Zulu Lesson Having Hair Cut

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Need a haircut?  A haircut is gu-nda in Zulu.  It also applies to cutting grass with a lawn mower. Most old army movies have soldiers with shaved heads.

During colonization, African school children in South Africa were forced to shave their heads. British teachers said our hair had lice. White kids, had long hair they tied with ribbons. Old apartheid photos are quite a revelation.

Gu-nda. You say the first part like good, the second like Linda.

ZULU

ENGLISH

Ngi-yo-gunda.

I’m going for a haircut.

Ngi-zo-gunda ku-sa-sa.

I’ll have a haircut tomorrow.

Ha-mba u-yo-gunda.

Go and have a haircut.

Guido, ha-mba u-yo-gu-nda.

Guido, go and get a haircut.

Jacques, ha-mba u-yo-gu-nda.

Jacques, go and get a haircut.

U-ba-ba u-gu-nda u-Leo.

Father is giving Leo a haircut.

U-Leo u-gu-nda u-ba-ba-mkhulu.

Leo is giving grandfather a haircut.

Basile, u-gu-ndi-le?

Basile, you cut your hair?

Tamsin, u-gu-ndi-le?

Tamsin, you cut your hair?

Vladimir, gu-nda u-tshani.

Vladimir mow the lawn.

A-ba-gu-ndi.

They don’t cut their hair (because of religion).

Si-ya-gu-nda.

We cut hair (signs outside barbers’ shops).

I-ma-li-ni u-ku-gu-nda?

How much is a haircut?

20 dollars u-ku-gu-nda.

The haircut is 20 dollars.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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