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Showing 30 result(s) for "almost".
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ddiba EN→LG

e- plur. amaliba (li /ma) skin; hide; cover (of a book or magazine). Lugaba yabuggyako eddiba. [t dawned. Dawn came, lit. God took the skin/covering off of (day, daytime, implied by -bu- = obudde). okufuna ekigulira Magala eddiba, to make money, get some money, get something profitable. Bwe batusiba mu ddiba erimu tuliyuza. We just do not get along. We are mutually incompatible, lit. if they tie us in one skin we will tear it open (an almost hopeless feat), cf. ^akaliba, ekiriba.

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kanula (-kanudde) v.tr. open wide (the eyes EN→LG

in rage, etc.); overwhelm; kill. Baamukanuliranga amaaso. They looked at him with wide-open eyes/in anger. Obusungu bwali bwagala kumukanula. Rage almost overwhelmed him. Okumubuuza ng'akanula maaso. On being questioned he could only stare vacantly. cf. -kanufu, obukanu, enkanu.

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katono EN→LG

a- as an adv. a little, a little bit; slightly. Yatambulako katono. He walked a short distance (or a short time). After a neg. verb, n'akatono means not at all, not in the least. Simukkiriza n'akatono. I do not believe him at all. Before a verb in the subjunctive it means nearly, almost.

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kiwanga EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) skull, cranium, n'eki- wanga katono kimuveeko olw'essanyu, and he became overcome by joy, lit. and (his) skull almost went away from him for joy. cf. oluwanga; ekiwalannanna.

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kiyiriitira EN→LG

e- adv. breathing one's last, on the point of death. Baamulaba ng'asigad- deko kiyiriitira. They found him unconscious/almost dead. cf. yiriitira.

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kumpi EN→LG

o- adv. near, nearby; almost, nearly. followed by ne = near, close to. okumpi n'ennynmba ye, near his house. Kumpi kikakafu nti..., It is almost certain that... kumpimpi adv. rather near, quite close. cf. -mpi, wampi.

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magombe EN→LG

a- (li/ma) the place of the dead; the other world; hell, as an adv. emagombe. okukkirira emagombe, to die, lit. to go down to magombe. okusumattuka amagombe, to be sick and almost die.

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mmeeme EN→LG

e- (n/n) described in previous dictionaries as: sternum, sternal cartilage; pit of the stomach; internal bodily part. It is now used almost always in a figurative sense: heart, soul, seat of the emotions. It occurs in hundreds of phrases and expressions of which the following is a sampling: mu ngeri ya kawanika mmeeme, in a frightening way. kwekuba mmeeme, to reconsider, emmeeme n'enfa, and my heart sank/I was utterly distressed. Nze emmeeme yangwa wala. I became very depressed. Otukubye wala emmeeme. You have really given us a scare. Emmeeme yamudda mu nteeko. He felt relieved, lit. his heart went back in place, ow'emmeeme etawaana amangu, one who is easily nauseated. Emmeeme entye- muse. 1 am terribly anxious/concerned/ shocked. Kino kyali ng'ekyawanula emmeeme ye. This seemed to relieve him/ calm him down. Emmeeme katale, ky'esiima ky'egula. (prov.) The heart is like going to market — it buys what it wants. Emmeeme gy'esula, ebigere gye bikeera. fprov.J Where the heart sleeps is where the feet- go in the morning, i.e., when you sleep with the intention of doing something, that is what you do. Emmeeme etefumba kigambo ekwo- geza munno ky'atagenda kwerabira. (prov.) lit. The heart which does not fashion well the spoken word makes you say what your friend will never forget. The spoken word can never be retracted.

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nkandaggo EN→LG

e- (n/n) Kiganda ladder in the form of a tripod used for stripping barkcloth from the tree; (any) ladder. Twagwisa bwenyi nga nkandaggo. We met each other at such close quarters that we almost bumped into each other. Ebigambo byamala okulinnya ku nkandaggo. Matters had already reached a climax.

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nkubuggu EN→LG

e- with the -a of rel. almost raw, not properly cooked, emmere ey'enkubuggu, food which is not thoroughly cooked.

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nnamaaso with the -a of rel. sharp-eyed EN→LG

keen-sighted. It is almost exclusively restricted to the following proverb: Embwa ya nnamaaso bw'etebba n'eyigga. When the keen-sighted dog is not stealing, it is hunting. Said of someone who can be either very good or very bad, depending on circumstances.

