Language/Tswana/Vocabulary/Family

Introduction

In today's lesson, we will learn some Tswana words related to family. We will look at the main terms, a dialogue and related lessons.

Main Terms

Below is a table of Tswana words related to family with their pronunciation and translation in English.

Word in Tswana	Pronunciation	Translation in English
mma	mma	mother
tata	tata	father
mme	mme	grandmother
sekgoa	sekgoa	grandfather
makgowa	makgowa	brother
metshame	metshame	sister
mokgwa	mokgwa	uncle
mokgadi	mokgadi	aunt
mokgwa wa metshame	mokgwa wa metshame	female cousin
mokgwa wa makgowa	mokgwa wa makgowa	male cousin
mokgwa wa mma	mokgwa wa mma	stepfather
mokgadi wa mma	mokgadi wa mma	stepmother
mokgwa wa tata	mokgwa wa tata	stepbrother
metshame wa tata	metshame wa tata	stepsister

Dialogue

Let's look at a dialogue between two people using the words above.

• Person 1: Mma o tata o nna? (mma o tata o nna?) – Where are your mother and father?
• Person 2: Mma o tata o nngwe le mme. (mma o tata o nngwe le mme.) – My mother and father are with my grandmother.
• Person 1: O nna makgowa le metshame? (o nna makgowa le metshame?) – Do you have brothers and sisters?
• Person 2: Ke a nna makgowa le metshame. (ke a nna makgowa le metshame.) – Yes, I have brothers and sisters.
• Person 1: O nna mokgwa le mokgadi? (o nna mokgwa le mokgadi?) – Do you have uncles and aunts?
• Person 2: Ke a nna mokgwa le mokgadi. (ke a nna mokgwa le mokgadi.) – Yes, I have uncles and aunts.
• Person 1: O nna mokgwa wa metshame le mokgwa wa makgowa? (o nna mokgwa wa metshame le mokgwa wa makgowa?) – Do you have female and male cousins?
• Person 2: Ke a nna mokgwa wa metshame le mokgwa wa makgowa. (ke a nna mokgwa wa metshame le mokgwa wa makgowa.) – Yes, I have female and male cousins.
• Person 1: O nna mokgwa wa mma le mokgadi wa mma? (o nna mokgwa wa mma le mokgadi wa mma?) – Do you have stepfathers and stepmothers?
• Person 2: Ke a nna mokgwa wa mma le mokgadi wa mma. (ke a nna mokgwa wa mma le mokgadi wa mma.) – Yes, I have stepfathers and stepmothers.
• Person 1: O nna mokgwa wa tata le metshame wa tata? (o nna mokgwa wa tata le metshame wa tata?) – Do you have stepbrothers and stepsisters?
• Person 2: Ke a nna mokgwa wa tata le metshame wa tata. (ke a nna mokgwa wa tata le metshame wa tata.) – Yes, I have stepbrothers and stepsisters.

Related Lessons

• Feelings and Emotions
• Days of the Week
• Count to 10
• Fruits
• Clothes
• Animals
• Education
• Drinks
• How to Say Hello and Greetings
• Useful phrases