How to Say “No” in Sesotho
The Sesotho word for no is che. che is a particle used to express negation or to show disagreement with a statement or question.
About Sesotho
Sesotho, also called Southern Sotho, is the national language of Lesotho, where it is official together with English. It is also an official language of South Africa and of Zimbabwe. It is closely related to Sepedi (Northern Sotho) and Tswana.
Sesotho is written in Latin letters. Respect is shown in greetings: say lumela, ntate to a man and lumela, mme to a woman, adding the words for father and mother. To greet a group, say lumelang.
| Family | Niger-Congo, Bantu (Sotho-Tswana) |
|---|---|
| Official in | Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe |
| Script | Latin alphabet |
| Codes | st (ISO 639-1), sot (ISO 639-3) |
Classification: Wikidata. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
How to Say “How Are You?” in Sesotho
The English phrase “how are you?” is translated into Sesotho as o phela joang?
How to Say “Please” in Sesotho
hle is the Sesotho way to say please. hle is used as an interjection to soften a request or to make it more polite.
How to Say “Sorry” in Sesotho
In Sesotho, the way to say sorry is Ntshwarele. Ntshwarele is used to express regret for a mistake or an offense, rather than just a casual ‘excuse me’.
How to Say “Hi” in Sesotho
The Sesotho word for hi is dumela. dumela is used as a friendly, informal greeting.
How to Say “My Husband” in Sesotho
monna wa ka is the Sesotho phrase for “my husband”. The phrase is used to refer to the man to whom a woman is married.
How to Say “Happy Birthday” in Sesotho
To say happy birthday in Sesotho, use Letsatsi le monate la tswalo.
How to Say “Good Night” in Sesotho
The Sesotho phrase for “good night” is Fonane. Fonane is used as a farewell phrase when saying good night to someone.
How to Say “Yes” in Sesotho
The Sesotho word for “yes” is e. The particle e is used to indicate agreement or acceptance.
How to Say “Octopus” in Sesotho
The English word “octopus” is translated into Sesotho as feke. feke is a noun used to refer to the mollusc known as an octopus.