Xhosa Nouns

Welcome to the third Xhosa lesson about nouns. This time we will first learn about fruits and vegetables, followed by grammar rules, then food items, finally a conversation in Xhosa to help you practice your daily phrases.

potatoes iitapile

tomatoes iitamati

onions amatswele

carrots iminqathe

fruits iziqhamo

apples ama apile

bananas iibanana

oranges ama orenji

Nouns Grammar Rules

In general nouns refer to a person, an object, or abstract ideas. For example: a fast runner the noun is [runner] because it refers to a person. The examples below use nouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Grammar + Rules - Xhosa
do you have milk? [verb + noun] unalo ubisi?
I have milk and coffee [preposition + noun] Ndinobisi nekofi
he has three apples [number + plural noun] unama apile amathathu
she only has one apple [number + singular noun] uneapile elinye kuphela
we live in a small house [adjective + noun] sihlala kwindlu encinane
I like our breakfast [pronoun + noun] ndiyasithanda isidlo sethu sakusasa

The following are nouns of food items that you might be interested in learning and memorizing.

bread isonka

milk ubisi

butter ibotolo

cheese isonka samasi

coffee ikofi

sandwich sendiwitshi

meat inyama

chicken inkukhu

fish intlanzi

breakfast isidlo sakusasa

lunch isidlo sasemini

dinner isidlo sangokuhlwa

Conversation in Xhosa

Now we finally reach the fun part, the practice of the daily conversations. These phrases are used to get to know new people, and break the ice.

English - Xhosa
Do you speak (English/ Xhosa)? Uthetha(isingesi/Punjabi)?
Just a little kancinane
I like Xhosa ndiyasithanda isiPunjabi
Can I practice with you? Ndingaqhelisela nawe?
How old are you? mingaphi iminyaka yakho?
I'm thirty three years old Ndineminyaka engamashumi amathathu anesithathu ubudala
It was nice talking to you Bekumnandi ukuncokola nawe

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