Zulu Adjectives

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

black okumnyama

grey okungwevu

white okumnhlophe

blue okuluhlaza sasibhakabhaka

green okuluhlaza satshani

yellow okuphuzi

red okubovu

brown okunsundu

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 - Zulu
my house is white [noun + adjective] indlu yami imhlophe
your country is big [noun + adjective] izwe lakho likhulu
new books are expensive [plural + adjective] izincwadi ezintsha zibiza kakhulu
we are happy here [pronoun + verb + adjective] sithokozile lapha
she has three small dogs [adjective + plural] unezinja ezincane ezintathu
this language is very easy [adverb + adjective] lolu limi lulula kakhulu
I have a small green house [adjective + adjective] nginendlu encane eluhlaza satshani

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 kuyabanda

hot kuyashisa

cloudy kuguqubele

rainy liyana

snowy likhithikile

sunny kubalele

windy kunomoya

warm kufudumele

Conversation in Zulu

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 - Zulu
hi sawubona
how are you? unjani?
I'm good, thank you ngiyaphila, ngiyabonga
and you? wena?
what is your name? ubani igama lakho?
my name is Maya igama lami ngumaya
nice to meet you ngiyajabula ukukwazi

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