The Sesotho Alphabet

Q: What is the Sesotho language?

Sesotho (also called Southern Sotho , ISO 639-3: st) is a Bantu language of the Sotho-Tswana group, spoken by approximately 5–6 million people primarily in Lesotho and South Africa . It is the national language of Lesotho and one of eleven official languages of South Africa [2] . Sesotho belongs to the Niger-Congo → Bantu → Southern Bantu → Sotho-Tswana branch. Its closest relatives are Setswana (the language of Botswana) and Sesotho sa Leboa (Northern Sotho/Sepedi). Together these form the Sotho-Tswana language group, distinct from the Nguni branch (Zulu, Xhosa, Swati) [1] .

Q: What is the lateral affricate tlh in Sesotho?

The trigraph tlh represents the voiceless lateral affricate /tɬ/ — a consonant produced by beginning a t-stop and releasing it with lateral airflow (air escaping around the sides of the tongue). It sounds somewhat like Welsh "ll" in "Llewelyn" but with a t-onset [1] . This consonant is shared between Sesotho and Setswana but is absent in the Nguni languages (Zulu, Xhosa, Swati). It is one of the key phonological features that distinguishes the Sotho-Tswana branch from the Nguni branch of Southern Bantu [1] .

Q: Where is Sesotho spoken?

Sesotho is spoken primarily in Lesotho (where it is the national language spoken by nearly the entire population) and in South Africa, particularly in Free State Province , Gauteng , and the Western Cape [2] . Lesotho is a landlocked kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa. Both Sesotho and English are official languages of Lesotho. In South Africa, Sesotho is one of eleven official languages under the post-1994 constitutional framework. South African History Online (SAHO) documents Sesotho's history and literary tradition as part of the heritage of the Basotho people [2] .

Q: How do aspirated stops work in Sesotho?

Sesotho has three aspirated stop pairs — ph /pʰ/ , th /tʰ/ , kh /kʰ/ — where the "h" after a stop indicates a puff of air released simultaneously. These are distinct phonemes: pula (rain) differs from phahlo (clothing) [1] . The digraph "th" in Sesotho represents an aspirated t , NOT the English dental fricative /θ/ as in "the". This is a common feature across the Sotho-Tswana and many other Bantu languages, and the "h" consistently marks aspiration rather than a separate sound [1] .

Q: What is the ISO 639-3 code for Sesotho?

The ISO 639-3 code for Sesotho (Southern Sotho) is st (also: sot). The Se- prefix in Sesotho is the Bantu noun-class prefix meaning "language of" — Sesotho = "language of the Sotho people" [2] . The name "Southern Sotho" distinguishes it from Sesotho sa Leboa (Northern Sotho, ISO: nso) and Setswana (ISO: tn). All three belong to the Sotho-Tswana group and share the tlh lateral affricate and other phonological features absent in Nguni languages [1] .

Q: How does Sesotho count to ten?

Sesotho counts: o le mong (1), e mebedi (2), e metso e meraro (3), e mene (4), e mehlano (5), tšelela (6), supa (7), robedi (8), robong (9), leshome (10). The noun-class prefix changes with the counted noun [2] . The word leshome (ten) descends from the pan-Bantu * -kumi root — shared with Swahili kumi , Shona gumi , and Zulu ishumi . The form supa (seven, literally "pointer/index finger") reveals the body-counting origin of Sesotho numerals [2] .

Q: What is the relationship between Sesotho and Setswana?

Sesotho and Setswana are the two major members of the Sotho-Tswana language group . They share the lateral affricate tlh /tɬ/, aspirated stops (ph, th, kh), and the lateral fricative hl /ɬ/. Both use the Se- noun-class prefix for "language of" [1] . Despite their close relationship, Sesotho and Setswana are not mutually intelligible . Key differences include tone patterns, vocabulary, and the use of some consonants. Sesotho is the national language of Lesotho; Setswana is the national language of Botswana — two distinct modern nations with overlapping but different linguistic traditions [1] .

