'm'e

(literally, mother) term of respect for a woman; term of endearment to wife or one's little girl.

'makalanyane

underground train in a mine

'mampoli

a boy who is a leader of others because of age, bravery, strength, charisma etc

ngoaea

(literally, "scratch me") rash

Ntate

(literally, father) term of respect for a mature man

a titimetse

to go to be initiated without parental permission

abuti

term used to refer to older males, eg older brother

akh'u

dismissive exclamation

ao

is that right? as in, is that how something is done?

ayikhona, aikhona

(literally, it is not there) Zulu word for no/nothing

ba hobela

doing mohobelo (verb) - Basotho men's dance

ba khiba

doing mokhibo (verb) - Basotho women's dance

ntse ba qacha

time spent prior to initiation at the house of the teacher in a separate temporary structure

baehlotse

someone, usually a child who is unmanageable

bafokeng

totem identified with the hare

balimo

spirits, the dead, ancestors

banna

men, husbands, or an exclamation, "Man!"

Basotho

(plural) the people who chiefly inhabit Lesotho

basuoe

instructors in initiation lodges (singular mosuoe)

batsoetse

mothers who have just given birth to babies and are suckling them

bohali

home of husband's family; cattle etc are paid in bride price

bo-maphela ka thata

(literally, those who live in a hard way) poor

bury-me-shilling

literal translation of burial associations

chache

(literally, church) refers to Church of England

chekoana

hopscotch

dongas

gullies caused by soil erosion

ea titimelang

one who goes for circumcision without parental permission

fapana 

different or disagreeable

feberu

fever

fehlelloa

to churn a drug into froth for patients to swallow; also used when initiating a novice into traditional medicine

fochong

night parties where liquor and food are sold, regarded as events where morality is low

fora

(literally, French) Lesotho Evangelical Church. Originally Paris Evangelical Missionary Society

hao

really?

hehooetla

autumn maize harvest - fresh from fields not dried

heisi

house derived from Afrikaans

hela, hele

Hey!

helang

expression of surprise

hlahla-se-maele

(literally, a plant with tricks - cannabis); clever things people say, cleverness

hle

pleading - to begin or end a pleading statement

lo faka

spraying around the homestead with medicated water to drive away evil forces

ho hata maoto

(literally, to walk over/measure land area by taking footsteps), used to describe the ploughing of someone's field following their death

ho kallana

mock-fighting with sticks or maize stalks

ho mpolotsa

to give permission and provide means for initiation

ho roala

to strengthen yourself/gain power

ho seal

mealy meal

ho sela

to acquire food - through purchasing or exchange

ho thella

standard saying, "recite the totem poem"

joala

locally brewed beer, can be used for beer generally

jonna

exclamation used when in crisis or fearful

kakana

pipes dug into the ground for smoking cannabis

ke bolla

I was/I am being initiated (verb)

ke maphola

graze early

ke utloa ke itelela

(literally, I fear, I am crying for myself) I regret

kese

electricity

khapane

dry dung

khatha

(literally, ploughing land for the first time), or crops in general

khati

skipping rope

khele, khelek

exclamation of surprise

khoana

species of field mice

khotla

court for dispute resolution/meeting place

khotta

hut where only men and boys spend their evenings, close to the cattle kraal

koae

the slaughtering of a sheep, part of the ritual of welcoming a newly wed woman

koatsi

Sesotho word normally used to refer to anthrax but now used to refer to AIDS

koeetseng

deep point in a river or lake; usually thought to have snakes or monsters that hypnotise people into the water

kofella

to eat and drink alternately

kraal

livestock enclosure

khubetsoana

refers to the development of the mine was at such at an early stage that they had only reached a red layer of soil

lakabane

iguana

lebollo

period of preparation for adulthood, circumcision

lebollong

place of circumcision

lefehlelong

a ritual preparing people to become traditional doctors

lehlaare

field after harvest

lehoetla

autumn season/harvest

lehoitinyana 

rather poor

lekhotla

court

lempara

handmade stretcher

lenaka

a horn containing medicine used by traditional healers

leqainyana 

an uninitiated young man; a slightly insulting term

leqapa

cloth worn by men

lereli

appearance

lesokoana

stirring stick; plant (Botanical name: Alepedia serrata)

lethuela

traditional Sesotho doctor

letsema

communal labour

letsemeng

place where communal labour happens

liahlolo/lihalefote

(literally, halves) share cropping; voluntary arrangement by which two or more people share the expense of cultivation, sowing and hoeing a field belonging to one partner and share yields equally

lichifona

Night concerts attended by young men and women in rural areas

lifatla,

leather from the forehead of a bull, often used for shoes

lijelello

tasty food to eat with bland food such as papa

lijo tsa balimo

food for the ancestors

liketoana

knucklebones, a game like jacks, played with stones

likhalapa

food contributed to a feast; to return a compliment/favour

likhoale

rats

likhoathatha

rope passed through the nose of a cow

likhobe

cooked grain

likoekoe

wild birds

likoropo

work for payment, casual labour

lilietsa

ululating

lingalo

site of the graves

lingoetsi

newly married women

linkonkotieng

a place of noisy bars

linğalo

the site of the graves

lipabi

literally, ground roast maize with salt and sugar - very sustaining taken on long journeys

