e- (n/n) rain, kugwa nga nkuba, to arrive unannounced (of guests), lit. fall like rain. cf. obukubakuba, olukubakuba.
e- (n/n) way of striking/hitting. cf. 1 kuba.
o- (bu/-) light rain, drizzle. cf. olukubakuba, lenkuba.
o- adv. in a state of readiness, kuba bulindaala, to be ready/prepared. Enkuba eri bulindaala. It is just about to rain.
doggedly, kulwana bwezizingirire, to fight bravely without retreating. Enkuba yatonnya bwezizingirire. The rain came whirling down. cf. zizingirira.
continue (of rain). Enkuba yacekera ekiro kyonna. It went on raining all night.
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.
engatto ez'emipiira ez'enkuba.
etc.; spoil, mar. Enkuba nayo egoyaanye enteekateeka zaffe. The rain has spoiled our plans.
talk incessantly; go on and on. Enkuba ejegedde. The rain has been going on and on. cf. ekijegera.
large groundsel, Senecio multicorymhosus.
very beautiful dress material, omukyala atakubikamu liiso, a very beautiful woman. cf. obukubirire, ekikubira, ekikubiro, ekkubiro, omukube, omukubi, omukubiriza, omukubi rizi, omukubiza, 2 enkuba.
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.
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.
ddumbi. first r., engulansigo, enkuba y'omwa nguka.
as an invar, adj. incessant. Enkuba etonnya lujegera. It rains incessantly.
o- no plur. (lu/n) drizzle, drizzling rain. cf. ^enkuba.
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.
omupiira gw'enkuba.
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.
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.
e-: enkuba engulansigo, the first rain after the dry season, so called because it is the time for buying (gula) seeds (nsigo) for planting.
e- (n/n) decayed pith of a plantain stem. Tonkuba nkondwe ku maaso. Don't lie to me/deceive me.
h nkuba; put aside for a r. day, okukusika.
e- usually plur. (li/ma) fat; fatty tissue; lard. Amasava gankuba ku mwoyo. I am fed up with that fatty meat. cf. -sava, savuwala.
kibuyaga, enkuba,
kibuyaga, enkuba, kikuŋŋunta, omuyaga.
omujumbi gw'enkuba. rain, v., okutonnya; r. very hard, okugonnomoka; r. persistently, okujegejja.
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.
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.
flow all over (of water), flood. Olw'enkuba amazzi gaaladde mu nguudo zonna. Because of the rain, water has spread all over the roads. okwalaala inf.
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.
(la) kind of sweet potato. Olu- buto lwali lunkuba nnakabanda olw'enjala. My stomach was grumbling because of hunger.
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)?
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.
o- (mu/mi) ball; football; soccer match; tire; raincoat, omupiira gw'emmotoka, automobile tire, omupiira gw'enkuba, raincoat.
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.
o- (mu/mi) omujumbi gw'enkuba, a torrent of rain.
be waa ideo. Enkuba yayiika mangu be waa! The rain came down in torrents!
become better (of an illness). Enkuba yakankamuka. The rain stopped. Obulwadde bukankamuse. The illness has eased.
v.i. shake; be shaken out (as the contents of a container); be poured out. Enkuba efukumuse. It has rained in torrents.
a heavy downpour of rain.
dark, threatening rain clouds.
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.
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.
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.
v.i. be scattered/dispersed; be sprinkled/spilled; come to an end (of rain). Enkuba yasammuka. It stopped raining.
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.
-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.)
revise one's opinions; change all of a sudden. Obudde bwefu- kulula mangu ddala enkuba n'etonnya. The weather changed all of a sudden and it (started to) rain. cf. ekifuko, omufuko, enfuka.
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.