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Showing 70 result(s) for "bad".
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ba (-badde EN→LG

mbadde) v.i. be. In certain tenses ba is replaced by -li, Both may be used as primary verbs or as auxiliaries in compound tenses. bwe tuba mu ssomero, when we are in school. Yabadde anzise. He nearly killed me. Tuli mu kisenge. We are in the room. Twali tuli mu kisenge. We were in the room, ba and -li may be followed by na (-na in the case of -li) to express possession. Tulina ensimbi. We have money. Twabadde n'ensimbi. We had money.

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beeka (-beese) v. i. neut. EN→LG

beereka (-beerese) v. i. appl. neut. be habitable; be tenable. Wano tewabeereka. It is not easy/possible to live here. cf. oba, obanga, oboolyaawo, olubeerera, embeera, newaakubadde, waliwo, (a)watali.

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bikka (-bisse) v.tr. cover EN→LG

cover up; close (a lid, a book), okubikka ku maddu, to restrain one's desires or passions, okubikka ebibiri, to do two things at once, both of which require considerable attention, okubikka emiggo, to give a sound beating to, lit. cover with sticks. Lugaba abadde akyatubisseeko akasubi. God was still protecting us, lit. covering us with a blade of grass.

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bisulo EN→LG

e- plur. (ki/bi) twitching in the eyelids. (A twitch in the lower lids means that one will receive bad news; a twitch in the • upper lid signifies good news.) Not to be confused with bisulo, dormitories, the plur. of ^eklsulo, q.v.

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bubi EN→LG

o- (bu/-) evil, wickedness; badness; inferiority; ugliness; excreta, as an adv. badly; poorly. Bamuli bubi. They have it in for him.

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buwemu EN→LG

o- (bu/-) impudence; shame; disgrace; scandal; immorality, okwogera eby'obuwemu, to use bad language, okukola eby'obuwemu, to engage in sexual activities outside of marriage, cf. -wemu, wemuka, omuwemu.

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bwenyi EN→LG

o- (bu/-) forehead; front. Baabadde mu bwenyi bwaffe. They were in front of us/ahead of us. kugwisa bwenyi, to compete/struggle doggedly; to reach a deadlock (in a conflict); to lock horns with (e.g., a strong competitor in a sport), cf. ekyenyi.

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fuuweeta (-fuuweese) v.tr. smoke (a pipe EN→LG

cigarettes, etc.); blow, blow out. oku- fuuweeta oluyimba, to whistle a tune, okufuuweeta olulimi, to speak a language fluently, kufuuweeta bbidde, to drink alcohol. okufuuweeta erapewo, to show off, be snobbish/supercilious/high-hat. ennambo ezibadde zifuuweeta mu Kampala, the rumors which were spreading around Kampala. Omuntu oyo afuuweeta nnyo ebigambo. This person gossips a lot. cf. fuuwa.

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fuuyira (-fuuyidde) v.tr. appl. blow in/on EN→LG

etc.; spray (e.g., insects), kufuuyira mbuzi mulere, to waste one's time/breath, lit. blow a pipe for a goat, kufuuyira malenge, to drink a lot without having one's thirst assuaged, kufuuyira mmindi, to smoke an empty pipe while reciting incantations for the purpose of putting a hex on someone; to wish someone bad luck.

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gamba (-gambye EN→LG

nnambye) v.tr. say; say to, tell, kwe kugamba nti..., that is to say, i.e... abantu abalala gamba nga nze, other people such as myself. Mbadde jrinamba nti... I thought/supposed that. Ani agamba? Is there any question at all about that? That is too obvious.

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ggambo EN→LG

e- (li/ma) bad word; dirty word, amagambo ag'olumottole, indiscreet words. The grammatical plural amagambo (q.v.) does not have the augm. or pej. meaning of the singular, cf. gamba, ekigambo, amagambo.

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ggobe EN→LG

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.

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ggwa (-wedde EN→LG

mpwedde) v.i. be finished/ ended; be completed (e.g., of a job); be exhausted/worn out. Mpweddemu amaanyi. I have no strength left, obulamu obutaggwa- wo, eternal life, okuggwaamu akakunkuna, to be completely convinced, have one's doubts removed, okuggwa ku muntu, to be ‘finished' with a person, no longer to trust him; to be utterly amazed at a person, ku- ggwaamu mazzi, to be on the point of death; to have just died, lit. to be exhausted of water. Aweddeemu amazzi. He is on the brink of death. Yanywedde n'aggwa. He drank to excess/got drunk. Yayambadde n'aggwa. She was dressed ‘fit to kill.'

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jjanga EN→LG

e- (li/ma) disease of the eye characterized by a continual flow of tears; conjunctivitis. Ensenke yeegasse n'ejjanga. Ensenke (another disease of the eye) joined with ejjanga. Things went from bad to worse. Matters reached their lowest ebb.

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kakundiiri always sing EN→LG

(la) lit. protruding structure, something huge/gigantic/sensational. kakundiiri w'olubuto, a huge stomach, kakundiiri w'ennyindo, an enormous nose. Eri embaga yabadde kakundiiri. That wedding reception was a magnificent event.

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kakunizo EN→LG

a- (ka/bu) small, cramped inclosure in which movement is difficult; snare, trap. Yabadde ayam badde ekiteeteeyi kakunizo bulala. She was wearing a very tight dress. Tuli mu kakunizo. We are jammed in like sardines or We are in a difficult position. cf. kunira.

