ekintu.
-yo, -mu, -wo. ba becomes baa- before such an addition, mbaako kye njogera, if 1 have something to say (note that this does not imply physical pos ses s ion as is often the case when -na is suffexed to -li), abo abanaabaawo enkya, those who will be present tomorrow. Bwe walibaamu amazzi mu mugga, tulivuba. If there is water in the river we will fish. Taliimu. He is stupid or He is not at home.
what a pity, how unfortunate; the poor thing (referring to a person).
showing off, exhibitionistic act; something humorous, omuntu alina bampaane, one who does or says funny things.
a frie nd)j dissociate oneself; be lost to. Ebibye bimubenguse. He no longer has anything.
put (one thing on top of another); charge, load; add; reserve (by deposit on an item which will subsequently be purchased).
etc. Obudde bubabijjiridde. Things have become very gloomy for them.
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.
foam, foam up; overflow. Ebibimba bikka. Things which boil up (ultimately) simmer down. What goes up comes down. Kyabimba (nga) si kisaanikire mu maaso ga kkanisa. There was an enthusiastic/lively crowd in front of the church.
e- plur. (ki/bi) crops; plants, lit. those (things) which grow. cf. mera.
e- plur. (ki/bi) food, edibles, lit. (things) which are eaten, cf. lya, liira.
e- plur. (ki/bi) crops, lit. (things) which are cultivated, cf. lima.
e- plur. (ki/bi) cosmetics, lit. (things) which are smeared (on the body), c f. saaba.
e- plur. (ki/bi) stupidities, stupid things. Leka kwogera bintu bitaliimu bw otyo. Don't say such stupid things, cf. -li, obutaliimu.
lit. like a stick, without anything, empty-handed; without resources, kusigala buggo, to be left alone, be bereft of friends; to have all one's possessions stolen, kuvaayo buggo, to come back empty-handed, cf. omuggo.
o- adv. kumira bugobo, to .bolt down, swallow with one gulp. Tamira bugobo buli ky'asoma. He isn't taken in by everything he reads, ennyanja kamirabugobo, the fathomless sea.
o- adv. in vain, vainly, unsuccessfully. Kye yava anvaako bukumbu. For that reason he left me empty-handed. He did not get anything from me.
o- adv. with nothing; naked. cf. obukuunyegere.
adj. & pron. each; every; all; everyone, buli kiseera, all the time, always, buli kimu, everything, buli kyonna, everything. buli wonna, everywhere, buli wantu, everywhere, na buli kati, even now, up to the present time, buli gye bagenda, everywhere or wherever they go. buli lwe bagenda, every time or whenever they go. buli ayagala okujja, everyone or anyone who wishes to come.
o- (bu/-) dirt or soil which remains on the feet, legs or clothing after one has been tilling, cf. lima.
etc. ne bitubulira ku matama, and we were at a loss for something to say, lit. they (ebigambo, words, implied) disappeared from our cheeks.
spread over; go/ reach all over; get one's share, get enough; participate; be enough to go around (of food). Abaana bonna babunye. All of the children have gotten enough/their share. Amawulire geeyongedde okubuna wonna mu ggwanga. The news continued to spread all over the country, kubuna kkubo, to stagger along the road (like a drunken man). obudde ne bubuna emiwabo, and it was dawning, lit. was scattering in all directions. Eky'abangi kibuna engalo. (prov.) lit. Something used by many people has finger marks. What is used by many is soon spoiled.
hair); be bent/inclined; be on a slant; stoop, slouch; be poured. Olw'obuwanvu atambula abunduka. Because of his height he walks with a slouch. Ebintu ebiggya mu kiseera ekyo byabundu- kiranga kumu mu Buganda. At that time (all sorts of) new things were coming into Buganda at once.
o- (bu/-) humanity; manhood, with the -a of rel. humane. Okuwanika omuntu ku kalabba si kya buntu. It is not humane to hang a man on the gallows, eby'obuntu, human nature, mu buntu, in person, personally. okuddamu ak'obuntu, to recover one's composure. Muntu buntu. He is a mere man. buntu is also the plural of kantu, small thing. From the root -ntu are also derived omuntu, ekintu, akantu, etc.
o- various things, a variety of things; little things, cf. akantu, bu- (3), ekintu.
o- adv. in vain; to no purpose; empty-handed, with nothing; naked, abawala ab'obusa, single/unmarried girls. Tali busa (or Tali yekka). He is not alone (implying that he is relying on the aid of spirits, that there is more to his situation than meets the eye, etc.). cf. -sa.
o- (bu/-) surface of a drum; empty space, nothing, kukuba busu, to miss, fail to hit. Ebyasi byakubye busu. The bullets missed the mark.
put in an improper place, okubutika amatama, to say nothing, be speechless.
o- (bu/-) habit or tendency to send others to get something/to delegate others to do something, cf. tuma, omutumi.
o- adv. free, for nothing, gratis, as a gift. cf. ^wa.
o- (bu/-) neatness; cleanliness; sanitation; good appearance, ekinnya ky'obuyonjo, outhouse, latrine, eby'obuyonjo, health matters, sanitation, hygiene; cosmetics; fancy things, cf. yonja, -yonjo, - oluyonjoyonjo.
