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Home » Learn Luhya » Learn Lubukusu - Bukusu Language » Common English pronouns in Bukusu language
My pronouns are as we shall see pronouns in Bukusu have no such dicotomy

Common English pronouns in Bukusu language

Common personal and possessive pronouns in Bukusu language. Find common use with sentences and translations. Bukusu language or Lubukusu is the tongue of Babukusu, the largest of the 18 houses of Mulembe Nation

question marks in a medley of colors

Interesting fact on pronouns in Bukusu language

Pronouns in Bukusu, like in many Bantu languages, do not have feminine or masculine forms. We speculate that this may be related to the African concept of ubuntu, the philosophy of ‘I am because we are’. Thus in a sense, the modern quest of a more inclusive society sensitive to the rights of LGBTQ+ exemplified by the “My pronouns are…” call, would have been half done in my traditional Bukusu society.

About learning Bukusu language with mulembe nation

Bukusu language or Lubukusu is the tongue of Babukusu, the largest of the 18 houses of mulembe. Learn how to speak Bukusu language through our free lessons in Bukusu language; our stories on Bukusu culture that harness the richness of Lubukusu in their narrative; our continuous search for the meaning of different Bukusu proverbs and sayings; and if your Lubukusu is already good enough, sharpen and challenge yourself with our new blog sibukusu that covers everything Bukusu in the purest Lubukusu.

Get started with our mega post:  130+ common Bukusu words and phrases their meaning, translation and pronunciation.

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Personal pronouns in Bukusu

Personal pronouns refer to the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about.

EnglishBukusuExample in sentence
IEse/EseseEse bali Serah. I am Serah
You (Singular, Early English form thou)Ewe/EweweEwe bali nanu? Who are you?
You (Plural, Early English form ye )Enywe/EnywenyweEnywe kholo si? What clan are you?
He/SheYuno/OyunoYuno niye John. He is John
It E (eyo/esio)Ekhafu eyo. It is a cow.
Sisala esio. It is a chair.
We/UsEfwe/EfwefweEfwe babukusu. We are Bukusu
They/ThemAbo/BanoBano babana. They are children
Him/HerYeweEchai yewe. Her tea.

Bukusu possessive pronouns

As stated by the wonderful resource mylanguages.org “the possessive pronouns in Swahili have no feminine or masculine aspect. They depend mainly on the pronouns and the noun class.” Bukusu, also a Bantu language follows the same rules as Swahili.

EnglishBukusuExample in sentence
Mine -ase, -ange (sisiase, sisiange) Sichiko sino sisiange. This spoon is mine.
Yours-ioo (sisioo, yioo) Enju yino yioo. This house is yours.
His
Hers
Ours-efwe (yefwe) Ekhafu yino eyefewe. This cow is mine.
Theirs-bawe (yiabwe)Engokho yiabwe eisi. This is their chicken.

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