mucheche
The Shona word for baby is mucheche.
The term mucheche refers to a very young human being.
Meaning: very young human being (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the plural form, babies, use vacheche.
Did you know?
- In traditional Shona naming customs, a mucheche might be given a 'meaning' name that describes the circumstances of their birth or the family's emotions at the time.
- In Shona culture, the concept of a mucheche is tied to communal responsibility, meaning that any adult in a village may refer to a baby as mwanangu, which literally translates to 'my child'.
- The grammatical structure of mucheche involves a noun class system where the prefix 'mu-' indicates a single person, which is a core feature of Bantu languages that differs from English.
Examples in context
- Mwanangu asvikaMy child has arrived
- Mucheche uyu ari kurira.This baby is crying.
- Mucheche uyu anofara.This baby is happy.
- Mucheche ari kurara.The baby is sleeping.
Example conversation
Nyasha and Tinashe are looking at a newborn in a crib.
- NyashaMucheche uyu ane unhu hwakanaka.This baby is very sweet.
- TinasheHongu, mucheche uyu anofadza.Yes, this baby is delightful.
- NyashaTinashe, unofunga kuti achakura sei?Tinashe, how do you think he will grow up?
- TinasheNyasha, achakura zvakanaka chete.Nyasha, he will surely grow up well.