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.
e- the initial element of many nouns (or noun phrases). It is composed of the -a of rel. and the pron. concord. It implies a preceding bintu, things, affairs, matters, obusuubuzi, trade; eby'obusuubuzi, trading matters/affairs, okulya, to eat; ebyokulya, food. The singular ekya is used in a similar manner.
e- plur. (ki/bi) light things (often with reference to a small number of items packed for a journey), kusiba byanguwa, to be gravely ill, lit. to pack one's things, kusibamu byanguwa, to move away from a place (because one dislikes it or is obliged to move). cf. -yangu, yanguwa.
etc. cf. omudaalitnbi.
edging); bind, place an edge on (an article of clothing), cf. -dalize, eddalizi, omu- dalizo.
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.
e- plur. amaliba (li /ma) skin; hide; cover (of a book or magazine). Lugaba yabuggyako eddiba. [t dawned. Dawn came, lit. God took the skin/covering off of (day, daytime, implied by -bu- = obudde). okufuna ekigulira Magala eddiba, to make money, get some money, get something profitable. Bwe batusiba mu ddiba erimu tuliyuza. We just do not get along. We are mutually incompatible, lit. if they tie us in one skin we will tear it open (an almost hopeless feat), cf. ^akaliba, ekiriba.
okuvumbula;(something lost) okuzaawula; be discovered, okwatuka.
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.
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).
pron. & adj. for singular nouns of the n/n class, this, that (referring usually to something already mentioned), as a demons, adv. there (nearby). cf. eno, eri. deprive of; lose completely. Kijja kumufiiriza omulimu gwe. It will cause him to lose his job.
blow on. oku- fukuta emivubo, to blow with a pair of bellows. okufukuta amazzi, to gargle with water, okufukuta ekyuma, to melt metal (e.g., with a blowtorch), kuwoza gufukula, to talk nonsense (gu- implies muliro, fire), kufukuta lulimi, to speak a language (usually English) fluently. Bwe yatuuse mu dduuka n'afukutira omutunzi Oluzungu nga gw'alufukutira talina ky'aggyamu. When he arrived in the store he spoke English to the salesman, but the person to whom he was talking did not get anything out of it.
obtain, procure, okufuna olubuto, to become pregnant, okufuna erinnya, to acquire a reputation, kufuna bya kakule or kufuna bya ndola, to I obtain for nothing or to buy at a price far below the normal.
obtain for; get in/at, etc. okufunira ku mukeeka, to get (something) without effort; to acquire by using shrewd means.
v.tr. provide by way of supplement, add (something different), kugereka nva, to add greens (to the main dish).
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-: kwemala ggoga, to do to one's heart's content, fully satisfy one's desires. Abaagala omwenge bajja kwemala eggoga. Those who like beer will have all they want, kwemalira ggoga ku muntu (or ku kintu), to take it out on somebody (or something).
e- plur. amaguzi (li/ma) eby'amaguzi, merchandise, trade commodities, okuzira eby'amaguzi, to carry on a trade boycott. Ebintu bino birina egguzi. These things sell well/do well on the market/are profitable. cf. gula.
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.
etc. kugobera munya mu ssubi, lit. to drive a lizard into the grass/thatched part of a house, i.e., to tell a person to do something which he is very glad to do/which he would want to do anyway.
break up fibers (for rope making); clean out, scrape out (e.g., the insides of a papyrus plant so that the outer fiber may be used for basket making or rope making); groom, trim, clean up (a person or thing).
heap together (a mixture of things).
often with a pejorative force. No nouns are inherently of the gu/ga class, omusajja, man; ogusajja, huge hulk of a man, giant, ekintu, thing, oguntu, huge clumsy thing. Since many hundreds of nouns may be shifted to the gu/ga them all in a dictionary.
okuyigga; (look for) okunoonya, okuwama; h. for thing visible, okuwuuzuuma.
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.
eat (something which requires an effort to chew).
a- (ka/bu) dim. of oluba, jaw. ku- suulamu kaba, to die. kukuba mu kintu kaba, to die fighting for something.
a- no plur. (ka/bu) orneriness, ill- natured disposition; bumptiousness, quality of being loud and bumptious. Omunafu ayinza kababba. (prov.) An idle person excels in boastful talk. It is easier to talk about something than to do it. Alina aka- babba or Wa kababa. He is a loud-mouthed person.
a- (ka/bu) dim. of ekibbo, kind of basket, q.v. kuwa kabbo kya nseko, to say something funny/humorous (to someone).
of a forest). Yeetisse bya kakalakakala. He is loaded down with a whole host of things, cf. -kakavu.
a- (ka/bu) a burst of laughter (often scornful in character), okukuba akakule, to burst out laughing, okutema akakule, to laugh loudly and scornfully at (with a personal object), okufuna bya kakule, to obtain for nothing; to buy at a price far below the normal.
(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.
a- (ka/bu) something insignificant/ trivial; something light/of little weight. cf. ekirerya.
a- (ka/bu) with the -a of rel. (something) hard/durable, akalibobbo k'essanduuko, a heavy, durable box.
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.
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.