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wunya (-wunye EN→LG

mpunye) v.i. smell, produce a smell/odor; stink, kuwunya bugobe, to seem to be certain of losing a game/a sporting competition, kuwunya lugendo, to be almost ready to depart, be on the point of departure, kuwunya luliroliro, to smell or look like one who has been working over a hot stove, kuwunya buwunyi ku mmere, to pick at one's food, eat only a little, kuwunyayo buwunyi or kuwunyamu buwunyi, to go to a place and leave soon, stay only for a short time. Era ye munnange mu nju yawunyamu buwunyi nga yeggyawo. And my friend just went into the house briefly and then went right out. Tewali mmotoka egi- wunyamu. There is no other car which is its equal. Obukulu bumuwunyako. Old age is creeping up on him.

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yagala (-yagadde EN→LG

mjagadde) v.tr. want, desire; love; like; as aux. be about to, be on the point of, (to) almost... Okutya kwaya- gala okun.Simla eddalu. Fear almost drove me mad. Enkuba eyagala kutonnya. It is likely to rain.

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zingula (-zingudde) EN→LG

zingulula (zinguludde) v.tr. conv. 1 & 2 unwrap; unroll; untwist; unwind. Omwo nno nnaakazingulamu emyaka kumpi kku mi n'etaano. Here I had already spent almost fifteen years.

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bula (-buze) v.i. disappear; become lost; go astray; be lacking/missing LG→EN

v.tr. be lost to. Ekitabo kimbuze. I have lost my book, lit. the book has become lost to me. obusungu ne bubula okumutta, and he became furious, lit. anger almost killed him. Akakiiko kaamaze ekiro kyonna nga kateesa, ne kabulako kye kamaliriza. The committee spent the whole night in discussion, but failed to reach a decision. Ebulayo eddakiika ttaano okuwera essaawa ettaano. It is five minutes to eleven, lit. there are lacking five minutes to eleven (five by Bantu time). Ennyumba ye yabadde ebulayo katono mu maaso. His house was a short distance ahead. Yajja abulidde mu mugugu. He came loaded down (lit. disappearing into) with a large bundle. Ssente te(zi)bula mukwate. Money is not lacking to one who is arrested/apprehended (i.e., a person charged with an offense will do everything possible to have himself exhonerated). gunaabula asala, lit. the case (omusango is implied by gu-) will lack any one who (can) pass judgment, i.e., it will be a cliff-hanger/a'thriller, ' a contest whose outcome is in doubt to the end or it will be pandemonium, sheer chaos/confusion.

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kununkiriza LG→EN

(-kununkirizza) also occurs as kunuukiriza & kunukkiriza v.i. & tr. appl. caus. be near (to); approach; reach out (for). Nnalumansi kati akununkiriza emyaka essatu. N. is now almost three years old.

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buuka (-buuse) v.i. fly; jump; die (of a twin or twins) LG→EN

v.tr. jump over; leave out, skip, omit, kubuuka be ceoppa, to run in leaps, kubuuka bibanda, to romp, frolic, kubuuka mugwa, to skip rope, kubuuka mmere, to interrupt one's meal, particularly to take care of something urgent, kubuuka nga muddawo, to enjoy oneself, have a wonderful time (esp. at a party). Kyatu- buukako okuwulira nti yasenguka. It surprised us very much/took us aback to hear that he had moved. Olubuto lubuuseemu. There was a miscarriage. She has had a miscarriage. Gabuuse ensaka. The meal has been magnificent, lit, they (matooke implied) have jumped the pot. amaaso ne gabula n'okumbuuka mu kiwanga, and my eyes almost jumped out of my skull, i.e., I made a grimace of pain or gave a look of shock/amazement. Enviiri zaamubuuka ku mutwe. His hair stood on end.

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kata LG→EN

adv. almost. (The verb in a clause containing kata is in the subjunctive. This is usually rendered by an English past tense. Ensonyi kata zibatte. They almost died of shame, lit. shame almost killed them. See katono.

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zimirira (-zimiridde) LG→EN

v.i. appl. 2 be almost lost to sight (as an airplane); disappear on the horizon; become fainter and fainter (as a voice); go on and on. Yazimirira nnyo ng'ayogera ku bintu bingi. He went on and on talking of many things.

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muteeru LG→EN

o- (mu/mi) trouble, difficulty; chore, daily task; problem. Gyebale emi- teeru. Gyebale emirimu. Thank you for the work you are doing. (These phrases are used almost in the nature of a greeting.)

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