indlulamthi
[íⁿd̥ɮṳ̌lám̩ːtʰí]class 10, class 9
The Xhosa word for giraffe is indlulamthi.
indlulamthi refers to the giraffe, a large mammal.
Meaning: mammal (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word indlulamthi belongs to noun classes 9 and 10.
Did you know?
- The word indlulamthi literally describes the animal's behavior, translating to 'one who passes/goes beyond the tree'.
- Because Xhosa is a tonal language, the way indlulamthi is pronounced can change the rhythm of the sentence, which is essential for meaning.
- The term indlulamthi exemplifies the 'agglutinative' nature of Xhosa, where multiple meaning units are glued together to form a single long word.
Examples in context
- Indlulamthi inamandla.The giraffe is strong.
Example conversation
Andiswa and Lwazi are looking at animals at the zoo.
- AndiswaJonga le ndlulamthi, Lwazi!Look at this giraffe, Lwazi!
- LwaziIyaqala ukutya amasutha.It is starting to eat leaves.
- AndiswaIndlulamthi ihleze ithembise.The giraffe is always tall.
- LwaziYenzeka ngokwemvelo.It happens naturally.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “giraffe” translations and entries indlulamthi, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries indlulamthi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
