Translate now

Common Tetum to Bemba phrases

100 practical Tetum to Bemba phrases for travel, study, work, and daily conversation.

← Back to Tetum to Bemba Translator

Looking for practical Tetum to Bemba phrases? This free guide lists 100 essential sentences for travel, study, work, and everyday conversation. Each line shows the Tetum phrase first, then the Bemba translation (Bemba) — so you can scan quickly before a trip, class, or video call.

The phrases are grouped into eight topics: greetings and pleasantries, useful phrases for travellers, everyday conversation, directions and getting around, shopping and dining, emergencies and health, work and business, and time, days and numbers. Use the table of contents to jump straight to greetings, directions, dining, emergencies, or numbers. You do not need perfect grammar to start — short, clear sentences often work better than silence when you are learning Bemba.

Tip: pick five Bemba phrases from the greetings section and use them in a real message today. Small daily practice beats cramming before a trip.

Bookmark this page for offline review, share it with a travel buddy, or open the Tetum to Bemba translator to paste your own messages and get an instant translation.

Greetings and pleasantries

Hello, goodbye, please, thank you, and polite introductions for meeting new people.

  1. Olá

    Shani

  2. Obrigadu

    Natotela

  3. Bondia

    Muli shani

  4. Bona tarde

    Muli shani

  5. Bona noite

    Muli shani

  6. Bona noite

    Shalenipo bwino

  7. Ami hanesan

    Tukakutana

  8. Adeus

    Twalumba

  9. Quale naran ida?

    Iwe ulishani?

  10. Naran hau John.

    Ndefwaya John

  11. Kona ba o?

    Uli bwanji?

  12. Diak ba halo ho o.

    Nashitasha kukumona

Useful phrases for travellers

Airport, hotel, tickets, and transport phrases for getting around on a trip.

  1. Keta fala Inglês?

    Ulyashi ulukanda mu Chingereza?

  2. Hau la fala Hindi diak.

    Ndefwaya ukulanda Hindi bwino

  3. Hau la hatene.

    Ndefwaya kumfwa

  4. Favor fala ba moris.

    Nimwandi ulukanda buteko

  5. Keta bele fala fali?

    Ningaloleleko?

  6. Onde mak banheira?

    Ili kuti ikalamba?

  7. Kona ne'ebe hau bele baa sentru cidade?

    Ningalileka shani ku city center?

  8. Virar ba hadau.

    Fumya kumwendo

  9. Virar ba direita.

    Fumya kumwendo

  10. Baa diretamente.

    Enda pamo

  11. Iha ne'e barak?

    Kuli shani ifyabukata?

  12. Ticket ida, favor.

    Ticket imwe, nomba

  13. Iha ne'e laran ka?

    Kuli lishilu ukulya?

  14. Hau nune'e.

    Ndi lost

  15. Onde mak hau bele compra SIM card?

    Ili kuti nindeke SIM card?

Everyday conversation

Small talk, feelings, opinions, and common chat phrases for daily life.

  1. Sim

    Eya

  2. La

    Awe

  3. Talvez

    Panga

  4. Hau hakarak

    Ndi bwino

  5. Hau la hakarak

    Ndi bwino na

  6. Nia mak diak

    Ilyo lishibukile

  7. Ita nian ideia sa?

    Uchite shani?

  8. Mak bele ajuda hau?

    Ushakufwa?

  9. Hau precisa ajuda

    Ndefwaya ifyakufwa

  10. Hakarak momentu

    Leka ifi

  11. Hau mós

    Nshakufwa

  12. La problema

    Takwaba shani

  13. Parabens

    Nshakufwa bwino

  14. Parabens ba aniversario

    Nashala bwino mu mwaka

  15. Hau haruka viagen diak

    Ube na mulimo wabwino

Directions and getting around

Asking where something is, left and right, distances, and finding your way.

  1. Onde está a estacão de trem?

    Uli kuti ikalamba ya chitima? (Onde está a estacão de trem?)

  2. Onde está a paragem de autocarro?

    Uli kuti icikalo ca bisi? (Onde está a paragem de autocarro?)

  3. Iha ne'e plataforma sa'e?

    Ninshi ni platform iyi? (Iha ne'e plataforma sa'e?)

  4. Hora ne'e sai?

    Ninshi ikalamba? (Hora ne'e sai?)

  5. Ema ne'e dalan certo ka?

    Ninshi iyi ni njira shabwino? (Ema ne'e dalan certo ka?)

  6. Iha ne'e perto

    Ili pamo na pano. (Iha ne'e perto)

  7. Iha ne'e laran

    Ili lishilu na pano. (Iha ne'e laran)

  8. Kona ba mapa?

    Ushibukishe pa mape? (Kona ba mapa?)

  9. Parar iha ne'e, favor

    Leka pano, chonde. (Parar iha ne'e, favor)

  10. Kona tempu hira?

    Kuli shani? (Kona tempu hira?)

