Health & Hospital

1. Ke a lwala

   I am ill

   Usage

   Saying you are unwell

   Grammar Note

   lwala means "be ill" (30 times in the New Testament, also in the dictionary). Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

2. Ke batla go bona ngaka

   I want to see a doctor

   Usage

   Asking to see a doctor

   Grammar Note

   ngaka is "doctor" in the dictionary (plural dingaka); the word also covers traditional healers. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

3. Ke opiwa ke tlhogo

   I have a headache

   Usage

   Telling someone you have a headache

   Grammar Note

   tn.wikipedia has a opiwa ke tlhogo e e botlhoko thata "he suffered a severe headache". The pattern is passive: "I am pained by the head". Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

4. Ke opiwa ke mpa

   I have a stomach ache

   Usage

   Telling someone your stomach hurts

   Grammar Note

   The same passive pattern as Ke opiwa ke tlhogo, with mpa "belly". Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

5. Ke tshwerwe ke letshololo

   I have diarrhoea

   Usage

   When you have diarrhoea

   Grammar Note

   tshwerwe ke ... "seized by ..." is how illness or hunger is expressed; the New Testament has tshwerwe ke tlala "hungry". Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

6. Ke a tlhatsa

   I am vomiting

   Usage

   Saying you are vomiting

   Grammar Note

   tlhatsa is "vomit" in the dictionary; the noun is letlhatso. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

7. Ke a ima

   I am pregnant

   Usage

   Telling medical staff you are pregnant

   Grammar Note

   ima is "become pregnant" in the dictionary. The a ima form follows regular grammar, but no attested sentence was found. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

8. Ke a tswa madi

   I am bleeding

   Usage

   When you are bleeding

   Grammar Note

   tn.wikipedia has go tswa madi "bleeding". madi means both "blood" and "money". Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

9. Lesapo la me le robegile

   My bone is broken

   Usage

   Reporting a broken bone

   Grammar Note

   lesapo is "bone" in the dictionary (plural marapo). robega "break" has the perfect robegile. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

10. Ga ke kgone go hema

    I cannot breathe

    Usage

    Reporting difficulty breathing

    Grammar Note

    hema means "breathe" (dictionary; 134 times on tn.wikipedia). The negative of kgona "be able" is ga ... kgone. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

11. Ke tshwanetse go ikhutsa

    I need to rest

    Usage

    Saying you must rest

    Grammar Note

    tshwanetse means "ought, must" (378 times in the New Testament). ikhutsa is reflexive "rest oneself" (dictionary). Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

12. Ke na le bolwetse jwa sukiri

    I have diabetes

    Usage

    Telling medical staff about a condition

    Grammar Note

    tn.wikipedia has o na le bolwetse jwa sukiri "he has diabetes". bolwetse is class 14, so it takes jwa. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

13. Ke na le bolwetse jwa pelo

    I have a heart condition

    Usage

    Telling medical staff about a condition

    Grammar Note

    tn.wikipedia has bolwetse jwa pelo "heart disease". Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

14. Ke na le kgatelelo ya madi e e kwa godimo

    I have high blood pressure

    Usage

    Telling medical staff about a condition

    Grammar Note

    kgatelelo ya madi "pressure of blood" is attested on tn.wikipedia. "High" uses kwa godimo, as in mogote o o kwa godimo. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

15. Bitsa ngaka!

    Call a doctor!

    Usage

    Asking someone to call a doctor

    Grammar Note

    The same pattern as Bitsa mapodise! "Call the police". To several people: Bitsang ngaka. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

16. Botlhoko

    Pain

    Usage

    Naming pain

    Grammar Note

    A class 14 noun meaning "pain, illness, bitterness" in the dictionary (162 times in the New Testament).

17. Ke na le inshorense ya botsogo

    I have health insurance

    Usage

    Telling a clinic you are insured

    Grammar Note

    inshorense is a loan from English "insurance" (14 times on tn.wikipedia) and botsogo is "health" (722 times). The combination is not attested as a fixed phrase. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

18. Letshololo

    Diarrhea

    Usage

    The name of the symptom; a word to tell a doctor or pharmacist

    Grammar Note

    A class 5 noun meaning "diarrhoea" in the dictionary (plural matshololo). It is the polite word; the dictionary marks the other word tshega as "not a polite word". tn.wikipedia has an article "Kalafi ya letshololo mo gae" (treating diarrhoea at home).

19. Masepa

    Poop

    Usage

    The ordinary word for stool, for describing it to a doctor. It is also used for animal dung, so when talking about a person the gentler verb ithoma ("relieve oneself") is safer

    Grammar Note

    A class 6 noun, the plural of lesepa, glossed in the dictionary as "excrement of human beings and of baboons". The same dictionary gives mantle (plural of lentle) as a synonym, and its English-Setswana side under "dung" has "of human beings and monkeys, masepa". No example was found on tn.wikipedia, so this is a dictionary-only word.

20. Moroto

    Pee

    Usage

    The word for urine, for describing it to a doctor. An everyday casual word could not be confirmed in a dictionary, so this one is used

    Grammar Note

    A class 3 noun derived from rota (to urinate), glossed in the dictionary as "urine; semen". On tn.wikipedia it occurs only in the sense of urine, for example "dingaka di ne tsa tshwanelwa ke go tlhatlhoba moroto wa me" (the doctors had to examine my urine).

21. Ke batla go rota

    I need to pee

    Usage

    Tells a companion or a child that you need to pee. A casual alternative could not be confirmed in a dictionary

    Grammar Note

    The same "Ke batla go + verb" frame as another card "Ke batla go bona ngaka", filled with rota, "to urinate" in the dictionary. Go rota appears on tn.wikipedia in the pregnancy-symptoms article as "go rota kgapetsakgapetsa" (frequent urination). Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

22. Ke batla go ithoma

    I need to poop

    Usage

    Tells a companion or a child that you need to poop. Ithoma is the gentle "relieve oneself"; a casual alternative could not be confirmed in a dictionary

    Grammar Note

    The same "Ke batla go + verb" frame as another card, filled with ithoma (the reflexive of roma), "defecate; relieve nature" in the dictionary. Boithomelo ("toilet"), found on the toilet cards of tn, is also derived from ithoma. A dictionary-only word that may carry the broader sense of "relieving oneself", including urination. Composed from dictionary-verified words by regular grammar; native review recommended.

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