Xhosa Gender

Welcome to the fifth Xhosa 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 Xhosa to help you practice your daily phrases.

man indoda

woman umfazi

husband umyeni

wife inkosikazi

boy umfana

girl intombazana

father utata

mother umama

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 - Xhosa
my son is a student [masculine + noun] unyana wam ungumfundi
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] intombi yakhe ingumfundi
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] unomtakwabo omde
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] unodade wabo omde
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] abantakwabo bancinane
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] oodade wabo bancinane

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 nyana

daughter intombi

brother umtakwethu

sister udadewethu

grandfather utatomkhulu

grandmother umakhulu

child umntwana

children abantwana

Expressions in Xhosa

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Xhosa, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Xhosa
What do you mean? uthethukuthini?
I don't understand Andiqondi
I don't know Andazi
What is that called in Xhosa? ibizwa ntoni ngesi Punjabi?
What is this? Yintoni le?
What does that word mean in English? lithetha ukuthini eligama ngesingesi?
Sorry (if you made a mistake) uxolo

I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the gender in Xhosa. 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.