Shopping and dining

Ordering food, asking prices, paying the bill, and shopping at markets or stores.

  1. Ita nia presu sa'o?

    Ili shani? (Ili shani?)

  2. Esa mak baratu demais.

    Ili lya kuli (Ili lya kuli)

  3. Ita iha coisa baratu seluk?

    Muli na chimo chibulu? (Muli na chimo chibulu?)

  4. Posu ka la, hau bele paga ba kart?

    Ningakupanga na kadi? (Ningakupanga na kadi?)

  5. Hau hakarak mesa ba rua.

    Ningakonda itabo lyakupanga abali babili (Ningakonda itabo lyakupanga abali babili)

  6. Fatu, por favor.

    Icilanga, tapali (Icilanga, tapali)

  7. Servisu iha ka?

    Ubufyashi bwakupanga? (Ubufyashi bwakupanga?)

  8. Hau vegetarian.

    Ndi mvegetarian (Ndi mvegetarian)

  9. Labele comida spicy, por favor.

    Nshikala na fya spicy, tapali (Nshikala na fya spicy, tapali)

  10. Esa mak saboru.

    Ili lya bwino (Ili lya bwino)

  11. Posu ka la, hau bele hakarak menu?

    Ningakonda ifyalo? (Ningakonda ifyalo?)

  12. Kopa agua, por favor.

    Icupa ca mvula, tapali (Icupa ca mvula, tapali)

Emergencies and health

Help, police, doctor, pharmacy, and urgent situations when you need assistance fast.

  1. Liga ba polícia

    Tuma abashitisha

  2. Liga ba ambulansia

    Tuma ambulance

  3. Hau precisa doutor

    Nshikala na doctor

  4. Hau sente sick

    Nshikala bwino

  5. Hau iha alergia ba karu

    Ndi na allergy ku nsalu

  6. Onde iha ospitál ne'ebe mais perto?

    Ili kuti hospital ya pafupi?

  7. Ita hakarak iha ne'e

    Kuli ububi pano

  8. Hau hasai passport

    Nashitile passport yangu

  9. O pode liga ba hotel hau?

    Nawe tuma hotel yangu?

  10. Help!

    Chikondi!

Work and business

Meetings, email tone, schedules, and professional phrases for the workplace.

  1. Hau kontente hatoo ho ita

    Nashamukeni (na-sha-mu-ke-ni)

  2. Kita halo reunião

    Tulefwaya ukusanga (tu-le-fwa-ya u-ku-sanga)

  3. Hora ne'ebe mak diak ba ita?

    Ninshi ifikala bwino kwa iwe? (nin-shi i-fi-ka-la bwi-no kwa i-we)

  4. Hau sei hatoo relatoriu ona

    Nizakutuma ifishina lelo (ni-za-ku-tu-ma i-fi-shi-na le-lo)

  5. Ita bele halo conversa fali?

    Twafwaya ukusambilila lero? (twa-fwa-ya u-ku-sam-bi-li-la le-ro)

  6. Favor buka arquivo ne'e iha

    Nomba fwebo file iliko (nom-ba fwe-bo fi-le i-li-ko)

  7. Obrigadu ba ita-nia tempu

    Natotela pa nshita (na-to-te-la pa nshi-ta)

  8. Hau hakarak trabalha ho ita

    Nifwaya ukushanda na iwe (ni-fwa-ya u-ku-shan-da na i-we)

  9. Ita bele klarifika ponto ne'e?

    Wakosa ukufumya icikomo? (wa-ko-sa u-ku-fum-ya i-ci-ko-mo)

  10. Hau sei volta ba ita

    Nizakukumbusha (ni-za-ku-kum-bu-sha)

  11. Prazo mak sexta-feira

    Ishina lyakupela ni Lwapula (i-shi-na lya-ku-pe-la ni Lwa-pu-la)

Time, days and numbers

Clock times, days of the week, months, quantities, and counting for appointments and plans.

  1. Hora ne'ebe?

    Ninshi ilya shani? (Ninshi ilya shani?)

  2. Iha hora tolu.

    Kuli nomba itatu. (Kuli nomba itatu.)

  3. Oin loron

    Lelo. (Lelo.)

  4. Amanhã

    Mwaume. (Mwaume.)

  5. Kona ba

    Kale. (Kale.)

  6. Segunda-feira

    Lwandi. (Lwandi.)

  7. Terça-feira

    Lwakabamba. (Lwakabamba.)

  8. Quarta-feira

    Lwapili. (Lwapili.)

  9. Ida

    Imwe. (Imwe.)

  10. Dua

    Ibili. (Ibili.)

  11. Tolu

    Itatu. (Itatu.)

  12. Sira

    Icumi. (Icumi.)

  13. Nehun

    Cikumi. (Cikumi.)

  14. Metade

    Pafya. (Pafya.)

  15. Lain

    Ilyo. (Ilyo.)

Need to translate your own text? Use the free Tetum to Bemba translator.

Open translator