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Nouns

1 min read · 86 words

Noun class works as grammatical gender:

Class

Singular → plural

Example

1/2

mù- → bà-

mùzazə → bàzazə “woman”

3/4

mù- → mì-

mùɔsá → mìɔsá “tree”

5/6

lì- → mà-

lìshèɔ́ → màshèɔ́ “mouth”

7/8

kì- → bì-

kìbɨkɨ̀ni → bìbɨkɨ̀ni “tongue”

9/10

nasal prefix, plural same

m̀bɛ́ “hand”

14

bù-, no plural

bùhɛbɔrɔ “love”

For natural gender, human nouns can take -kpo (male) or -hə (female): mùʘookpo, mùʘoohə, mùŋgúyɨnakpo “boy”, mùŋgúyɨnahə “girl”.

Sample SVO sentences:

  • Mùzazə hə̀nivaa. “The woman sings.”

  • Bàdapo bàkàvaa. “The men sang (just now).”

  • Mùzazə hə̀kàwá lìshèɔ́. “The woman washed the mouth.”

  • Bàdapo bàwódá mùɔsá. “The men will see the tree.”