Entries | Sengwer Living Dictionary

Entries

chēēpkēēlēēl— white stick without bark from the pōrōōwo tree
kaapēēruuryoo— man of the Kaapēēruur age-set
mēchēyoo— chisel
tōōnōōn— stand up
kaapkata— thorny bush
ngok— chicken
meereenja— marijuana (for smoking)
kony— 1. be hard, mature, stiff 2. compact
nyenyoo— ours
tokom— waterhole, well
nwāākin— shortness
kipsiirtooyoo— stranger, traveller
weer— pass close, pass by (on the way)
aay— cross over (usually a valley or a body of water)
choorwa— friend
sop— heal, recover (idiom. get better in life)
mas— clean and dry the calabash
yakwaay— fertile, fatty (having fat)
saakaat— mixture of cow dung and mud
woos— disturb
roroktēē— go downhill
chēēpkēwēēw— nosy person
kuul— smoke tobacco, inhale
tiirwaapu— everything is ok (only used by women)
naan— remember
kataap tukēn— syphilis (lit. thorn of the Tugen)
soosyaa— grass used for thatching, reed
tēpēng’wo— Vernonia (Vernonia auriculifera)
cheepchumbyaa— European woman, white woman
ng’ur— twist a limb
paat— not...since (verb used to express that something has not been done since a specific time)
Mukēyoo— August
kaalaacha— loincloth
pōōny— peel
kupooto— together with
luch— punch, hit (by a cow)
njōk— take disciplinary action against a man/penalty paid by a man for rape
mukuruste— lonely bush
kaapyōōk— hump
tupcher— pregnant (of animals)
kiroot— forbidden
Mayna— fourth age-set for men
am ng'ēēlo— to feel lonely (lit. to eat longing)
put— 1. tear down, tear up 2. harvest maize (by tearing the cover)
Tepeesiit— first age-set for women
sāpuryō— cooking pot
nyēērilwook— tree with yellow flower (unknown)
mōkōchōryoo— grandchild
chēēpoopēēt— Butterfly bush
tāā-uu— start, begin
roop— rain
chēēptoolēy— stiff neck
tariit— 1. bird 2. a person who brings misfortune
puutēp kaamaama— eyebrow
reeny— belittle, underestimate
peem— arrow, poisoned and barbed
tach— provoke
tamay— branch
ng’uung— vomit
rorok— come down from
cheepyooseetaap yuukooy— mother-in-law
chōō— come
kimeeywa— death
somot— scoop up
murēn— man
i-iis— satisfy
mēny— live in, inhabit
ruwoon— sleep
mis— very (for black and angry)
kaaplēēlākiin— man of the Kaaplēēlāch age-set (from leelach: new)
ōlkich— straight arrow head
toombiriir— 1. rotate, go round and round 2. faff
iloot— broken
lēēl— white (often of cattle coat), new
siis— keep quiet
si— so (that)
ndāsur— shame
tuuyo— meet
tēēngē— mid-slope (adjacent to the forest, not highland, not lowland)
ryech— prepare traditional mead, brew
konom— fifty
ōō— big, large
nyāsuut— accident, bereavement
mēēngich— ram
sōōngi— yellow
rōōrōōk— high place, high ground, raised terrain
saaruur— tail
surut— scoop up (grain or sand)
Cheesyeewa— fourth age-set for women
rup— follow
chuut ko— give birth (euphemism, lit. enter a house)
ng’is— scraping mud or grass (especially inside the homestead)
kereeru— crack
uutpēy— duck (Anatidae)
pis— sprinkle
yēēmit— African olive tree (Olea africana)
kuurēru— traditional flute
ng’esyem— chin
kit— investigate
kwong— be confused, baffled, surprised (looking stupid)
kāā-iitō— numbering
kiptiiltiil— forearm
ng'eeny— salt lick
kipkōōmbēēs— ground squirrel (Xerini)
lōōpōōtwo— Sodom apple
muutmuut— 1. go around, surround 2. cut up
ooraap saksak— path used hunters and honey harvesters (rarely used)
nyuraat— dirty
it— reach, arrive
alaakyaa— calabash seeds
lekem— escarpment (vertical side)
kipsirsir— middle of your shoulder blades
njar— scrape or trim the ground (to remove weeds)
tinyaryaa— valley with flat gorge (opposite of kereru)
cheepkoraatyaa— blind person
lak— honey-water mix
raandich— small fenced area for animals or modern fence compounds (potentially derived from the verb raan and the noun tich)
chēēpkēēnkēēn— indecisive person
kipsoonjor— house used on the eve of the circumcision for rituals
mēsuut— burnt itook
meleel— refuse
tamnyaa— kindling to smoke the bees
liisēn— to cool (of the sun)
sāāmbur— 1. large sack for many things, 2. dictionary
iitoo-iit— count quickly, continue counting
nyarpat nyarpat— squishing sound
kaakaawa— wing-leafed wooden pear
palyat— be a stammerer
kōmōōlwo— Spanish tamarind (Vangueria madagascariensis)
murtuuku— thick clothes
mōtworyoo— person works for food
kōrōōm— difficult, challenging, dangerous
muuch— be able, might
kiprōōryoo— plant species (unknown)
kimōōriir— work for children just for food
mom— very flat
kiptōng'si— retarded person
kwāmbēlēēl— lower layer of the skin
tup— 1. bury 2. not returning
kēpiin— female circumcisor
taman— ten
poopchaa— mushroom with big umbrella
turung turung— sound of something heavy moving
chēēmng’ooriis— striped grass mouse (Lemniscomys barbarus) (from ng'oor: to scratch)
tēmēl— block (off)
Iwoot kuut— January (lit. rainy season mouth)
ara— so (introduces an emphatic question)
talaa— meek
kaapēkēr— traditional oven, fireplace
apusanaandi— ignorance
tōōsiin— man of the Tōōsō clan
pong— very white
kuy— mash (baby food)
tēēngēr— split into two
kiplyewlyew— soft reddish grass
kerwa— fence
tusan— burnt leaves of sokorkeet used as medicine
kimakeet— hyena (Hyaena)
mil— 1. overturn 2. turn 3. amuse
kipsirim— plant species (unknown)
uyuy— hard
nāākuu— move closer, come closer
mutaay— tomorrow
wēēywoo— stick used to stretch leather
kimōōrōrōōch— frog (Anura)
kāālyāāng'wo— fly
yaamuk— rubbish
ng’eetee— come from, be from, start from
ookta— push hard
rooryaa— heifer, young cow (who has not given birth yet)
sēkētēt— sparks
katapuut— dandelion
toor— pierce
nyiy— be full
yuu— warm up (by the fire), bask (in the sun)
tēēno— 1. to be the same as (in terms of measures) 2. approximating a measure
kemkem— rocky and infertile (of land)
kāānyāāysō— treatment
me moo— lose hope (lit. die stomach)
keepeeper— half
kēēyto— clan boundary
moorna— finger, small branch (used for the construction of the traditional hut)
kipsuundē— June
mirmir— not clearly see
kiiraap— dancing with knees and arms (from rap: to dance with knees and arms)
yi— when
swet— cut very sharp
teekaa— bamboo
saawe-e— large rodent
saayka— calabash plate for eating
seembeertee— spread out (of roots, fingers)
sarama— dancing using bangles to make music (for women, done as a way of showing enjoyment)
tung'uung— cold (disease)
kimityaa— flea
am— eat
ng’ēri— few
kāālēwēno— parable
nyikanaandi— courage
kōchōōng— disrespectful, bad-mannered
maalda— remove using an instrument

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