Wa lala po?
Onda sa ondjala!
Owa za peni?
Oshimbombo oshitoye
Aanegumbo yandje
Kondingosho
Owu uka peni?
Uundjolowele
Omasiku nomathimbo
Ohema ombwanawa
mEgumbo
mOshiwambo!
Appendix C: Etha ndje!

Some useful expressions for women dealing with unwanted suitors:

English Oshindonga
I don’t want you. (works well and gets a laugh from all) Inandi hala. / Inandi ku hala.
Let go of me. / Leave me alone. Etha ndje!
He is bothering me. Ota hepeke ndje.
I am already married. Onda hokanwa nale.
I already have a man; I don’t want two. Ondi na omusamane nale; inandi hala
yaali.

Quick Tips
• It is usually best not to insult. Inandi hala is strong enough, and doesn’t make people angry or defensive of their pride.
• An effective approach is to say aaye to everything and suck your teeth (’tsk) to show your disgust.
• If he asks, Omusamane gwoye oku li peni? (Where is your husband?), just say, kEgumbo. (At home.)

Appendix D: Grammar Reference(handy tear-out)
Person Subject Concords Possess. Suffix Object Pronoun
English Ndonga   PastActive PresentActive FutureActive PresentStative Present
Habitual
I Ngame + Onda Otandi Otandi ka Ondi Ohandi -andje ndje
    – Inandi Itandi Itandi ka Kandi Ihandi    
You Ngoye + Owa Oto Oto ka Owu Oho -oye ku
    – Ino Ito Ito ka Ku Iho    
He/She/It Ye + Okwa Ota Ota ka Oku Oha -e mu
    – Ina Ita Ita ka Ke Iha    
We Tse + Otwa Otatu Otatu ka Otu Ohatu -etu tu
    – Inatu Itatu Itatu ka Katu Ihatu    
You all Ne + Omwa Otamu Otamu ka Omu Ohamu -eni mu
    – Inamu Itamu Itamu ka Kamu Ihamu    
They Yo + Oya Otaya Otaya ka Oye Ohaya -awo ya
    – Inaya Itaya Itaya ka Kaye haya    


Noun Class Singular Prefix Plural Prefix Number Numerical Suffix Normal Number Some stative verbs:
1 omu- aa- 1 -mwe yimwe hole like/love
1a (none) oo- 2 -ali mbali    
2 omu- omi- 3 -tatu ndatu na have
3 e- oma- 4 -ne ne    
4 oshi- ii- 5 -tano ntano uvite feel
5 o- oo- 6 -hamano hamano    
6 olu- omalu- 7 -heyali heyali uvite ko hear/understand
7 oka- uu- 8 -hetatu hetatu    
8 uu- omau- 9 none omugoyi wete see
9 oku- omaku- 10 none omulongo shi know


  Subject Concord Object Pronoun
Noun Prefix Possessive Prefix Numerical Prefix Present Active Present Stative
omu- (things) gw- gu- otagu ogu gu
omi- dh- dh- otadhi odhi dhi
e- ly- li- otali oli li
oma- g- ga- otaga oge ga
oshi- sh- shi- otashi oshi shi
ii- y- yi- otayi oyi yi
uu- w- wu- otawu owu wu
olu- l- lu- otalu olu lu
oka- k- ka- otaka oke ka
oku- kw- ku- otaku oku ku
oo- dh- dhi- otadhi odhi dhi
anything else (gr. 5 sing.) y- none, use normal numbers otayi oyi yi
ku - - otaku oku ko
mu - - otamu omu mo
pu - - otapu opu po

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