Konje - by the way, so

konje
by the way, so then, well, then
incidentally

Konje, a marten is also called a konje.

Kodwa - but, however, only

kodwa
but, however, yet, nevertheless

Ngethembe kodwa.
Neverthless, believe me.

Kodwa wabuye wakhumbula udadewabo uBhazebele.
However, he remembered again (returned to the memory of) his sister, Bhazebele.

kodwa
only

Yilokhu kodwa engikufunayo.

It's only this that I want.

Izibonelo

Collection of sentences including some learnt words, from the isiZulu Oxford Living Dictionary, and elsewhere.

Umcimbi uzoqala ngehora lesikhombisa kusihlwa.

The function will start at 7 o'clock in the evening.

We went out for dinner the other night.

Sahamba sayokudla isidlo sakusihlwa ngobunye ubusuku.

Buya

-buya
return, come back, go back
return from

or, return to, as in
buyelekhaya
to return home

with root word, -ya, to go

Wabuya e-London engasakwazi ukukhuluma isiZulu.
He returned from London no longer knowing how to speak Zulu.

a related noun
imbuya, izimbuya
amaranth, a highly nutritious wild edible green/spinach
I wonder if it is called that, for the reliable way it returns each spring?

Here is a find, on youtube  Nathi's song Buyelekhaya with lyrics and translations!

The phrase 'Buyelekhaya' also has a deeper meaning and resonance of
returning to one's roots
it is the ceremony when a thwasa who has completed their training
returns home, to strongly connect with, honour and celebrate their ancestors
and establish their own healing practice

vocabulary from isizulu.net
example from the isiZulu Oxford Living Dictionary

Vala - to close

-vala

close, shut

isivalo
door

Wayefuna ukuvala amehlo akhe ukuba alale kancane.
She wanted to close her eyes in order to sleep a little.

unjalo

unjalo

he, she, it, is like that; you are like that

Wonke umuntu waseGoli unjalo.
All the people from Johannesburg are like that.

Unjalo phela umsebenzi waphoyisa.
The work of a policeman is indeed like that.

And my favourite:


Wahleka nje uMpungoshe wathi, "Konje unjalo wena Mama."
Mpungose just lauged and said, "By the way, you are like that, Mother."











https://zu.oxforddictionaries.com/humusha/isizulu-isingisi/unjalo

Drum

This was a busy week.https://zu.oxforddictionaries.com/humusha/isingisi-isizulu/drum

On Monday I made a drum.

isigubhu - izigubhu
drum

a lovely sound word, the first two beats are there: gu-bhu

Besigida sishaya nezigubhu.
We were dancing and beating the drums.

isiZulu Oxford Living Dictionary