Sesotho Language at a Glance

Sesotho (Southern Sotho, ISO 639-3: st) is the national language of Lesotho and one of eleven official languages of South Africa, spoken by approximately 5–6 million people across Lesotho, Free State, Gauteng, and the Western Cape ^[2]
Sesotho belongs to the Sotho-Tswana language group and shares with Setswana the lateral affricate tlh (/tɬ/) — a sound produced with lateral air release, like Welsh 'll' in Llewelyn — absent in Nguni languages such as Zulu and Xhosa ^[1]
The Sesotho orthography uses standard Latin letters with digraphs for aspirated stops (ph, th, kh), the lateral affricate tlh, and the bilabial fricative f. Tone is not marked in writing but is phonemically contrastive in lexical distinctions ^[2]
Sesotho uses a Bantu noun-class system with vowel-initial prefixes: mo- (class 1, person; e.g. motho = person), ba- (class 2, people; e.g. batho = people), le- (class 5), and ma- (class 6). These prefixes also trigger verb concord, determining which subject marker appears on the verb ^[2]
Sesotho and Setswana are the two main Sotho-Tswana languages. Both share the tlh lateral affricate and hl lateral fricative. A third closely related variety, Sesotho sa Leboa (Northern Sotho / Sepedi), is also official in South Africa — all three are distinct but share the same Sotho-Tswana ancestry ^[1]
Sesotho numerals use noun-class agreement: leshome (ten) carries the le- class prefix. The root -shome descends from proto-Bantu *-kúmí (ten), the same root as Swahili kumi, Shona gumi, and Zulu ishumi — a stable Bantu cognate preserved across 3,000+ years and thousands of kilometres ^[2]

Sesotho Consonants:

[b]

[d]

[f]

[ɡ]

[h]

[ɬ]

[dʒ]

[k]

[kʰ]

[l]

[m]

[ᵐb]

[n]

[ⁿd]

[ᵑɡ]

[ⁿdʒ]

[ɲ]

[p]

[pʰ]

[r]

[s]

[ʃ]

[t]

[tʰ]

tlh

[tɬ]

[ts]

[w]

[j]

[b]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/ — B as in "bat"; Sesotho: bua (speak)

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/ — D as in "dog"; Sesotho: dula (sit)

[f]

Voiceless bilabial fricative /f/ — F as in "fun"; Sesotho: feta (pass)

[ɡ]

Voiced velar stop /ɡ/ — G as in "go"

[h]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/ — H as in "house"

[ɬ]

Voiceless lateral fricative /ɬ/ — like Welsh "ll" in "Llewelyn"; air passes around the sides of the tongue; Sesotho: hlooho (head), hloka (lack)

[dʒ]

Voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/ — J as in "jam"; Sesotho: jele (ate)

[k]

Voiceless velar stop /k/ — K as in "kite"; Sesotho: ka (by/with)

[kʰ]

Aspirated voiceless velar stop /kʰ/ — K with a strong puff of air; Sesotho: khomo (cow), khotso (peace)

[l]

Alveolar lateral approximant /l/ — L as in "lamp"; Sesotho: lefa (pay), leka (try)

[m]

Bilabial nasal /m/ — M as in "mother"; Sesotho: motho (person), molapo (river)

[ᵐb]

Prenasalized voiced bilabial stop /ᵐb/ — a single phoneme; Sesotho: mbu (type of bee)

[n]

Alveolar nasal /n/ — N as in "night"; Sesotho: na le (has)

[ⁿd]

Prenasalized voiced alveolar stop /ⁿd/ — a single phoneme; Sesotho: nna (me/I)

[ᵑɡ]

Prenasalized voiced velar stop /ᵑɡ/ — a single phoneme; Sesotho: ngata (many)

[ⁿdʒ]

Prenasalized voiced palato-alveolar affricate /ⁿdʒ/ — a single phoneme

[ɲ]

Palatal nasal /ɲ/ — NY as in "canyon"; Sesotho: nyalo (marriage), nyane (small)

[p]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/ — P as in "pin"; Sesotho: pula (rain)

[pʰ]

Aspirated voiceless bilabial stop /pʰ/ — P with a puff of air; Sesotho: phahlo (clothing), phela (live/survive)

