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

English → Luganda Luganda → English
Search
English → Luganda
Showing 51 result(s) for "nkuba".
Alphabet
Entries
nkuba EN→LG

e- (n/n) rain, kugwa nga nkuba, to arrive unannounced (of guests), lit. fall like rain. cf. obukubakuba, olukubakuba.

Open page
bulindaala EN→LG

o- adv. in a state of readiness, kuba bulindaala, to be ready/prepared. Enkuba eri bulindaala. It is just about to rain.

Open page
ddibu EN→LG

e- plur. amalibu (1 i/m a) gap; breach. Omwana ow'amalibu agema enkuba. (prov.) A child with teeth missing prevents rain (from falling). Ow'amalibu akiina ow'engereka. (prov.) The person with missing teeth derides the person who has teeth which overlap. The pot calls the kettle black.

Open page
kyama EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) secret, mu kyama, se- retly. okukuuma ekyama, to keep a secret, obulamu bw'omuntu obw'ekyama, a person's private/personal life. Yankuba ekyama. He took me aside privately and told me a secret.

Open page
labira (-labidde) v.tr. appl. see for/in EN→LG

etc.; get for, provide; give greetings for another. Omundabira. Give him my regards. kulabira mu maddu, to be overjoyed to see (something, somebody). okulabira ku..., judging from, compared with. Kino kitono nnyo okulabira ku nkuba etonnya wano mu K. This is very little compared with the rain that falls here in K. kulabira awo (a high-frequency phrase which is difficult to reduce to any simple English equivalent): to get or see something by surprise or unintentionally; to do something without having made plans. Simanyi oba nga nnaagenda, leero nnaalabira awo. I do not know if I am going, I shall have to see/I really have no definite plans. Nnaalabira awo nga bandeetedde ku kamere. I was surprised when they brought me a little food. Baalabiraawo nga bazannya. They happened to be playing. Ndabira awo ekitabo kyange. You see that book of mine over there, give it to me. awo nga nkulabira or awo we nnalabira (stylized ending for a fable or tale). So the tale endeth.

Open page
lumagga EN→LG

o- (Iu/n) interval, space, olumagga- magga, as an adv. or with the -a of rel. scattered, widely spaced; few. Emiti gyali gya lumaggamagga. The trees were scattered/widely spaced. Enkuba etonnya olu- maggamagga. It rains sporadically.

Open page
mwero EN→LG

o- usually with the -a of rel. abundant, profuse. Enkuba yali ya mwero mu biseera ebyo. The rain was very abundant during that period, omwero gwa kasooli, abundance of corn. cf. 2yera.

Open page
ndulundu EN→LG

e- (n/n) heap; pile; large number; abundance, endulundu y'enkuba, a large amount of rain. Akulungudde emyaka ndulundu mu mirimu gya bbaala. He has spent many years in the tavern business.

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
ssavu EN→LG

e- usually plur. (li/ma) fat; fatty tissue; lard. Amasava gankuba ku mwoyo. I am fed up with that fatty meat. cf. -sava, savuwala.

Open page
wala EN→LG

e- adv. far, far away, walako, rather far. wala wa, wala ne, prep, phrase, far from, kukuba wala, to shock, produce a bad effect on. Amawulire gano gankuba wala. This news shocked me. kuggya wala, to be of enormous help to. Yanzigya wala. He did everything possible for me. He is responsible for what I am today, kubiba wala (-bi- implies ebigambo), to be well on one's way. Omusomo nguli wala. I am far advanced in my studies. Kaakati babiri wala. They are far along on their journey by now. cf. -ewala.

Open page
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.

Open page
zinzibalira (-zinzibalidde) LG→EN

v.i. be somber/ gloomy; be cold/unresponsive/indifferent. Amawulire gano gankuba wala era n ensi yonna n'enzinzibalira. This news disturbed me very much and the whole world seemed gloomy to me.

Open page
nnakabanda LG→EN

(la) kind of sweet potato. Olu- buto lwali lunkuba nnakabanda olw'enjala. My stomach was grumbling because of hunger.

Open page
fuuwa (-fuuye) v.i. & tr. blow; blow against; blow up LG→EN

inflate (e.g., a ball); blow on, play (a flute, or similar instrument). okufuuwa lulimi (olugwira), to speak a (foreign) language fluently, kufuuwa mukka mu kisero, to waste one's time/breath, lit. blow air into a basket, kufuuwa kintu mu jinombe, to lose something, give up something for lost, lit. blow something through a trumpet, kufuuwa malenge, to do to extremes; to be extreme, lit. to blow on reed pipes. Tanywa mwenge afuuwa malenge. He drinks to great excess, okufuuwa omukka, euph. to pass wind, okuluuwa oluwa, to whistle, kufuuwa muntu bigambo, to rush to tell something to a person. Mukasa ye yabitu- fuuwa. Mukasa broke his neck to tell us about it. kufuuwa muntu ssente, to give a person money voluntarily as a token of appreciation. ekintu okujjula ne kifuuwa, to overflow, be completely full. Enkuba yatonnye n'omugga ne gufuuwa. It rained and the river flooded over. Yafuuwa ekiwa ng'akizza munda. He drew in his breath in surprise, lit. blew a whistle and brought it back inside, kafuuwe or (more often) kikafuuwe! God forbid! Don't say things like that! kufuuwa musaayi, to spurt blood, kufuuwa taaba, to smoke (tobacco). Nnabbubi yamufuuye. The spider got on him and caused a rash. Ofuuwako? colloq. Do you drink (alcohol)?

