Instant search, alphabet browsing, reverse lookup, and SEO word pages.

English → Luganda Luganda → English
Search
English → Luganda
Showing 70 result(s) for "first".
Alphabet
Entries
bwengula EN→LG

o- (bu/-) great open space, awe some expanse; middle (of the sea, the heavens), obwengula bw'ennyanja, the open sea, the high seas. Ani eyasooka okugenda mu bwengula bw'ebbanga? Who was the first one to travel in space?

Open page
dda (-zze EN→LG

nzize) v.i. return, come back; go back; go; come up (of crops); take effect (of medicine), kudda mu mbeera, to return to normal, kudda mu maziga, to burst into tears; kudda mu ddiiro, to do a job over (because it was poorly done the first time); to dance again, kudda ngulu, to regain consciousness; to wake up. kudda buto, to become childish, enter one's second childhood (see buto for additional meanings). kudda ku mabbali, to stand aside, kudda mu bi- gere bya..., to follow in the footsteps of, succeed. Tayinza kudda awo kumala bi- seera bye. He can't just stand around and waste his time, abanlu abatalina kadda eri mumwa, people who have nothing to eat, lit. who do not have (a little thing, kantu implied) which returns to the lip. Emmere ezze. The food has been vomited up or The crops have come up.

Open page
expresses indifference EN→LG

carelessness, inevitability (in the sense of being obliged to do what one does not want to do) and even sheer exasperation. Tumaze ga- gendayo. We sent there just for the sake of going. Mumale gaddamu, temulowooza. Just give an answer, don't think about it first. Mala gakola. Just go ahead and do it. Don't spend too much time on it. Among the younger generation there is a tendency to drop the verbal stem which normally follows ga-. The meaning is implied from context, e.g., Twamala ga-. We simply went there (or simply did something else, dep ending on previous context).

Open page
finger EN→LG

engalo. little f., nnasswi. first f., olunwe, nvamumba. second f., kkwemmembekedde. thumb, ekinkumu.

Open page
ggulu EN→LG

e- no plur. (li/ma) heaven; sky; lightning. Yakubwa eggulu n'afiirawo. He was struck by lightning and died instantly. with caps. Ggulu, Heaven (the name of a lubaale), the father of Walumbe (death) and Nnambi (the first woman), and the fathei^in- law of Kintu (the first Muganda). cf. engulu, kungulu, waggulu.

Open page
ggya (-ggye EN→LG

nzigye) v.tr. take; take away/ off/out, etc. (The enclitics -ko, -mu, -wo are frequently suffixed to ggya, performing a role analogous to that of the adverbs following take, i.e., away, off, etc.). Ggyawo ekitanda. fake the bed away.. Ggyako ekikopo. Take the cup off (e.g., of the table), okuggyako, except, excepting, okuggya ku mabeere, to wean, okuggya omwoyo ku kintu, to neglect/forget something. okuggya akagere, to start walking, try one's first steps, okuggya obutiko, to pick mushrooms, okuggyawo omusango, to dismiss a case (at law). Kyanzigya enviiri ku mutwe okulaba nga... It made the hair stand up on my head to see that... Ebigambo bye yayogera byamuggya n'amaziga mu ki- wanga. The things which he said made her cry, lit. took tears from her skull. Temuggya okwo, mugende mu maaso. Don't stop there, go on. Keep up the good work.

Open page
kabbiro EN→LG

a- (ka/bu) second totem of a clan. It differs from the first totem in that there is no taboo against eating it.

Open page
kagere EN→LG

a- (ka/bu) toe; small foot, okwekuba akagere, to menstruate, okukuba akagere,to travel on foot, walk, okukuba obugere, to mock, scorn, okuggya akagere, to start walking, take one's first steps, cf. obu- geregere, ekigere, olugere.

Open page
kayingo invar EN→LG

adj. excellent, first-rate, omuyimbi kayingo, a very talented singer, omuzinyi kayingo, a great dancer, omusambi w'omupiira kayingo, an outstanding football player, cf. yinga.

Open page
kendo EN→LG

a- (ka/bu) small gourd used as a ladle or cup; cup. okunywamu akendo, to excel, win, come out on top. Eky'okunywa mu Uganda yonna akendo, kyaamufunyisa sikaala. The fact that he came out first in all Uganda enabled him to get a scholarship. cf. olwendo.

