Tswana (Botswana)→English

Translate Tswana (Botswana) to English the way locals mean it.

In Botswana Setswana, speakers often use greetings, respectful address, and everyday idioms whose literal wording can sound more formal or uncertain than intended in English.

Going the other way? English to Tswana (Botswana)

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Tswana varieties

What locals actually say

Ke teng, wena?

I’m fine, and you?

Ke teng literally means “I am here,” but it is a routine response to a greeting that means the speaker is doing fine or getting by.

Go siame, re tlaa bua kamoso.

Okay, we’ll talk tomorrow.

Go siame literally means “it is good,” but in conversation it commonly signals agreement or reassurance, like “okay” or “no problem.”

Rra, ke tlaa go bona.

Sir, see you.

Rra is respectful address for a man, not necessarily the speaker’s father, and ke tlaa go bona literally means “I will see you” but works as an ordinary farewell.

Tsweetswee, mpontshe tsela ya kwa posong.

Please show me the way to the post office.

Tsweetswee is the everyday Setswana politeness word for please, while kwa marks a place or destination.

Tsweetswee, nkadime madi go fitlha ka Labotlhano.

Please lend me some money until Friday.

Madi is the common Setswana word for money, and go fitlha ka signals an endpoint in time, meaning until.

Ke batla bogobe le nama.

I want porridge and meat.

Bogobe refers to the thick maize meal staple associated with Setswana food, rather than generic porridge.

Mma, ngwana o robetse.

Mum, the baby is asleep.

Mma is a respectful Setswana form of address for a mother or older woman, and ngwana means child or baby.

Gompieno go a bata, rwala jase.

It is cold today, put on a jacket.

Go a bata is the impersonal Setswana construction used for cold weather, while rwala is the direct command to wear or carry something.

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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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way