ggwe, pl. mmwe.

to.

be with (animals), okuwaka, okuba n'eggwako.

omuggalanda; vide omwana.

omutoototo.

o, pl. ammwe.

wekka.

omuvubuka, omulenzirenzi, eki juujulu; obuvubuka, obuto.

a buvubuka, lenzirenzi.

you know; of course, oh, but; well now. cf. nanti.

conj. then, thereupon. interj. response to weebale, thank you. ebyo nga bikyali awo that being the case; meanwhile.

all the while, all along; lately; on that occasion; already, conj. all the time that, while. Bakira oli ludda wa? Where were you all the while? Bak ira nkugamba ggwe nga towulira! I kept telling you but you wouldn't listen!

‘paddy' wagon, lit. they have sent me for you.

mmambaze) v.i. walk with difficulty, walk with an uncertain gait (as one suffering from weakness or illness); toddle, walk in the manner of a young child.

interfere in; take for oneself, appropriate; reserve. Leka kubambira bitakukwatako. Don't get involved in matters which do not concern you.

e- (li/ma) baby, very young child who is almost ready to walk.

lit. it jumps over (buuka) drinking pools (maziba).

mmwe be nsasudde, you whom I have paid.

etc. Nkubegereyo eryokya? May I serve you a hot portion (of plantains)?

mmenzebenze) v.i. hobble along, walk painfully, walk with the back bent forward, bendegera (-bendegedde, mmendegedde) v. tr. make restitution for; reimburse; pay for (lit. and fig.); be accountable to. Ojja okubende- gera ebinaddawo. You will suffer the consequences (lit. that which will follow). Aliba abatutteyo alimmendegera. Whoever takes them there will have to answer to me for it.

e- usually plur. (ki/bi) beans, peas, etc., in the pod and not yet mature, ebijanjaalo ebito ebikyali ebikagga, tender. young beans.

e- plur. (ki/bi) edible roots of a water plant; young beans.

take on an attractive appearance (esp. of young girls or brides with the added implication that the skin is as fair and healthy as that of a baby).

etc. Ng'oboobedde! You are looking wonderful/great! boobeza (-boobezezza) v.tr. appl. caus. cook for a long time. cf. -boobevu.

muganda, ow'oluganda; (of a sister) mwannyina; (younger b.) omwana wattu; b.inlaw, omuko, mukoddomi, mulamu, musangi.

guard jealously; cup, bleed. Siriddayo kukubiranga. I will never be jealous of you again. cf. ebbuba, ekibubiro.

a- (bu/-) youth (a period in life). Also the plural of akavubuka, small youth, slender young person, cf. vubuka.

o- (bu/-) force, compulsion, lwa buwaze, under compulsion, by force. Ekyo nga temukikola lwa buwaze. You are not doing this because you are forced to. cf. waza.

o- adv. with nothing; empty-handed; naked; in vain; without cause, without reason; gratis, free, without charge. Oku- yingira kwa bwereere. Admission i'S free. Eky'obwereere kyaggwawo dda. (The time when you could get something) for nothing has long since passed, cf. -(y)ereere.

o- (bu/-) brain, brains, omuwala amulya obwongo, a girl who appeals to him/who is attractive to him, lit. who eats bis brains. Ki ekikulya obwongo? What's eating you? What's troubling you?

okusuula wansi; (away) okusuula; (stones at) okukasuukirira; (young) okusowola.

S., what do you have to tell us? Vvaawo olimba! colloq. Go on! You must be joking foften implying that what has been said is perhaps true).

e- adv. long ago, in former times; (with a future verb) in the future, eddako. a short time ago; (with a future verb) later on, in a short time, afterwards, edda n'edda lyonna, always (only with the past). Edda n'edda lyonna wali oli ludda wa? Where were you all that time? Tulibiraba edda. We will see them in the distant future. Tunaagenda edda. We will be going later on (in the near future).

be next in order, oluddako, the next day, the following day (lu- implies lunaku, day). Nnambi y'anzirako. Nnambi is my younger sister/the one who comes after me. Namusoke azzeeko omubiri. N. has gained some weight.

