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. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. Now check the next lesson below.
| Xhosa Plural |
Inspirational Quote: A coward gets scared and quits. A hero gets scared, but still goes on. |