Sesotho is the main language of Lesotho and is one of the official languages of South Africa.

Pronunciation guide

Vowels

a

as in spa

e

as in pit, cafe, or bed

i

as in beet

o

as in put, French "oiseau", or board

u

as in boot

Consonants

b

same as English, only fully voiced

bj

pronounced as above, followed by either the s as in vision or the j as in yarn

d

same as English as an allophone of l that only occurs before i and u

f

same as English

fj

pronounced as above, followed by sh as in she

h

same as English, voiced or unvoiced; it's an allophone, either way

j

as in vision or jam

k

as in skill, only unaspirated

kh

fully aspirated k, which occurs mostly in old loanwords and ideophones

l

same in English

m

same in English

n

same in English

ng

as in sing

ny

as in onion or Spanish "el niño"

p

as in spit, only unaspirated

ph

fully aspirated p

pj

pronounced as p, followed by sh as in she

pjh

aspirated pj

s

same as English

sh

as in shoe

t

as in stalk, only unaspirated

th

aspirated t

tj

as in which, only unaspirated

tjh

aspirated tj

ts

as in cats, only unaspirated

tsh

aspirated ts

w

same in English

y

as in yarn

Tricky Consonants

hl

kg

as in the way the Scottish say loch

r

as in French, only soft; originally pronounced as an alveolar rolled lingual

tl

tlh

aspirated tl

q

qh

aspirated q

nq

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs OPEN CLOSED ENTRANCE EXIT PUSH PULL TOILET MEN WOMEN FORBIDDEN

Hello.

Lumela. (doomellah)

Hello. (informal)

Khotso. (hotsow)

How are you?

U phela joang? (oo-pee-la-jwang)

Fine, thank you.

Kea phela (key-ah-pee-la)

What is your name?

Lebitso la hau ke mang? (leh-beet-saw la-how key-mung)

My name is ______ .

Lebitso la ka ke ______ . ( _____ .)

Nice to meet you.

Ke thabela ho u tseba . ( key-ta-bell-a-who-oo-t-see-ba ')

Please.

. (Ke kopa hore o... )

Thank you.

Kea leboha. ( )

You're welcome.

. ( )

Yes.

. (Eea )

No.

. (Che )

Excuse me. (getting attention)

. (A k'u ntšoarele hanyane)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

. ( )

I'm sorry.

Ntšoarele. ( )

Goodbye

Sala hantle. ( )

Goodbye (informal)

. ( )

I can't speak name of language [well].

[ ]. ( [Ha ke tseba ho bua Sefora/Sekhooa.])

Do you speak English?

U bua sekhooa ? ( ?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

? (Hona le motho ea tsebang ho bua Sekhooa?)

Help!

Ke kopa thuso! ( !)

Look out!

! (Hlokomela !)

Good morning.

. (Lumaka/Khotso )

Good evening.

. (Lumela/Khotso )

Good night.

. (Lumela/Khotso )

Good night (to sleep)

Robala hantle. ( )

I don't understand.

Ha ke utloisise. ( )

Where is the toilet?

? (Ntloaneng ke kae?)

Problems

Leave me alone.

("...")

Don't touch me!

("...")

I'll call the police.

("...")

Police!

("...")

Stop! Thief!

("...")

I need your help.

ke hloka thuso ya hao("...")

It's an emergency.

("...")

I'm lost.

ke lahlehile ("...")

I lost my bag.

("...")

I lost my wallet.

("...")

I'm sick.

("...")

I've been injured.

("...")

I need a doctor.

("...")

Can I use your phone?

("...")

Numbers

1

Ngoe

2

Peli

3

Tharo

4

'Ne

5

Hlano

6

Ts'elela

7

Supa

8

Robeli

9

Robong

10

Leshome

11

Leshome le motso o mong

12

Leshome le metso e 'meli

13

Leshome le metso e meraro

14

Leshome le metso e mene

15

Leshome le metso e mehlano

16

Leshome le metso e ts'eletseng

17

Leshome le metso e supileng

18

Leshome le metso e robeli

19

Leshome le metso e robong

20

Mashome a mabeli

30

Mashome a mararo

40

Mashome a mane

50

Mashome a mahlano

60

Mashome a ts'eletseng

70

Mashome a supileng

80

Mashome a robeli

90

Mashome a robong

100

Lekholo

200

Makholo a mabeli

300

Makholo a mararo

400

Makholo a mane

600

Makholo a mahlano

600

Makholo a ts'eletseng

700

Makholo a supileng

800

Makholo a robeli

900

Makholo a robong

1000

Sekete

Time

Clock time

Hour

Hora

Hours

Dihora

Minute

Motsotso

Minutes

Metsotso

Second

Motsotswana

Seconds

Metsotswana

Days

Monday

Mantaha

Tuesday

Labobedi

Wednesday

Laboraro

Thursday

Labone

Friday

Labohlano

Saturday

Moqebelo

Sunday

Sontaha

Weekend

Mafelo a beke

Months

Januaty

("...")

February

("...")

March

("...")

April

("...")

May

("...")

June

("...")

July

("...")

August

("...")

September

("...")

October

("...")

November

("...")

December

("...")

Colors

Red

("...")

Yellow

("...")

Green

("...")

Blue

("...")

Black

("...")

White

("...")

Purple

("...")

Orange

("...")

Brown

("...")

Grey

("...")

Pink

("...")

Transportation

Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____?

("...")

One ticket to _____, please.

("...")

Where does this train/bus go?

("...")

Where is the train/bus to _____?

("...")

Does this train/bus stop in _____?

("...")

When does the train/bus for _____ leave?

("...")

When will this train/bus arrive in _____?

("...")