e- (li/ma) pretty/attractive girl, edduuda ly'omuwala, a pretty young girl.

to place the palms together; to loaf around, do nothing. Tolikula oliwumba mmindi. You will never grow tip, lit. you will grow up molding clay pipes.

to lose one's head over something; to lose one's sense of values because of something. N'obugagga nno bwe butyo tebubama- langamu nsa. And do not, in that way, let (the desire for) wealth get the better of you/ cause you to lose your perspective. Okuvuma omusomesa kimumalamu ensa eri b'asomesa. To insult the teacher causes him to lose respect in the eyes of the students he is teaching.

consisting of the place formatives e- and wa. to, from or at the house/place of (similar to French chez). Nnenda ewa Mukasa. I am going to Mu- kasa's. Nva wa Mukasa gye banywa omwenge. I am coming from Mukasa's where they are drinking beer. With the possessive prefixes are derived the forms ewaffe (less commonly ewattu), at or to our place; ewammwe (rarely ewannyu), at or to your place, and ewaabwe, at or to their place. See also waaboffe, etc.

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).

take place. Ebyafa mu nju endala saabimanya. I did not find out what happened in the other house. Agafaayo? What's new? What is happening at your place? What's happening over there? The reply is usually Ekyali. cf. ekyafaayo.

be like; look like; be similar; seem, appear. Obulwadde buno bulaanana kawaali. This disease resembles smallpox. Mwenna mu- faanana. You are all alike. Banno ba- faanana batya? What are your friends like? Afaanana ng'alya. He seems to be eating, obutafaanana nga bulijjo, unlike the usual situation, in an unusual manner. oku- faanana ne + noun = like, just like. okufaanana n'amawanga amalala, just like other nations.

recount (a legend, tradition, fable, tale). Bwe ndigenda e Kampala nga musigadde kunfuma bugumu When I go to Kampala you will never see me again. Jjajjange kati tufuma mufume. My grandfather is long since dead, lit. we talk (of him) only in legends.

legs); distribute widely. Tongaayuulirako mimwa! Don't give me any of your talk, lit. spread your lips to me! Bakigaayudde ng'enkoko eriibwa abantu omusanvu. (prov.) lit. They distributed it like the chicken which is eaten by seven people. (Said when the provisions of food or beer are insufficient for the guests). cf. olugaayu.

apportion, parcel out; distribute; assign; estimate, omusolo omugereke, poll tax. Gy'otosula togerekerayo bibya. (prov.) Where you do not live, you do not apportion the dishes. It is best to mind one's own business. cf. omugereko, omugeresi.^engereka, Nnamugereka.

e- (li/ma) egg. amagi amasii ke, fried eggs, kukuba za ku magi, to be a coward, act in a cowardly way, lit. strike the hens (enkoko is implied by za) (who are sitting) on the eggs. Kiriba kya nsonyi bwe mulirya eggi. lit. It will be a shame if you eat the egg. This derives from the proverb okulya eggi okwesub.ya omuwula, to eat the egg and miss the meat. The implication is that if one allows an egg to develop into a chicken the gain will be greater. Bulijjo afuna magi mu kubala. He always gets zeros in arithmetic, cf. ekigi.

e- (li/ma) finely ground powder made from dried greens such as mpindi, etc. Ky'onkoze entungo ekikola ggobe. You have put me in a bad/difficult/sticky situation. n'amanya nti luno eggobe lya kuggwa mu kibya, and he knew that things would turn out just right, lit. the ggobe would wind up in the bowl.

e- (li/ma) type of insect resembling a grasshopper which lives on the young shoots of the plantain. Also called nnabangogoma.

e- (li/ma) partly ripened fruit of the muwafu or the musaali tree. Lukuba eggu ne luleka omuzima. (Death, olumbe) strikes the young fruit and leaves the ripe fruit (untouched). This saying refers to one who dies at a very young age.

