Ndebele

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ndəˈbeːleː/

Noun

Ndebele pl (plural only)

1. A person from South Africa.
2. A person from Zimbabwe.
   • 2009 June 17, Blessing-Miles Tendi, “Tsvangirai's dicey strategy”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Furthermore, Britain's show of disapproval for Mugabe's Zanu-PF government during the land seizures was in conflict with its largely silent approach on the 1980s Gukurahundi conflict, in which Mugabe ordered the massacre of up to 20,000 Ndebele civilians.

Proper noun

Ndebele

1. Any of the languages spoken by these two peoples: Northern Ndebele and the not closely related Southern Ndebele.
   • 2022, NoViolet Bulawayo, Glory, Chatto & Windus, page 191:

     And look, that’s you a few years later, holding up a package at a prize-giving ceremony — throughout primary you always came first in English and Ndebele class.

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 恩德贝莱语

Further reading

• Ethnologue entry for Northern, nde ⁠
• Ethnologue entry for Southern, nbl ⁠

Anagrams

• Bendele