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kaloolo EN→LG

a- (ka/bu) tiny fowl flea, okutwala ssente buloolo, to be very expensive, require a great deal of money. Ku mbaga kwabaddeko abantu buloolo. There were a great many people at the wedding.

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kamala (-kamaze) v.i. act to excess EN→LG

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.

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kayisanyo EN→LG

a- (ka/bu) intersecting; passing of individuals or groups moving in opposite directions, as an adv. in the opposite direction/opposite way. Kaabadde kayisanyo ka malusu na ddookooli. People (or vehicles, moving objects, etc.) were moving in opposite directions. There was a great commotion/total pandemonium, lit. there was an intersecting of saliva and the adam's apple, cf. 2yita.

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kazoole EN→LG

a- also akazoolezoole no plur. (ka/bu) madness, insanity; queemess; viciousness; fit of bad temper, kugwa ka- zoole, to lose one's head, go berserk. cf. ^zoola, omuzoole.

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kiganda EN→LG

e- with the -a of rel. of or in the Kiganda style, manner or fashion, empisa ez'ekiganga, Kiganda customs. Ayambadde kiganda. He is dressed in the Kiganda fashion, cf. -ganda, Obuganda, Omuganda.

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kinyisi EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) core; core of a boil. Bye yayogedde temwabaddemu kinyisi. There wasn't anything at all to what he said.

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kiraka EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) patch, piece of material used to mend or cover a weak spot, okukuba ekiraka, to patch up (e.g., a pair of trousers); to kick a soccer ball and strike (someone); to repair (a tire), okwekubamu ekiraka, to do something to compensate for one's bad behavior, make amends.

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kisa EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) kindness; mercy; generosity. Frequently used with the -a of rel. as the equivalent of the Eng. adjectives: kind, nice; merciful, etc. Yandeeta ekisa. He made me feel sorry for him. Ekisa kya- mbuukako. I am through with being kind, lit. kindness has flown from me. Yali wa kisa nnyo gye nai. lie very kind to me. Ekisa kitta, n'enge etta. (prov.) Kindness kills, hostility kills. Extremes are bad.

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kitiyinyi EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) usually plur. pus formation in a sore eye; matter which accumulates in the eyes during sleep; colloq. miserable, hateful wretch, \bantu abaali eyo ow'enjo- gcra in hi ug'abayiia binyinyi. Tnere were an enormous number of people there, lit. one who uses bad language would call them binyinyi. cf. akanyinyi.

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kiwendo EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) decree to seize and put to death; manhunt; raid, expedition; campaign. ekiwendo ky'abasuubuzi b'abaddu, expedition of slave traders.

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kiwundu EN→LG

e- (ki/bi) wound. Ekiwundu kyasamba eddagala. The situation is very serious/bad lit. the wound kicked the medicine cf. sseziwundu.

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kiyabayaba EN→LG

e- with the -a of rel. mediocre; moderate. Embaga yaabwe yabadde ya kiyabayaba. Their wedding was a mediocre (affair), mu ngeri ya kiyabayaba, in a mediocre manner, imperfectly, cf. -yabaya- ba.

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kkuulaamalungi invar EN→LG

adj. huge, enormous; tremendous; magnificent, grand, unparalleled, omwoleso gw'obusuubuzi kkuulaamalungi, a gigantic trade exhibition, olukwe kkuulaamalungi, a monstrous plot, enjala kkuulaamalungi, a horrible famine. Okubuulira kwabadde kkuulaamalungi. The sermon was magnificent, cf. kuula, -lungi.

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kula (-kuze) v.i. grow EN→LG

grow up, mature. Awakula ennume tewakula emu. (prov.) lit. Where bulls grow up, there does not grow (just) one. Perhaps ~ Troubles never occur singly, okukula nga, to be formed like; to resemble. Nnalonda akafo akaakula ng'ekisu ky'akasanke. 1 selected a small place which resembled a finch's nest. Obudde bukuze. The situation is very bad. There is trouble.

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kuumuula (-kuumudde) v.tr. kukuumuula mmindi EN→LG

to puff on/smoke a pipe, kukuumuula lumonde, to eat sweet potatoes, kukuumuula magambo, to pour out a torrent of loud and offensive words. Saalina ankuumuulira gu- bindi. I had no one wishing me bad luck, lit. puffing at a big, ugly pipe for me. cf. -kuumuufu.

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leeta (-leese EN→LG

ndeese) v.tr. bring; conduct; cause, produce. Ssengaawe zireese. His aunt has arrived, unfortunately, lit. the winds (empewo is implied by zi-) have brought his aunt. Akyogerako si ye akireeta. (prov.) The person who talks about it is not the one who causes (the misfortune) to happen. Kaakati obireese! Now you have really done it! Now you have started something bad. (-bi- of obireese implies ebi- gambo, matters).

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lojja (-lozze EN→LG

ndozze) v.tr. tell, recount, narrate, okulojja omukwano, to declare/express one's love. Kye nnalaba mu ... ndi fa nkirojja. What I saw in ... I will remember as long as I live, lit. I will die recounting it. Amulojja temumala. He is really amazed at him (in either a good or bad sense). Buli omu alulojja bubwe. Everyone tells it/describes it from his own point of view (said when different people give different reports of the same incident).

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