e- (li/ma) afternoon; early evening; (with a past tense verb) yesterday afternoon. olw'eggulo, this afternoon or some particular afternoon. Essaawa ez'olw'eggulo tubeera ka. We are at home in the afternoon hours, jjo olw'eggulo, yesterday afternoon or (with a future tense) tomorrow afternoon, enkya olw'eggulo, tomorrow afternoon. Bwe nnaakukwatako engalo tujja kudda ggulo. When I get my hands on you we are really going to have it out, lit. we will return late in the day. cf. ekyeggulo.

you (referring to one person), ggwe wamma and wamma ggwe are interjectional phrases of high- frequency which have no close English eauivalent. They are used when there is good rapport between speaker and hearer. Perhaps ‘I say!' is the nearest equivalent.

as an aux. verb before a following inf. denoting desirability, suitability or obligation Ogwana okugenda okulaba ssengaawo. You ought to (should, have to) go and see your aunt.

reach a high point of intensity; be involved/ complicated (referring to a situation, either in a favorable or unfavorable sense). Gu- jabagidde: ng'omunafu azadde kaiiira. iii (low high low) interj. expressing surprise and flat contradiction I just don't believe you. (prov.) It is complicated affair, just as when a lazy cultivator gives birth to a heavy eater.

e- (li/ma) type of bitter green which produces white flowers. Okalya dda kadda dda, ejjobyo liddira mu mutwe, (prov.) lit. You eat it now, it comes back afterwards, the jjobyo comes back to the head (by producing gray hair). What you do now produces consequences later.

nzijudde or njijudde) v.i. be or become full; be filled up. kujjula ne kikubako, to be full to capacity. Okyali mu kulya Katonga ajjula. (prov.) You are still eating while the (river) Katonga is rising. You are fiddling while Rome burns.

e- (ka/bu) young locust. is an artist (painter) down to his fingertips. Yamukwata mu bwala. He shook hands with him. Abaserikale babagombyemu obwala. The soldiers have apprehended them. cf. ^olwala.

a- (ka/bu) small village. Tosekera ku kaalo katono. lit. You don't laugh in a small village, i.e., Your laughter is very loud. You laugh too much. cf. ekyalo.

a- plur. obwana (ka/bu) baby, small child, obwana bw'enkoko, young chickens, chicks, cf. omwana.

engatto zange kaboga kakobogo, my brand new shoes. Omukyala yawasa muto kaboga. He married a very young girl.

a- (ka/bu) small load/bundle; trouble, danger; scandal in a family, shameful secret which a family wishes to be hushed up. Onsombedde akagugu. You have caused me trouble. Balina akagugu mu nju. They have a skeleton in their closet, cf. omugugu.

a- (ka/bu) small or young baboon. dim. of enkobe, q.v.

a- (ka/bu) young mudfish (mmale, q.v.). cf. ekirende.

etc. (See kala.) okukalira mu muntu, to stand up to a person, take a firm attitude towards a person (e.g., one who has overcharged you or imposed on you). Enseko zankalira ku matama. The smile disappeared from my face (on hearing something unpleasant), lit. the laughter dried on the cheeks. Yamusindirira n'akalirawo. He fired at him and he died instantly/on the spot.

cf. sejjera, lusejjera.

lit. eat it and you will feel it. cf. lya, wulira.

do to extremes (in a bad sense). Ng'okamaze! You have really botched things up! In a more frequent usage kamala follows another verb and is translated by the English adverbs: extremely, very much, to a high degree. Omukyala yeraliikirira n'akamala.

a- (ka/bu) a small animal related to the otter which lives near water and is very skillful in catching mudfish (mmale); the second totem of the Otter Clan. Oddizza kaneene mmale. lit. You have given the otter a fish, i.e., you have given something (usually food) to someone who has a great hunger for it/who will appreciate it very much.

lit. drink it and you will feel it. cf. nywa, wulira.

babirye, nnakato.

a- dim. of muwala, q.v. Tosala gwa kawala nga tonnawulira gwa kalenzi. (prov.) Don't judge (the case, omusango is implied by gwa) of the girl before you hear the one of the boy. Don't pass judgment without hearing both sides.

a- (ka/bu) eaglet, young eagle, enkoko ey'akawungu, chicken with plumage resembling that of an eagle, cf. empungu.