Zulu Gender

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

man indoda

woman umfazi

husband umyeni

wife unkosikazi

boy umfana

girl intombazane

father ubaba

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 - Zulu
my son is a student [masculine + noun] indodana yami ingumfundi
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] indodakazi yakhe ingumfundi
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] unomfowabo omunde
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] unodadewabo omude
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] abafowabo bancane
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] odadewabo bancane

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 indodana

daughter indodakazi

brother umfowethu

sister udadewethu

grandfather umkhulu

grandmother ugogo

child ingane

children izingane

Expressions in Zulu

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

English - Zulu
What do you mean? uqonde ukuthini?
I don't understand angiqondi
I don't know angazi
What is that called in Zulu? loku kubizwa ngokuthini ngesizulu?
What is this? yini le?
What does that word mean in English? lelo gama lichaza ukuthini ngesingisi?
Sorry (if you made a mistake) uxolo

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