Open page
kitentegere EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) rough bark (the first to be taken off of the barkcloth treej used for burials and other purposes which do not require a finer type of cloth).

Open page
kumeka EN→LG

o- indef. interrog. ordinal which in relative order? which ‘oneth?' (a word which unfortunately does not exist in English). ekitabo eky'okumeka? which book? The appropriate reply would contain an ordinal such as first, third, etc. cf. -meka.

Open page
laala (-ladde EN→LG

-radde) v.i. be or become calm/fc>eaceful/settled. Eradde? lit. Is it calm/f>eaceful? The meaning is lost and the word is used as the first of a series of greetings, equivalent to How are you? The reply may be Maamu! Maamu, mirembe! etc. cf. mulaala.

Open page
lubereberye EN→LG

o- also luberyeberye, o- adv. in the beginning, at first, with the -a of rel. first, ekigambo eky'oluber(y)eberye, the first word, with cap. Oluberyeberye, The Book of Genesis, cf. -ber(y)eberye.

Open page
lulenge EN→LG

o- plur. ennenge (lu/n) edge, side; hem (esp. of a cloth or garment). Olugoye Iwe lujjudde ennenge. Her dress has uneven edges, olubugo Iw'ennenge, barkcloth trimmed ready for use. Omwana yajja kijja- nannenge. The child was bom feet first. cf. lekirenge; kijjanannenge.

Open page
mala (-maze) v.tr. finish EN→LG

complete; use up, consume; spend (time); satisfy, be sufficient for. v.i. suffice, be sufficient; be adequate; be enough. As an auxiliary verb mala has the following uses (adapted from Ashton's Luganda Grammar): 1) To denote completed action mala is followed by the main verb in the inf. Twamaze okusamba omupiira ng'obudde buzibye. We finished playing ball by the end of the day. 2) Followed by an inf. without the I.V., mala stresses the completion of an action before another action begins. Onoomala kuleeta mazzi. You will first bring water. 3) Followed by ga- and a verbal stem, mala expresses inevitability, obligation or simple carelessness. Tumaze gagendayo. We simply had to go there. Bamala gakomaga mbugo zityo. They just beat out the bark in any old way. 4) Followed by the neg. of the ne tense, mala indicates a reversal of decision.

Open page
ngulansigo EN→LG

e-: enkuba engulansigo, the first rain after the dry season, so called because it is the time for buying (gula) seeds (nsigo) for planting.

Open page
nti EN→LG

e-, (n/n) core of a small boil; blackhead (on the nose or face); dark surface layer of a knife which is worn away when it is sharpened; first milk after childbirth.

Open page
ntumbwe EN→LG

e- (n/n) calf of the leg; in the plur. loins, kulega muntu ntumbwe, to follow after a person, dog the heels of a person. Mugende muzannyeemu emmere ekke mu ntumbwe. Go and play a while so your food may be digested, lit. go down into the calves. Kulemberamu y'akulega entu- mbwe. (prov.) lit. (He who says) ‘you go first' is measuring the size of your legs. He who gives you a task is trying to test your capabilities.

Open page
nzigulamatabo EN→LG

e- (n/n) termites that leave the termite hill first at the time of the general flight, lit. the ones that polish the holes in the hill. cf. zigula, ettabo.

Open page
suula (-sudde) v.tr. throw EN→LG

hurl; throw down; overthrow (a government); throw back; knock over; let fall, drop; lose; outdistance, leave behind, okusuulawo ebigambo, to say a few words, abantu abaasooka okwagalana okusuula enjuba, people who at first liked each other very much/extremely, abo bonna abamusudde omukono, all those who have helped him/given him a hand. Yagaana okusuulawo akagambo konna. He refused to give the slightest hint. Sitaani ensi eno ajja kugisuula wala. Satan is going to destroy this world.

Open page
time EN→LG

n., obudde, ekiseera, enfunda, akakyo, ekisekka; (leisure) ebbanga; (hour) essaawa; (first, second, etc.) omulundi; (times) emirembe, ebiro, ensangi; at a t., kinna . . vide lejjalejja, oku somberera, okusomola; be a long t., okubandaala.

