Lesson 12
Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

Exercise 7

Exercise 8


Exercise 1  Translate into English
Zarma English
Fondo kulu ga to kwaara fo. All roads lead to a village.
Iri kubanda Saley fonda me ga. We encountered Saley at the end of the road.
Nga nda nga bere hinza no kan kaa. It is he (she) and his (her) three elder brothers/sisters who came.
Ma kond' ay se goro. Bring me a cola nut.
Ay sinda goro bobo, kala afollon. I don't have many cola nuts, except just one
M' a naŋ jina. Let him first.
Kond' i se hanyan hari, zama a ma jaw. Bring them drinking water, so that he is thirsty.

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Exercise 2  Translate into English
Zarma English
Nda boro koy Goudel, ni ga di bogoto fu bobo. If a person goes to Goudel, you will see many clay houses.
Ba bi ay gar i go no ga fu fo cina nda fereje nodin. Even yesterday I found them building a house with bricks there in that place.
Amma i ga ba fereje bobo hal' a kulu ma ban. But they want many bricks so that it will be finished all.
Fereje zangu nda waranza si fu kayniyo cina. Hundred and thirty bricks won't built a small house.
Amma i ga ba kwatakuyan fu meyo da fenetarey se, manti botogo. But they want planks for the (house) door and the windows, not bricks.

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Exercise 3  Translate into English
Zarma English
Habodo boro fo go no kan ga borey cabu. There is a person from Habodo who shave the people.
I ga ne a se wanzam. They call him (native) barber.
A ga goro ganda, boro kan ga ba ga cabu mo ga goro a jina, hala a m' a cabu. He sits on the floor [literally: below], a person who is about to be shaved sits in front of him, in order that he may shave him.
Sini afollon ga te boro kulu se. A single razor will do for all persons.
Wanzam sini ga kaan. A barber's razor is sharp.

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Exercise 4  Translate to English:
Zarma English
Wayboroyan go no kanyan ga zaama neera habo ra. There are women who sell a knife at the market.
Ay koy habu zama ay ma zaama hinza day. I went to a market in order to buy three knifes.
I boro hinka ga kaan, afa si kaan, amma i kulu ga te.

Two of them are good, one isn't (good), but all of them will do.
Ni m' afo sambu da ni ga ba r' a. Take one if you want it.

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Exercise 5  Translate to English
Zarma English
Guna, ay kande kalam bobo kan ni ga neera zankey se. Look, I brought many pens which you will sell to the children.
Haggoy ni ma si i mun laabo ra. Take care you do not spill them on the soil.
Marge no? How much is it?
Watokan ay n' i kabu, ay du zangu ihinka se. The time when I counted them, I got two hundred.

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Exercise 6  Translate to Zarma: Indefinite plural
English Zarma
Bricks are hard. Ferejeyan ga sandi.
Only Europeans live in that house. Anasarayan hinne goro fuwodin.
Razors are sharp. Siniyan ga kaan.
Some tailors live beside our compound. Tako foyan goro iri kwaara jerga.
Be careful of (nda) that dog; some dogs are mean. Haggoy nda hansodin; hansi foyan ga futu.
They sell shoes in market. I ga taamuyan neera habu ra.
That child put on shirts because rain came. Zankadin na kwayo daŋ, zama hari bene kaa.
We saw some people who said I should greet you. Iri di boro foyan kan ne ay ma ni fo.

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Exercise 7  Translate to Zarma: Higher numbers
English Zarma
(For) how much did you buy that home. Marge no ni na fuwodin day?
I bought it (for) 6,000 francs. Ay n' a neera zambar fo da zangu hinka.
Fine. Baani samay.
It is cheap. A ga fala.
They sell a camel (for) 8,400 francs. I ga yo fo neera zambar fo da zangu iddu da wahaku.
But a small sheep is only 900 or 1000 francs. Amma feji kayniyo ga zangu iway si wala zambar fo hinne.
There 's a man in this town who has 75 sheep, if it isn't 80. Alboro go no kwaar'o kan gonda feji wayye cindi gu, nd' a manti wahaku.

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Exercise 8  Translate to Zarma: Hala & Kala
English Zarma
Don't throw away the drinking water until you get it again. (Ni) Ma si furu hanyan haro hala ni ma du a koyne.
Keep it safe until this evening. Ma yari a kala almar'o
I went clear to the river's edge, but I didn't come across your antelope that is lost. Ay koy isa meyo ga, amma ay mana ni jero gar kan ga darey.
Have you any food there? Ni sinda ŋwari kulu nodin, wala?
Nobody is hungry, except you only. Borokulu si hare, kala ni hinne.
Our children will take care of us until our dying day.. Iri zankey g' iri yari hala buyan hane.

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Last updated: 07 februari 2012