Tumbuka
ISO 639-3: tum
Major regional language of northern Malawi
Language Details
| Family Lineage | Niger-Congo › Atlantic-Congo › Volta-Congo › Benue-Congo › Bantoid › Southern Bantoid › Bantu › Central Bantu |
| Countries | Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania |
| Approximate Speakers | ~2,500,000 |
| Notes | Important literary language in early missionary education |
Hebrew Comparisons
| Word | Meaning | Hebrew Word | Transliteration | Hebrew Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kulya | to eat | אָכַל | ʼâkal | a primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively); [idiom] at all, burn up, consume, devour(-er, up), dine, eat(-er, up), feed (with), food, [idiom] freely, [idiom] in...wise(-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, [idiom] quite. |
| Mulungu | God | אֱלֹהִים | ʼĕlôhîym | plural of אֱלוֹהַּ; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative; angels, [idiom] exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), [idiom] (very) great, judges, [idiom] mighty. |
| ine | I, me | אֲנִי | ani | lemma אֲנַי second vowel, corrected to אֲנִי; contracted from אָנֹכִי; I; I, (as for) me, mine, myself, we, [idiom] which, [idiom] who. |
| fwana | seek, find | בְּעָא | bᵉʻâʼ | (Aramaic) or בְּעָה; (Aramaic), corresponding to בָּעָה; to seek or ask; ask, desire, make (petition), pray, request, seek. |
| kubuka | to wake up, to get up (at dawn or in the morning) | בֹּקֶר | bôqer | from בָּקַר; properly, dawn (as the break of day); generally, morning; ([phrase]) day, early, morning, morrow. |
| bva | to come from, arise from | הָוָא | hâvâʼ | (Aramaic) or הָוָה; (Aramaic), corresponding to הָוָא; to exist; used in a great variety of applications (especially in connection with other words); be, become, [phrase] behold, [phrase] came (to pass), [phrase] cease, [phrase] cleave, [phrase] consider, [phrase] do, [phrase] give, [phrase] have, [phrase] judge, [phrase] keep, [phrase] labour, [phrase] mingle (self), [phrase] put, [phrase] see, [phrase] seek, [phrase] set, [phrase] slay, [phrase] take heed, tremble, [phrase] walk, [phrase] would. |
| chena | white | חוּר | chûwr | from חָוַר; white linen; white. |
| nyumba | house, enclosure | חֻפָּה | chuppâh | from חָפָה; a canopy; chamber, closet, defence. |
| usiku | night; darkness | חֹשֶׁךְ | chôshek | from חָשַׁךְ; the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness; dark(-ness), night, obscurity. |
| kubaba | to dig, cultivate | יָגַב | yâgab | a primitive root; to dig or plow; husbandman. |
| kumika | to support, to establish, to set up | סָמַךְ | çâmak | a primitive root; to prop (literally or figuratively); reflexively, to lean upon or take hold of (in a favorable or unfavorable sense); bear up, establish, (up-) hold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set self, stand fast, stay (self), sustain. |
| kuseka | laugh | צָחַק | tsâchaq | a primitive root; to laugh outright (in merriment or scorn); by implication, to sport; laugh, mock, play, make sport. |
| zura | pull apart | קָרַע | qâraʻ | a primitive root; to rend, literally or figuratively (revile, paint the eyes, as if enlarging them); cut out, rend, [idiom] surely, tear. |
| kakanya | make hard | שָׂקַד | sâqad | a primitive root; to fasten; bind. |
| pinduka | turn | תְּשׁוּבָה | tᵉshûwbâh | or תְּשֻׁבָה; from שׁוּב; a recurrence (of time or place); a reply (as returned); answer, be expired, return. |