A Very Regular Verb Pattern, Misc

A very regular verb pattern:

• From the verb "kuza" -- "to come"
• tuzoza   -- we will come
•  uzoza   -- you will come
• muzoza -- yinz will come

Misc:

• impundu -- a ululation
• ngayamira -- a person who is ungrateful but eating anyway 

The Suggestive Mood

The verb "kugenda" -- "to go", like most verbs, can be made in to a command by dropping the initial "ku" leaving "genda" -- "go."  My teacher had referred to this as the imperative mood.  Today he constructed another form -- "ugende" -- for which he could not remember the official term, so he called it the "suggestive mood."  He used it when saying to another speaker "why don't you go..."

Misc

• ura hejeje – you are done
• ura – you are
• hejeje – done
• (This phrase is useful when business is concluded, you've thanked the client and told them you would see them later, but they still don't realize they can go...)
• nzogaruka amayinga abri aheze – I will return in two weeks
• nzogaruka – I will return (from “kugaruka” – “to return”… “n” indicates self?)
• amayinga – week
• I heard this phrase from a different Kirundi speaker; my teacher said that he would have used the word “ndwe” for week instead, but this choice would have required modification of other words in the sentence to agree… ask him for this alternative form, for comparison!
• abiri – two
• aheze – to finish/conclude
• of course, this sentence would be pronounced as “nzogarukamayingabraheze”
• agasho -- prison

An Overheard Song Verse

An overheard song verse

Abasokuru bacu baraturwaniye
Bajabuka inzuzi zitagira ibiraro

Our ancestors, they fought for us
Crossing rivers without bridges

• abasokuru -- ancestors
• bacu -- our
• baraturwaniye -- they fought for us
• (pronounced, of course, something like "baratugwaniye")
• bajabuka -- crossing
• inzuzi -- rivers
• zitagira -- without
• ibiraro -- bridges 
• (Note that because the song is slow and enunciated, the typical rule against repeated vowels is ignored. Thus it really is "zitagira ibiraro" not "zitagiribiraro" as it would be in normal speech.)

Time and Months, Prepositions & Possessives, No Word for Weekend, My Favorite Valediction, Time Specific Goodbyes

Time and Months:

• ukwezi guheze -- last month
• ukwezi -- month
• guheze -- last ("to finish")
• umwaka uheze -- last year
• umwaka -- year
• uheze -- last
• umwaka uza -- next year 
• uza -- next/coming
• mu indwi iza ("mundwiza") -- in the next week
• mu -- in
• indwi -- week, the number 7
• iza -- coming/next
• mu indwi iheze ("mundwiheze")  -- in the last/previous week
• iheze -- last/previous
• mu ukwezi kuza ("mukwezi kuza") -- in the coming month
• kuza -- coming (also the verb, "to come")
• There are several ways one might refer to October:
• cumi ukwezi -- ten month
• ukwezi kwa cumi -- (the) month of ten
• the word "month" is often left out, leaving only "kwa cumi"
• (this may also be said "ukwezi kw'icumi" but I'm not certain of the reason)
• turi mu kw'icumi -- we are | in | of-ten
• turi -- we are
• Similarly, one can refer to other months by number, eg:
• mu kwa mbere -- in (the month) of one -- January
• mu kwa kabiri -- in (the month) of two -- February
• mu kwa gatatu -- in (the month) of three -- March
• and so on with kane (4), gatanu (5), gatandatu (6), ndwi (7), munani (8), cenda (9), and cumi (10)
• [[The pattern breaks for November and December ???
• Amajambo says:
• November: kwa cumi na rimwe (or, kw'icumi na rimwe)


• December: kw'icumi na kabiri]]
• All of the months also have traditional Kirundi names:
• Nzero -- January
• Ruhuhuma -- February
• Ntaranhe -- March
• Ndamukiza -- April
• Rusama -- May
• Ruheshi -- June
• Mukakaro -- July
• Myandagro -- August
• ... (we ran out of time in this part of the lesson!)

Prepositions and Possessives:

• prepositions:
• imbere -- in front
• inyuma -- behind
• munsi -- under
• hejuru -- above
• ku -- on
• ku imeza ("kumeza") -- on the table
• " y' " is a possessive marker (shortened from "ya")
• some prepositions, but all (namely "musi" and "hejuru") require the possessive:
• munsi y'imeza -- under of the chair
• hejuru y'imeza -- above of the chair

• possessive markers, generally divided into these categories, but not always:
• ca -- for objects
• icayi cawe -- your tea
• ha -- for places
• ahantu hanje -- my place
• ahantu -- some place
• ha -- possessive marker
• nje -- me
• wa -- for people
• ya -- for miscellaneous things
• "ya" is often shortened to " y' "

No Word for Weekend:

• no word for weekend in Kirundi, instead say:
• akaruhuko -- time off (singular)
• uburuhuko -- time off (plural)
• both of these come from "kuruhuka" -- "to rest"
• c.f. "kuruha" -- "to tire"
• so to wish someone a good weekend, you could say:
• "akaruhuko keza" -- (singular)
• "uburuhuko bwiza" -- (plural)
• (both "keza" and "bwiza" mean good, but are modified according to number)

My Favorite Valediction:

• gira umugisha ("giramugisha") -- good luck 
• gira -- have
• umugisha -- luck
• so literally "have luck", but is understood to mean "good luck"

Time Specific Goodbyes:

• turasubira kuwambere -- see you monday
• turasubira mukwese kwisa -- see you next month