Open page
tuukiza (-tuukizza) v.tr. appl. caus. EN→LG

also tuusiza (-tuusizza) lit. cause to arrive for, etc. (but usually rendered otherwise in translation). Ontuukiza ebbaluwa eno ew'omwami. Make sure you get this letter to the chief for me. Ebintu bye yabituukiza wano. He brought his things here first. Bwe nnatuukayo yantuukiza mu nsonga. When I arrived there he went straight to the point without any preliminaries.

Open page
yalula (-yaludde) v.tr. hatch EN→LG

cause to hatch; unmake, uncover (e.g., a bed); clear out; perform the birth rites for (a child), give a name to (a child when his head is first shaved). Note: yalula in some of its meanings is a conversive of yala, to spread, q. v.

Open page
yasama (-yasauiye EN→LG

njasamye) v.i. open the mouth; be open, open (of the mouth); fig. open, open up (something which can be compared to the mouth). Yeegombanga ettaka lyasame limumire. He used to wish that the earth would open and swallow him up. Ky otonnalya tosooka kwasama. (prov.) lit. What you have not yet eaten, do not first open your mouth (in anticipation). Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. okwasama inf.

Open page
kijja(na)nnenge LG→EN

also kijjamalenge (la) baby bom with feet first. (Formerly it was thought that such a child would grow up to he a criminal. It was often strangled and buried at the crossroads. Hence the word sometimes has the meaning of unknown corpse.) cf. olulenge.

Open page
mugulungu LG→EN

o- (mu/mi) mob, rabble; swarm. Omugenyi asooka, y' ayita banne emigulungu. (prov.) The first guest calls his fellow guests rabble.

Open page
musaale LG→EN

o- (mu/ba) guide; leader; fifth chief in rank; first one, first person. Nze nnali omusaale ku muyiira. I was the first one to arrive at the fire. cf. lsaala.

Open page
musala LG→EN

o- (mu/mi) barkcloth tree from,which the first stripping of bark has been made; barkcloth from any stripping except the first. See kitentegere, mukaaku, nnakabirye, nnakasatwe.

Open page
mukaaku LG→EN

o- (mu/mi) a barkcloth tree (mutuba) from which the bark has not yet been removed; the first bark to be removed from the tree.

Open page
kuba LG→EN

is also used as the first element of hundreds of verb-noun phrases in which it loses its primary meaning and serves merely to give verbal force to the following noun. A few illustrative examples are given here, but since a complete listing would be unwieldy, even if possible, the compounds are listed under their final or noun element. akalulu, vote; okukuba akalulu, to vote, ekikonde, fist; okukuba ebikonde, to box.

Open page
sooka (-soose) LG→EN

v.i. be first; be the first one to; do first. Si ye yasooka okulaba ensi- buko y'omugga ogwo. It is not he who was the first to see the source of this river.

Open page
kulembeza (-kulembezza) LG→EN

v.tr. caus. appoint as leader; put first; cause to go ahead. Mu bulamu bwaffe kiki kye tusaana okukulembeza ensimbi? In our life what should we put ahead of/regard as more important than money? cf. obukulembeze, omukulembeze.

Open page
keera (-kedde) LG→EN

v.i. appl. dawn (with obudde as subject); be early; do early; get up early; do all the time; let up (of rain). Obudde bukedde. It has dawned or The time has come (e.g., for an action that has been early in the morning. Nkeera ku mulimu. The first thing I do in the morning is go to work. Enkuba ekedde. The rain has let up. Akeera kunywa mwenge. He does nothing but drink beer.

Open page
keerera (-keeredde) LG→EN

v.i. appl. 2 get late. v.tr. appl. 2 do (domething) the first thing in the morning (esp. after having gone to bed. with the intention of doing it). Olugoye lwange teyalumaze naye yagambye nti anaalukeererako. She did not finish my dress, but she said she would do it the first thing in the morning.

Open page
mukubi LG→EN

o- (mu/ba) lit. one who strikes/hits, omukubi w'ebikonde, boxer, omukubi w'ebi- faananyi, photographer, mukubi is the first element in hundreds of noun phrases. Those included in this dictionary are listed under the final noun. See also the remarks under the entry fkuba.

Open page