Housing vocabulary: Luchazi to English

Housing Vocabulary in Luchazi (with English Equivalents)

Housing and habitation vocabulary refers to words and expressions used to describe places where people live, including settlements, dwellings, building features, and related concepts. The following categories present important housing-related terms in the Luchazi language together with their English equivalents.

Settlements and places of residence

1. Vukalo – habitation; dwelling place
2. Limbo – village; settlement comprising a group of houses
3. Membo (pl.) – villages
4. Limbo – city (mainly in Biblical usage)
5. Membo (pl.) – cities
6. Hembo – one's village; place of residence
7. Kuimbo – home; place of origin
8. Mbaka – town
9. Nkanda – suburb; a small community adjacent to a town or city
10. Zinkanda (pl.) – suburbs
11. Mavumba – suburbs
12. Citingitingi – township; townships
13. Mbonge – walled town; castle town
14. Vikandzo – towns; hamlets; villages
15. Ngundu – abandoned village; deserted settlement; desolate place
16. Zingundu (pl.) – abandoned villages; desolate places

Construction and building terms

1. Nata – mortar
2. Ndova – plaster
3. Ku salimba – to plaster
4. Tunga – to build; construct
5. Tungulula – to rebuild; reconstruct
6. Muandzi – crack
7. Miandzi (pl.) – cracks
8. Ku-tuntuka ca ndzivo – height of a house

Building features and enclosures

1. Mbelo – gate; opening in a fence fitted with a movable barrier
2. Zimbelo (pl.) – gates
3. Lipela – court; courtyard
4. Mapela (pl.) – courts; courtyards
5. Lipela lia mu kati – inner courtyard
6. Lipela lia mu ntima – inner courtyard
7. Lipela lia ha mbandza – outer courtyard
8. Citungu – fence; enclosed court
9. Citungu ca zintsombo – wire fence
10. Citungu ca zintsombo zia zintsempe – barbed-wire fence
11. Cimpaka = fortress
12. Cimpaka ca ku tunkuka – tower
13. Kaposi – tower

Space and capacity

1. Tsikinina – cramped; narrow; confined; restricted in space 
2. Lisuata – narrow place

Houses and residential buildings

1. Ndzivo – house; dwelling; building
2. Zindzivo (pl.) – houses; buildings
3. Ndzivo ya vutuntuka – high-rise building
4. Zindzivo zia vutuntuka (pl.) – high-rise buildings
5. Ndzivo ya ku ngongomana – mansion; large bungalow
6. Zindzivo zia ku ngongomana (pl.) – mansions; large houses; bungalows

Specialized buildings and facilities

1. Ndzivo ya vipako – warehouse
2. Ndzivo ya ku tulikila – storehouse
3. Ndzivo ya vitua – armoury
4. Vikalo via mbelo – guard rooms; gatehouses
5. Ndzivo ya vizalo – vestry

Temporary shelters, camps, and traditional structures

1. Mbalaka – tent
2. Ndzango – traditional village meeting shelter; an open-sided thatched structure, usually located at the centre of a village and serving as a gathering place for men
3. Cilombo – camp
4. Ntsingi – camp hut
5. Zintsingi (pl.) – camp huts
6. Mbalanda – pavilion; shelter
7. Cisasa – temporary grass shelter; booth
8. Cipango – isolation shelter used for traditional treatment or purification rituals

Storage structures

1. Cisete – barn
2. Vipundo – temporary storage structures
3. Cikoloyi – permanent storage structure

Service and public buildings: Luchazi to English

1. Livenda = market; mart; plaza.
2. Ndzivo ya livenda = house of trade.
3. Mavenda = markets; marts; plazas; shopping centres.
4. Mavenda a vualua = beer halls; bars or taverns.
5. Citanda = store; shop.
6. Litanda = store; shop.
7. Vitanda = stores; shops.
8. Vitanda via ntsitu = butcheries.
9. Citanda ca vualua = liquor store.
10. Nduli = cottage.
11. Ntsingi = kiosk; stall; booth.
12. Zintsingi (plural) = kiosks; stalls; booths.
13. Zinduli (plural) = cottages.
14. Ndzivo ya vangendzi = guesthouse, inn.
15. Ndzivo ya ku tulila vangendzi = lodge, guesthouse.
16. Vutulilo = lodging place or guesthouse.
17. Vuhuimino = resting place; rest house.
18. Vihuimino (plural) = resting places; rest houses.
19. Cipundo = lodge; a temporary lodging place.
20. Ndzivo ya vunguvulu = government building or house; state house or building.
21. Ndzivo ya masiko = Parliament building; legislature building.
22. Cipatela = hospital or clinic.
23. Sicola = school.
24. Ndzivo ya vukoloyi = post office building.
25. Ndzivo ya zimbongo = bank building; treasury.
26. Cikungulukilo = church; congregation.
27. Vikungulukilo = congregations; churches; religious buildings.
28. Ndzivo ya ciuaneno = meeting centre; conference centre.
29. Honda ya ciuaneno = meeting hall; conference hall; assembly hall.

