English→Tswana (Botswana)

Translate English to Tswana (Botswana) like a local.

Botswana Setswana sounds like itself through dumela greetings, respectful rra and mma address, and everyday forms shaped by Botswana’s combi-rank and mobile-phone culture.

Going the other way? Tswana (Botswana) to English

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Tswana varieties

What locals actually say

Hello, ma’am, is this the combi to Gaborone?

Dumela mma, a ke yone kombi e e yang Gaborone?

`mma` is the respectful Botswana address for a woman, while `a ke yone` is the natural yes-or-no question frame and `kombi` is the everyday term for a minibus.

Please send me airtime—I’ve run out.

Ke kopa o nthomelele airtime, ke feletswe ke yone.

`ke feletswe ke yone` is the idiomatic construction for having run out of something, and `airtime` is the ordinary Botswana phone-credit loanword.

Wait for me at the rank; I’m coming right now.

Nkemele kwa rankeng, ke tla gone jaanong.

`rankeng` uses the Setswana locative ending on Botswana’s everyday `rank`, while `gone jaanong` gives the familiar emphatic sense of ‘right now.’

Please give me pap and meat.

Ke kopa bogobe le nama.

Bogobe means traditional maize pap and signals a familiar Setswana staple, while ke kopa is the polite request construction.

My older sibling is coming tomorrow.

Nkgonne o tla ka moso.

Nkgonne is the Setswana kinship word for an older sibling, and ka moso is the local phrase for tomorrow.

I am at work.

Ke kwa tirong.

Kwa tirong is a Setswana locative phrase, using kwa for a place and the locative form tirong for at work.

It is raining heavily today.

Pula e a na thata gompieno.

Pula e a na is the Setswana construction for rain is falling, while gompieno means today and thata intensifies the rainfall.

I am tired, let us go home.

Ke lapile, a re ye gae.

A re ye is the inclusive Setswana hortative construction for let us go, and gae means home in this everyday expression.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Tswana (Botswana) differs

Setswana (Botswana standard); dumela greetings, rra/mma respectful address.

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Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way