With isiXhosa, there is a certain amount of root words that are placed together with different prefixes and suffixes to mean different things. This means that if one learns these limited amount of words and why different prefixes/suffixes are used, you will generally be able to understand how the word should be structured and used.
- Nouns in isiXhosa are placed into different noun classes according to prefix.
- If you come across a isiXhosa noun, you will probably be able to recognise which class it fits into because of its prefix.
- If you have a root word and want to alter it according to the context it will be used in, you must choose a suitable prefix.
I will now be listing the different noun classes and their respective prefixes:
CLASS 1
- prefix (um-)
- singular nouns
- category – Personal nouns
- examples – umntu (a person), umhlobo (friend)
CLASS 1a
- prefix (u-)
- singular nouns
- category – Personal proper nouns/Kinship terms/Some personal nouns/misc.
- examples – ubhuti (brother), uJohn (John), utata (father)
CLASS 2
- prefix (aba– /abe– ab-)
- plural of class 1
- category – [same as class 1]
- examples – abantu (people), abahlobo (friends)
CLASS 2a
- prefix (oo-)
- plural of class 1a
- category – [same as class 1a]
- examples – oobhuti (brothers and others), ooJohn (more than one Johns), ootata (fathers)
CLASS 3
- prefix (um-)
- singular nouns
- category- definitely non-personal – some anatomical terms/names of trees/some nouns derived from verbs/misc.
- examples – umvubu (hippo), umngcunube (willow tree), umbuzo (a question), umpu (gun), umthi (tree)
CLASS 4
- prefix (imi-)
- plural of class 3
- category – [same as class 3]
- examples – imivubu (hippos), imipu (guns), imithi (trees)
CLASS 5
- prefix (ili– /i– )
- singular nouns
- category – anatomical terms (especially those in pairs)/individuals of an ethnic group/misc. personal nouns/words borrowed from other languages/some animal names
- examples – ilifu (cloud), idolo (knee), iNgesi (English person), igqhira (traditional doctor), ipolisa (policeman/woman), isele (frog), ihashe (horse), ixesha (time)
CLASS 6
- prefix (ama– /am-)
- plural of class 5
- category – some liquids and abstract nouns
- examples – amafu (clouds), amanzi (water), amandla (power, strength)
CLASS 7
- prefix (isi– /is-)
- singular nouns
- category – all languages/ways of doing things in particular culture/words from other langs beginning with “s”/ordinal no’s/certain personal nouns/misc.
- examples – isiXhosa (Xhosa language), isikolo (school), isibini (2nd), isidenge (fool), isifo (disease)
CLASS 8
- prefix (izi– /iz-)
- plural of class 7
- category – [same at class 7]
- examples – izidenge (fools)
CLASS 9
- prefix (i-)
- singular nouns
- category – most animal names/most words from other languages/few personal nouns/certain nouns derived from verbs/misc.
- examples – ingwe (leopard), iti (tea), intombi (girl), inthetho (speech -from ukuthetha), indlela (path, road, way)
CLASS 10
- prefix (ii– /izi-)
- plural of class 9
- category – [same as class 9]
- examples – iintombi (girls), izingwe (leopards)
CLASS 11
- prefix (ulu– /u-)
- singular nouns
- category – certain nouns derived from verbs/misc.
- examples – uthando (love -from ukuthanda, meaning to love), uluthi (stick, plural = izinthi, class 10)
- -> its plural is class 10
NO CLASS 12/13
CLASS 14
- prefix (ubu– /ub-)
- singular nouns
- category – certain abstract nouns/misc.
- examples – ubuntu (humanity), ububele (kindness), ububi (badness/ugliness), ubuhle (beauty), ubusi (honey), ubusuku (night)
CLASS 15
- prefix (uku– /uk– )
- examples – ukufa (to die/dying/death), ukutya (food/eating/to eat), ukhweza (to do/doing)
- -> equivalent to english infinitive “to” or gerund “ing”
Also:
- isiXhosa specifically has 15 noun classes while other SA indigenous languages have more, i think
- the class numbers are usually listed as singular, plural, singular, plural.. etc
- In each class, there is sometimes more than one prefix option, (depends on vowels and consonants, word must be grammatically correct)
- After learning/reading quite a bit of isiXhosa, you will get used to the different prefixes and be able to naturally sort them into their classes.
- noun classes are also known as “genders” in linguistics
Examples:
Lets take the root “-qhekeza” (a verb) which means (break in/off) and place it into different classes to show how meaning changes
class 1: umqhekezi – burglar/person who breaks in
class 3: umqhekezo – event of breaking off
class 7: isiqhekezi – expert person on breaking off
class 9: inkqekezo – act of breaking off
class 11: uqhekezo – state of breaking off
Another example: “-phula” (a verb) which means break/something brittle or in pieces
class 1: umphuli – person who breaks things
class 3: umphulo – event/manner of breaking
class 7: isiphuli – expert person who breaks things
class 11: uphulo – act of breaking
class 14: ubuphuli – state of breaking
References:
http://facweb.furman.edu/~perrytravis/courses/bio39/Academics/Isixhosa/nounclasses.html
Oxford Xhosa-English dictionary
siyafunda isixhosa 