndinendlu encinane eluhlaza

We're not done yet! The following is a list of more adjectives for you, often used when referring to weather conditions. I think it would be wise to memorize them.

cold banda

hot shushu

cloudy kusibekele

rainy kuyanetha

snowy kukhithikile

sunny libalele

windy kunomoya

warm kufudumele

Conversation in Xhosa

Now we finally reach the most exciting part, the practice of the daily expressions used in almost every conversation. I recommend memorizing these phrases, because you will need them for sure.

English - Xhosa
hi molo
how are you? kunjani?
I'm good, thank you ndiphilile enkosi
and you? unjani wena?
what is your name? ungubani igama lakho?
my name is Maya igama lam ndingu Maya
nice to meet you bekukuhle ukudibana nawe

I hope you enjoyed this lesson about adjectives in Xhosa. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below.