Religion & Temples

1. Bushe cilonganino cili kwi?

   Where is the church?

   Usage

   Asks where a church (a congregation's meeting place) is, for worship or a visit

   Grammar Note

   "Where is X" is the subject plus "li kwi", with an agreement marker matching the subject's class before li (ci- for the class 7 noun cilonganino). Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

2. Calici

   Church (building)

   Usage

   A church building; the plural is "amacalici"

   Grammar Note

   A loanword, attested only in conversational data; native review recommended

3. Cilonganino

   Church / congregation

   Usage

   A group of believers and the gathering they hold

   Grammar Note

   A class 7 noun (prefix ici-), formed from the verb -longana, "gather"

4. Ndefwaya ukupepa amapepo.

   I want to pray.

   Usage

   Says that you would like to pray, for example in a place of worship

   Grammar Note

   "Ukupepa" alone can also mean "to smoke", so "amapepo" (prayers) is added to make it clearly "to pray". Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

5. Amapepo

   Prayers

   Usage

   Prayers; it is sometimes also used for a religion as a whole

   Grammar Note

   A class 6 plural noun (prefix ama-)

6. Lesa

   God

   Usage

   God; heard often in prayers and in places of worship

   Grammar Note

   A noun without a prefix, written with a capital letter

7. Bushe kuti naingila?

   May I come in?

   Usage

   Asks permission before entering a church or place of worship

   Grammar Note

   "Bushe kuti" opens a "can ...?" question, and the verb "-ingila" means "enter". Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

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