Open page
fuuyirira (-fuuyiridde) v. tr. appl. 2 keep blowing; blow with intensity; blow on to cool LG→EN

kufuuyirira kanwe (or kagalo), to wish someone bad luck; to wait impatiently for a desired event, lit. to keep blowing on one's little finger. Fuuyirira enkuba ereme kutonnya. Keep your fingers crossed (make a wish) that it won't rain. Nga bw'ampisizza bw'atyo nja kumufuuvirira agwe ebibuuzo. Since he has treated me in this fashion, I hope/I am going to make a wish that he flunks his examinations.

Open page
mupiira LG→EN

o- (mu/mi) ball; football; soccer match; tire; raincoat, omupiira gw'emmotoka, automobile tire, omupiira gw'enkuba, raincoat.

Open page
tonnya (-tonnye) LG→EN

v.i. rain (with the subject enkuba); drip; leak; come down. Ajja ku- tonnya e Ntebbe olwaleero. He will arrive (by airplane) in Entebbe today. Ayambadde atonnya. He is very well dressed.

Open page
mukono LG→EN

o- (mu/mi) hand; arm; sleeve; handwriting; measure of length, arm's length, omukono omusajja, the right arm/hand, omukono omukazi, the left arm/hand, omukono gwa ddyo, the right side, omukono gwa kkono, the left side, omwoleso gw'eby'emikono, exhibition of handicrafts, omukolo ogw'okussa omukono ku kiwandiiko, the ceremony of signing the document, oku- kunkumula omukono, to strip of office/power/ wealth/prestige (e.g., a high-ranking official). Tewali ankuba ku mukono. Nobody can tell me what to do, lit. strike me on the hand. Yakkiriza okujja okutusuula omukono. He agreed to come and give us (lit. throw us) a hand. Nnamukuba omukono. I flagged him down/stopped (e.g., a car) by the movement of my hand. cf. akakono, ekikono, olukono, enkonokono.

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
kanya (-kanye) LG→EN

v.i. increase; abound; be abundant Prolific. Ewamm-e enkuba. yakanyeeyo? Did it rain a great deal at your place? Bw'agaana ggw'okanya kukaaba. If he refuses, you just keep crying all the more. (mod. form -kanyizza) v.tr. produce in abundance, okukanya emirimu, to work very much, produce a lot of work, okukanya ebigambo, to have a lot to say, keep talking. Olusuku lukanya emmere. The plantain garden produces a great deal of food.

Open page
funduukululu adv. & inv. LG→EN

adj. in great abundance; to the ultimate. Enkuba yali etonnya funduukululu. It was raining cats and dogs. Twalidde funduukululu. We stuffed ourselves. We ate an enormous amount, cf. fundika, funduukulula.

Open page
-nga 1) suffixed to the imperative or simple past indicates renetitive or habitual action. Temugabanga bitali byammwe. Never give away what is not yours. Nga mukyali bato, mwalwananga awatali nsonga. When you were young, you used to fight without reason. Mixed

-nga 1) suffixed to the imperative or simple past indicates renetitive or habitual action. Temugabanga bitali byammwe. Never give away what is not yours. Nga mukyali bato, mwalwananga awatali nsonga. When you were young, you used to fight without reason. 2) suffixed to -li (be) it expresses probability and may be followed by any tense. Alinga alima. He seems to be cultivating. Enkuba eringa eneetonnya. It looks like rain, lit. the rain is like it will fall. Note that alinga nga is often pronounced and written alinna nga. Nninnanga ali mu kirooto. I am just like one who is in a dream. (E.O.A.)

Open page
-kya (-kedde) v.i. dawn; let up (of rain); end (of a famine) Mixed

buli lukya, every morning, lit. every (day, olunaku, implied) which dawns. Obudde okukya nga twatuuse dda. By daybreak we had already arrived. Ennungi tezikya bbiri. (prov.) Two good (days implied) do not dawn in a row. Opportunity only knocks once. Bwe bukya si bwe buziba. (prov.) As (a day) dawns is not how it will end. Ekuba omunaku tekya. (prov.) The rain (e- implies enkuba) which strikes a poor person does not let up. It never rains but it pours.

Open page