Khumbul'ekhaya

Rembember
-khumbula

Having heard a song or two with the words 'khumbula ekhaya' I looked these up and found...

* that they mean 'to miss home'

 * the TV programme (of which I've watched some episodes in the past, oblivious of the meaning of its name) in which long lost family members are reunited  http://khumbulekhaya.net.za

* this song by Gugu: Khumbul'ekhaya  - she's an artist I've not heard before, and about whom I've not been able to find out anything, though I'd love to hear more of her music

* and this lovely song by the Muffinz .
In the video, the vocalist explains why he wrote the song - his family, from Bulawayo, is spreak across the globe. The website also gives the lyrics, I suspect they are probably in isiNdebele given the musicians' Zimbabwean roots.

Finally, Black Coffee also has a 'Khumbul'ekhaya' song. While I could not find a soundtrack, the lyrics are brief and contain the phrase (in isiXhosa)  'ndifunuk'goduka' which in isiZulu would be
ngifund'uk'goduka, I think.

-goduka
go home.

Ukuphi?

The kids in my maths class decided to help me learn, and came up with the following phrase:

Uyakuphi?

From isizulu.net:

where
-phi, kuphi

whereto
ngaphi

Accordingly:
where are you? - uphi / ukuphi? (sg)
                       - niphi / nikuphi? (pl)

where are you going?  
uyaphi / uyangaphi?  (sg)
niyaphi / niyangaphi? (pl)

The children and the dictionary disagree on whether 'uyakuphi' means 'where are you'/'where are you going'. Any answer, or does it depend?

These words bring to mind songs:


Mowbray Kaap by Freshly Ground  (isiXhosa and English)
A popular one with a refrain 'Ukuphi!?" which I now can't find - any help?
Searching on google, various other songs entitled/containing 'ukuphi' or 'Ukuphi na?' came up.
Ukuphi by Tshedi

Wenzani?

Useful phrases for mothers :) 
and friends

What are you doing? - Wenzani?
What were you doing? - Wawenzani? 
What did you do? - Wenzeni?
What will you be doing? - Uzobewenzani?

Shared by Zinhle on isiZulu Lessons - Durban fb group

In the morning

in the morning
ekuseni

very early morning
ukwi

in the very early morning
mpondozankomo

I am charmed and mystified by this lovely word. Something to do with cows (izinkomo); isizul.net has impondo as handlebards and I'm wondering if that comes from the horns of cattle...
In fact 'uphondo' means 'horn' and so the word mphondozankomo seems to be a reference to the horns of the cattle that might be visible in the early hours.
If you know more, please tell me.

vocabulary from
isizulu.net

Izinsukwana - a few days

on which day of the week?
ngolwesingaki?
- good for making dates or appointments

a short day (not sure what this would refer to, but interesting to see how usuku has changed)
usukwana

(for) a few days (lots of uses for this)
izinsukwana

"on the day that " allows now for some fun phrase-building
mhla [+ part.]; ngalanga [+ part.]; ngamsuku [+ part.]

sihambe mhla befika - we left on the day that they arrived
or
sihambe ngalanga befika 

A bit more complicated, the more dramatic "on the day of"
mhla [+ p.c. kwa-]; ngalanga [+ p.c. kwa-]; ngamsuku [+ p.c. kwa-]

sihambe mhla kokufika kwabo - we left on the day of their arrival

Vocabulary and examples from isizulu.net

Day in, day out

Still on the word 'day', there are various expressions useful to storytellers.

day in, day out
mihla-namalanga

on that day
langalelo, ngalangalelo

on a certain day
langathile, langatize, nglangathile, ngalangatize

on one and the same day
langalinye, ngalangalinye

on the following day
ngomuso

Can't wait to try these, they taste good, don't they?

isizulu.net

A beautiful day

Day (n)

period of 24 hr:
usuku; umuhla

have a nice day:
ube usuku oluhle [sg]
nibe nosuku oluhle [pl]      


How would one say: This is a beautiful day?
Thank you Mbali:
Usuku oluhle, namhlanje

isizulu.net

Induduzo

Today's word

comfort v
-duduza

also, comfort n
ease - ubunethe
solace - induduzo

(isizulu.net)

It makes me think of a place called Duduza.
One is a town west of Nigel (in itself one of the most depressing places I have been to).
Duduza was created when the inhabitants of Charteston were forcibly removed in 1964, as the municipality regarded Charteston as being too close to the 'white' areas of Nigel.
When a place is created out of grief, and named Comfort. It is still a place of little comfort.

Also, I now realise that it must have been he first isiZulu word I ever heard, when my mother used to tell me to doedoe - which can only be an Afrikaans incorporation of what Zulu mothers and nannies must have said to babies.

I wish you
ubunethe
and
induduzo

That/Which/Who Spoke Us

'Khuluma' had already been taken as an address on blogspot so I tried Asikhulume - also taken but this is what I found on isizulu.net:

Asikhulume means
let us speak
also
let him speak, let her speak, let it speak, let we speak, let it speak, may we speak, may he speak, may she speak, may it speak

My favourites came further down, referring to the recent past tense
they spoke us
it spoke us

that which spoke us