The human body
Lesson 4 of 13≈ 14 min
The body in shikomori — a linguistics textbook
Body vocabulary is an ideal lab for Bantu noun classes. Paired parts (hand, foot, eye, ear) typically follow class 5/6 (sg / pl in -ma). Single organs (heart, tongue) are in class 3/4 or others.
No need to memorise it all: spot the pattern.
Body vocabulary
| Singular | Plural | English | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| shitswa | zitswa | head / heads | 7/8 (shi-/zi-) |
| dzitso | matso | eye / eyes | 5/6 |
| dzinyo | manyo | tooth / teeth | 5/6 |
| ilime | malime (Ma) | tongue (organ) | 5/6 |
| kio | makio | ear(s) | 5/6 |
| pua | mapua (Ma) | nose | 9; 5/6 in shimaoré |
| uso | mauso (Ma) | face | 11 |
| nyole | nyele (Ma) | a hair / hair | 9 (collective elsewhere) |
| muhono | mihono | hand, arm | 3/4 (mu-/mi-) |
| mundru (Ng, Ma) | mindru | foot, leg | 3/4 |
| mimba | — | belly | 9 |
| roho | — | heart, soul | 9 (Arabic origin) |
| bega | mabega | shoulder(s) | 5/6 |
| shifuba | zifuba | chest | 7/8 |
| ivuhu | — | elbow | 5 |
| kofu | makofu ; mikofu (Ma) | nail(s) | 5/6 |
Listening
- shitswa (head)
- dzitso → matso (eye/eyes)
- muhono (hand)
- roho (heart)
Reading a Bantu plural
When you see dzitso → matso, two things happen:
- The singular prefix (here Ø or dzi-) is replaced with ma- (class 6).
- The root keeps its shape: -tso stays -tso (the initial dz vanishes in the fusion).
Typical of class 5/6. For the hand: muhono (class 3, prefix mu-) → mihono (class 4, prefix mi-). The root -hono stays unchanged.
Nothing to memorise here — just a teaser. Module 3 covers classes in detail.
Dialect variation
For « eye », the sources give dzitso / matso in shindzuani (Ahmed-Chamanga, 1992, p. 20) as in shimaoré (Nisusoma shimaore booklet, 2019, p. 31). The dz does not become z here: the dz / z correspondence only affects a few words (M5.3).
Practice
What is the plural of dzitso (« eye »)?
Plural: ___.
Convert dzitso (Ng) into shimaoré.
Source (NG)dzitsoTarget
Mini-quiz
What does shitswa mean?
shitswa = ___.
The body from head to toe (shimaoré)
From the Nisusoma shimaore booklet (CASNAV, 2019, p. 31).
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| shifuba | zifuba | chest |
| tsingo | matsingo | neck |
| bega | mabega | shoulder |
| kiko | — | elbow |
| sha | zisha | finger |
| paja | mavaja | thigh (p → v in the plural) |
| gunguni | magunguni | knee |
| karo | mikaro | heel |
| mengo | zimengo | back |
| savu | masavu | cheek |
| tsi | matsi | eyebrow |
| pembe | mavembe | nostril (p → v in the plural) |
| domu | malomo | lip |
| shilevu | zilevu | chin |
| komo | mikomo | forehead |
| hanyo | zi hanyo | mouth |
| trutru | mitrutru | navel |
Saying you feel unwell
Three expressions from the Mahoran booklet to talk about your health:
- tsilemewa — I'm tired
- nisiona ulu — I feel dizzy (ulu « dizziness »)
- buhuo — fever
Notice paja → mavaja and pembe → mavembe: in the class-6 plural, p becomes v. The booklet also gives domu → malomo (d → l and u → o). From the Nisusoma shimaore booklet (CASNAV, 2019, p. 31).
Practice — body plurals
The plural of paja (« thigh ») is…
paja → ___.
« I feel dizzy » is said…
___.
Next: nature
Earth, sky, water, fire, mountain, sun, moon… Nature is also the field of major dialect variations (madji/maji, moro/mdro, ɗago/ɗaho/nyumba).