ngiyakuthanda
ngiyakuthanda is the Zulu phrase for "I like you".
The verb stem used here, thanda, covers both the English concepts of "to like" and "to love". The specific distinction between liking and loving is typically determined by the context or the intensity of the situation.
Meaning: I like you (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The word ngiyakuthanda is composed of the subject prefix ngi- (I), the present continuous marker -ya-, the object concord -ku- (you) and the verb stem -thanda (love/like).
Which one should you use?
The form ngiyakuthanda is used when referring to a single person. If you are speaking to more than one person, or if you are addressing one person using the formal or respectful plural, you should use ngiyanithanda.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the form ngiyakuthanda, the object concord -ku- refers to a single person. To address a group or to show respect to an individual through the formal plural, the object concord is changed to -ni-, resulting in ngiyanithanda.
Did you know?
- If a speaker wants to say 'I don't like you', they don't just add a 'no' but change the entire structure to angikuthandi, altering the prefix and the suffix.
- The structure of ngiyakuthanda is highly agglutinative, meaning it builds a full sentence by sticking small blocks of meaning together like Lego bricks.
- The object concord -ku- is used for both 'you' (singular) and 'it', which can sometimes lead to ambiguity in spoken conversation if context is missing.
Examples in context
- Ngiyakuthanda kakhulu.I like you very much.
- Ngiyakuthanda, s'mimi.I like you, my darling.
- Noma kunjalo, ngiyakuthanda.Even so, I like you.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their friendship.
- NomalusaBandile, ngiyakuthanda njengomngane.Bandile, I like you as a friend.
- BandileNgiyabonga, Nomalusa. nami ngiyakuthanda.Thank you, Nomalusa. I like you too.
- NomalusaUyilutho olulungile empilweni yami.You are a good thing in my life.
- BandileNgiyajabula ukuzwa lokho.I am happy to hear that.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ngiyakuthanda, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
