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
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.
Select resources to learn Bukusu language:
- Emojis in Bukusu;
- Common Bukusu words and phrases relating to food, dining cutlery and eating.
- the Bukusu folk song Nacha nacha nacha which introduces us to Bukusu words for tortoise and other animals;
- not to mention our detailed coverage on everyday conversation in kinship terms and words for relatives and relations in Bukusu.
Personal pronouns in Bukusu
Personal pronouns refer to the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about.
| English | Bukusu | Example in sentence |
| I | Ese/Esese | Ese bali Serah. I am Serah |
| You (Singular, Early English form thou) | Ewe/Ewewe | Ewe bali nanu? Who are you? |
| You (Plural, Early English form ye ) | Enywe/Enywenywe | Enywe kholo si? What clan are you? |
| He/She | Yuno/Oyuno | Yuno niye John. He is John |
| It | E (eyo/esio) | Ekhafu eyo. It is a cow. Sisala esio. It is a chair. |
| We/Us | Efwe/Efwefwe | Efwe babukusu. We are Bukusu |
| They/Them | Abo/Bano | Bano babana. They are children |
| Him/Her | Yewe | Echai 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.
| English | Bukusu | Example 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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