Parts of a house and related phrases: Luchazi to English

A house typically consists of several key parts. Here are the key parts of a house in Lucazi and their meaning in English:

1. Mukambuila = dome of the roof.
2. Kasongua = housetop or roof.
3. Tusongua (plural) = housetops.
4. Luvula = foundation.
5. Mavula (plural) = foundations.
6. Luvula lua ndzivo = foundation of the house.
7. Ku masima = base or bottom; lower section.
8. Mukeniakenia = platform above the base; settle; ledge.
9. Lipito = door; any swinging or sliding barrier at the entrance to a building or room.
10. Njanena = window.
11. Vindulu = glass.
12. Vindulu via ku huaniuka = transparent glass.
13. Vulezo = glazing putty.
14. Ndopi = brick.
15. Zindopi = bricks.
16. Ku lutue lua ndzivo = in front of the house.
17. Ku nima ya ndzivo = behind the house.
18. Ha mbandza ya ndzivo = outside the house.
19. Civumbe = wall.
20. Vivumbe (plural) = walls.
21. Mpimo ya civumbe = thickness of of the wall.
22. Ku lutue lua civumbe = in front of the wall.
23. Mbango = corner.
24. Zimbango (plural) = corners.
25. Liteya = tile or roofing tile; roof shingle.
26. Mateya (plural) = roof tiles; roof shingles.
27. Cimbimbi = porch or a sheltered area at the entrance to a building.
28. Zindondelo = stairs or a set of fixed steps leading from one floor of a building to another.
29. Muyengo ua coto = chimney.

Rooms in a house and related phrases: Luchazi to English

1. Hondo = chamber; room, especially a bedroom; closet.
2. Zihondo (plural) = chambers; rooms; closets.
3. Zihondo zia ku zandzavala = spacious rooms; wide rooms.
4. Cikalo = sitting room; living room; a space for relaxing and entertaining guests.
5. Vukalo = sitting room; living room; living place.
6. Vikalo (plural) = sitting rooms; living rooms.
7. Vukoselo = bedroom or a place where you sleep.
8. Hondo lia ku kosa = bedroom; a room for sleeping.
9. Honda ya vizalo = wardrobe.
10. Mulili = parlour; private sitting room; private room or chamber.
11. Hondo ya vutaneno = bathroom.
12. Hondo lia ku tanena = bathroom; a room with a toilet, sink, and bathtub or shower.
13. Cimbusu = toilet.
14. Ntsenge = Kitchen; a room for cooking and preparing food.
15. Hondo lia ku lila via-ku-lia = dining room; a room for eating meals.
16. Hondo ya vupite = storeroom.
17. Hondo ya ku tulikila = pantry.
18. Cimbimbi = porch; a covered area at the entrance of the house.
19. Vimbimbi (plural) = porches.
20. Tsimba = porch; balcony; an outdoor platform attached to a room usually above ground level.
21. Cisangamo = porch; portico.
22. Visangamo (plural) = porches; porticoes.
23. Hondo ya kusilo = laundry room.
24. Hondo lia ku kusila vuzalo = laundry room.

Thatched structures terms: Luchazi to English

1. Ngundzi = pillar.
2. Zingundzi (plural) = pillars.
3. Mukata
4. Ciyakelo = supporting pole.
5. Viyakelo (plural) = supporting poles.
6. Vikuli = supporting pillar; pier.
7. Livaya = plank.
8. Mavaya (plural) = planks or long flat pieces of timber or wood.
9. Muila ua katengo = elephant grass.
10. Muila ua kangungu = thatching grass.

1. Ku kangala = to tie together purlins into a strong bundle.
2. Kuambela = thatch.
3. Citutila ca viti = bundle of sticks.
4. Mikambo = beams.
5. Masoko = rafters; these are the sloping pieces of poles or wood that support a roof.
6. Zimbandze = purlins.
7. Ziondzi = fibre gins or threads.
8. Mukatango = a bundle or a set of purlins tied or wrapped up together.
9. Malama = latticework; a framework or structure made from strips of wood or other material that cross over each other with spaces that are diamond shaped.
10. Maseavuanda = latticework.
11. Sota = spatter with mortar.
12. Cikumi = a person who is bad at thatching; a bad thatcher.
13. Vukumi = state of being a bad thatcher.

1. Zituka = loose.
2. Ku zituka = to be loose.
3. Zika = close up or to close an opening.
4. Zikuka = come out of the place into which it was put.
5. Zikika = put into an opening so as to close it.
6. Tsakununa = dislodge or pluck out.
7. Henga = be crooked or bend.
8. Hengalala = be slightly crooked or bend.
9. Olola = stretch out.

The parts of a hinged door in Luchazi to English

1. Lipito = door; any swinging or sliding barrier at the entrance to a building or room.
2. Mapito (plural)
3. Miteka = hinges.
4. Cikolo = doorway or an entrance with a door; the opening that a door closes especially an entrance into a building or room.
5. Kacikolo or kakolo (diminutive) = a small doorway.
6. Ngendzo = bell.
7. Mpindziko = lock or mortice lock.
8. Vikuateso = handles.
9. Sapi = key.
10. Muvelenge = padlock/latch/bar.
11. Cipamba = lintel.
12. Civuliko = doorpost.

1. Tota or kutota = knock or to knock.
2. Ngongota or kungongota = knock/to knock.
3. Ingila = go in.
4. Kovela = enter in.
5. Tuhuka = go out.
6. Fuma = get out of or come out.
7. Sokoka = come out of that which is closed.
8. Soka = Shut.
9. Sokelela = shut permanently.
10. Sokeka = place or shut in.
11. Sokolola = Open.
12. Pata = Bar in.
13. Pateka = Put into that which will hold it.
14. Patuka = come out of that in which it is barred.