lipapa

plural of papa (porridge), usually referring to food generally

lipitsa

(literally, pots) medicinal preparations - usually for barrenness

lipitso

meetings

lipolokoe

steamed loaves of bread

liqoako

wild cats

lira

enemies or rivals

liroto

baskets

lisiu

large grain storage baskets

litsea/tsea

cloth worn by boys

lithoko

praise poems

litsomo

legends, stories

litsere

fungal infection of the foot

loti/leloti

mountain(s)

mabele, lebele

antelopes

mabele

(literally, eaten sorghum) damage caused by animals to any young crop

maboelleng

areas where grazing was temporarily prohibited

mabollo

circumcisions

mabollong

places of initiations and circumcisions

majakane

(literally, those who have settled in a new place) a derogative term by which non-converts refer to converts

ma-kereke

church ones, believers, can be a derogative term

makhotla

courts or meeting places

makoakoa

preserved vegetables, parboiled and dried

makoloanyane

recently initiated men

makupana

small blankets made of animal skin

ma-line

low-rent urban housing, built in rows

maloala

grinding stones

maloti

literally, mountains; unit of currency in Lesotho

manolo

easy matters or issues

maqebekoane

round steamed loaves of bread

masokoana

sticks used to stir food (singular lesokoana)

masokoaneng

the "rain game", played by women and girls in which women from one village go to another to steal the lesokoana from the chief's place. Women from the 'host' village immediately pursue the thieves to recapture the lesokoana.

masolanka

woollen blankets

matata

blankets made of tanned hide

matatana

tanned hide

matsema

communal labour (plural of letsema)

matsemeng

place where communal labour happens (plural)

mechalla

meer cats

mehobelo/mohobelo/ mehobelonyana (plural/ singular/diminutive)

Basotho men's dance characterised by a rhythmic stamping of feet to a song

mekete ea balimo

feasts of the ancestors

melamu/melami/ melangoana

sticks carried by Basotho for ornamental as well as for fighting purposes

mephoso

type of woollen blanket

meseme

grass mat

metitimelo

initiations without parental consent

mochahlama

light beer

mohope oa metsi

the girl's hand in marriage

mokakallane

(literally to fall or lie down face up) name for Spanish influenza of 1918

mokhahla

blankets made of roughly tanned hide, worn by boy initiates

mokhibo, mekhibo

Basotho women's dance characterised by a rhythmic moving of shoulders from a kneeling position, also performed to a song

mokorotlo,

war song

mokopu

pumpkin song, sung by women

mokutla

wise man

Molimo

God

molilietsane

applaud with shrieking voices

molitsoane

games or hunting done to bring rain, men's activity

molopitsi

beggar

monna

man, husband

mophatong

a place where circumcision takes place

moqopothi

Zulu word for commercial and home-brewed sorghum beer

moraba-raba

a chess-like game played by shepherds

morena

chief or king

mosolotsoana

residue from grinding fermented maize, used to make sour drink

Mosotho

single member of the Basotho people

mosuoe

teacher - for school or initiation

mothopo

from Zulu mthombo; sprouted sorghum used for brewing joala

motlhotlo

a strainer made of grass, used for beer

mthombo

fermented sorghum meal

ndlamo

Nguni version of mohobelo (men's dance)

nepola

to grind fermented grain (for bread or for drink)

nkhono

grandmother

nkoe

leopard

nyalla

to give cattle to a man to marry his daughter

nyofane

to eat greedily

oa ntekatekane

somebody who's come from nowhere -with an important message

paliso

grade B in school

panados

painkillers

papa

maize porridge, staple food

papisi

botfly (livestock disease)

pitsa

herbal medical treatment now commonly used for barrenness

pitso

a meeting, gathering

polokoe

steamed loaf of bread

poto

mould board for ploughing

pthisis

type of lung disease from mines

qha!

that is all!

quibi

otter

rakhali 

 (literally, aunt) the chief's father's sister

re ba re tsoa phakoeng

(literally, until we were safe from the hawk), normally used to refer to chicks when they have grown too big for a hawk to catch them

Roma

Roman Catholic Church

rondavel/roundel

round thatched house

sangoma

Zulu word for traditional doctor

seahlolo

sharecropping (singular)

seboko

totem: animal or plant species with particular association to a human clan name

sejeso

food poisoning inflicted on someone by another person

sekoka

old sickly person

sekoropo

work for payment, casual labour

sesetse

applying medicine to an incision in skin

seshabo

mouth-watering food such as meat, vegetables, to add taste to food like papa

sesiu

large grain storage basket

seso

abscess, tumour, venereal diseases

sethebe

a kind of mat used for putting food on, especially for collecting flour as grain is being ground

sethuela

psychological ailment whose sufferers often function as traditional doctors

shapa-shapa

(literally, beat-beat) the name given to a police task force against theft set up at the height of military dictatorship which was known for beating suspected thieves

shebeen

drinking den

skiri

Afrikaans word for shearing shed

skirileke

Afrikaans word meaning awkward or unexpected

sokanyana

(literally, 5 cents) small change

stofo

ore (underground, not yet processed)

stokfele/ stokvels

a kind of club (usually women's) in which members take turns to give 'parties' to which other members are obliged to buy food and drink; way of pooling resources

tafole

killing an ox - long after the deceased's burial

thaha-meso

food that new bride is expected to prepare first thing in the morning

thakaneng

a place where young people sleep

thoane

large wild cat

thoasa

inspired, to be shown someone in a dream (usually happens to a healer)

thobetse

run away, deserted to

thokolosi

evil spirit possession

tickeys

money

tlhaka

an incision which has healed

tokho

grocery parcels

ua ohla

to spin/ twist