Theme 1: Greetings and Courtesies
Hello! (to one person) Ahee!
Hello! (to more than one person) Dumelang!
How are you? O/Le kae?
I am well. Ke teng.
Goodbye! Stay well! (to one person) Sala sentle!
Goodbye! Go well! (to one person) Tsamaya sentle!
Goodbye! Stay well! (to more than
one person)
Salang sentle!
Goodbye! Go well! (to more than one
person)
Tsamayang sentle!
Good evening. Dumelang mo masigong.
Good night. Robalang sentle.
See you soon. Ke tla go bona kgantele.
See you later. Ke tla go bona mo morago ga
nakonyana.
Courtesies
Thank you. Ke a leboga.
Thank you very much. Ke leboga go menagane.
Please. Tswêê-tswêê.
You are welcome. O a amogelwa.
Excuse me. Intshwarele.
Excuse me, what did you say? Intshwarele, o rileng?
It doesn't matter. Ga go na mathata.
Sorry, excuse me. Intshwarele, tlhe.
It's my pleasure. Ka boitumelo.
Yes Êê
No Nnyaa/Ê-ê
I don’t know. Ga ke itse.
I don’t understand. Ga ke tlhaloganye.
Please repeat. Boeletsa gape.
Please talk slower Bua ka boiketlo, tsweetswee
Repeat slowly. Busetsa ka boiketlo
Will you please write it down? A o ka kwala?
COMMENTS:
Greeting:
The most important and effective way to reach out to a person is to greet
him/her in his/her own language. In true Setswana tradition greeting is a very
important procedure. It is a structured encounter and it is considered ill-
mannered not to greet either a friend or a stranger in passing. Ubuntu
(humanity towards others) plays a prominent role in the African culture. It is
therefore not sufficient to merely say “Dumelang!”. You should also take the
time to enquire about the other person’s well-being. “Le kae?” is actually a
plural form, which indicates that you are inquiring about the person and
his/her family members. It is also an indication of respect.
Who greets first?
The person who arrives somewhere is supposed to greet those present first -
status or seniority does not play a role. Should it happen that two people
arrive at the same place simultaneously, e.g. if they meet in town, it does not
matter who greets first.
Forms of address:
When greeting a person older than yourself (more or less your parents’ age),
rra 'father' would be used for a man and mma 'mother' for a woman. For
greetings of people of your grandparents’ age rramogolo 'grandfather', and
mmemogolo ‘grandmother’ are used as forms of address. Greeting
someone of your own age you would address her as mma, 'misses/miss',
and rra, 'sir' for the male counterpart.
Saying goodbye:
The person leaving first, should be the first to say goodbye. It would be
impolite of the other person(s) to terminate the conversation first. When
saying goodbye to one person you would say Tsamaya sentle (‘Go well’) or
Sala sentle (‘Stay/remain well’). When saying goodbye to more than one
person, Tsamayang sentle or Salang sentle would be used.
SETSWANA ENGLISH
A: Tourist
B: Setswana speaker
Theme1: Greetings and
Courtesies
A: Dumelang!
Hello!
B: Ahee, dumelang!
Yes, hello!
A: Le kae?
How are you?
B: Re teng. Lona le kae?
I am fine. How are you?
A: Le rona re teng.
I am also fine.
B: Ke tla go bona.
See you.
A: A o ka busetsa,
tsweetswee?
Can you please repeat?
B: Ke – tla – go - bona.
See – you – soon.
A: Ke a leboga. Tsamaya
sentle!
Thank you. Go well!
B: Sala sentle!
Stay well!
