Setswana Lesson

I thought I'd do a quick basic Setwana lesson to go over some important phrases. Obviously, I'm nowhere near proficient in the language, but I know enough to impress people with a few words. I've found that the best way to deal with the endless staring is to simply say hello in Setswana.

Dumela rra: Hello sir
Dumela mma: Hello ma'am
Dumelang borra le bomma: Hello ladies and gentlemen (actually, gentlemen and ladies)

Batswana--remember: that's plural while 'Motswana' is singular--are very polite and almost always say sir or ma'am. Although I've been told it's strange to say that to anyone your same age, I usually say rra or mma just to be sure.

Go Siame (ho see ah mee): Goodbye
Le kai: How are you (plural)?
Ke teng: I am well.
Re teng: We are well.

In Setswana, when someone asks how you are, it means your entire family--hence, the plurals.

Ke kopa...: I am asking for...

This is used for just about everything: ordering food, making purchases, etc.

A lot of words are borrowed from English and Setswanafied. For example:

Borotho (bo ro to): Bread
Sukiri (soo kee ree): Sugar
Thanki (tank ee): Thank You
Tschentshi (chenge ee): Change
Madi: Money

Some other important things to know:

Ke a go rata thata (kay ah ho rah tah taaah tah): I love you very much
Boroko: Goodnight
Ke bokae?: How much?
Tswe tswe: Please

That's all for now, look for more Setswana to come!