[r]

Alveolar trill or flap /r/ — R as in "run"; Sesotho: reka (buy), rata (love)

[s]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ — S as in "sun"; Sesotho: sechaba (nation), sala (remain)

[ʃ]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/ — SH as in "she"; Sesotho: sheba (look), shwa (be satisfied)

[t]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/ — T as in "top"; Sesotho: taba (matter/affair)

[tʰ]

Aspirated voiceless alveolar stop /tʰ/ — T with a puff of air; NOT English TH; Sesotho: thaba (mountain), thata (difficult)

tlh

[tɬ]

Voiceless lateral affricate /tɬ/ — a stop released with lateral air flow, similar to Welsh "ll" but with a t- onset; shared with Setswana; absent in Nguni languages; Sesotho: tlhaho (nature), tlhola (create)

[ts]

Voiceless alveolar affricate /ts/ — TS as in "cats"; Sesotho: tseba (know), tsela (way/road)

[w]

Labio-velar approximant /w/ — W as in "water"; Sesotho: wa (falls), wena (you)

[j]

Palatal approximant /j/ — Y as in "yes"; Sesotho: yena (he/she/they)

Sesotho Vowels:

[a]

[e]

[i]

[o]

[u]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[1]

One in Sesotho — o le mong (literally "it is one"); the root -ng; Sesotho: ntho e le nngwe (one thing)

[2]

Two in Sesotho — e mebedi; root -bedi; cognate with Zulu -bili, Tumbuka viwiri, Swahili mbili

[3]

Three in Sesotho — e metso e meraro; root -raro; cognate Zulu -thathu (Nguni r/th alternation)

[4]

Four in Sesotho — e mene; root -ne; cognate with Tswana -ne, Swahili -nne

[5]

Five in Sesotho — e mehlano; root -hlano; the hl represents the lateral fricative /ɬ/; cognate Zulu -hlanu

[6]

Six in Sesotho — tšelela; a lexicalised form; ts represents the alveolar affricate /ts/

[7]

Seven in Sesotho — supa; also means "pointer/index finger" — reflects body-counting origin

[8]

Eight in Sesotho — robedi; the -bedi element is the "two" root — eight = "come back to two"

[9]

Nine in Sesotho — robong; the -ng element echoes "one" root — nine = "come back to one"

[10]

Ten in Sesotho — leshome; from pan-Bantu *-kumi root; the le- is a noun-class prefix; Swahili kumi, Zulu ishumi, Tumbuka khumi

[a]

[b]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[ɡ]

[h]

[i]

[dʒ]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[o]

[p]

[r]

[s]

[t]

[u]

[w]

[j]

[a]

Open central vowel /a/ — Sesotho: Africa (Afrika), a (particle)

[b]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/ — Sesotho: bua (speak), bana (children)

[d]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/ — Sesotho: dula (sit), ditaba (news/matters)

[e]

Mid front vowel /e/ — Sesotho: ea (going to)

[f]

Voiceless bilabial fricative /f/ — Sesotho: feta (pass)

[ɡ]

Voiced velar stop /ɡ/ — Sesotho: gorata (to please)

[h]

Glottal fricative /h/ — Sesotho: ho (infinitive marker, "to")

[i]

Close front vowel /i/ — Sesotho: isa (take to)

[dʒ]

Voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/ — Sesotho: jele (ate)

[k]

Voiceless velar stop /k/ — Sesotho: ka (with/by)

[l]

Alveolar lateral approximant /l/ — Sesotho: lefa (pay), leka (try)

[m]

Bilabial nasal /m/ — Sesotho: motho (person), molapo (river)

[n]

Alveolar nasal /n/ — Sesotho: na le (has)

[o]

Close-mid back rounded vowel /o/ — Sesotho: o (subject prefix)

[p]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/ — Sesotho: pula (rain)

[r]

Alveolar trill or flap /r/ — Sesotho: rata (love), reka (buy)

[s]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ — Sesotho: sechaba (nation)

[t]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/ — Sesotho: taba (matter)

[u]

Close back rounded vowel /u/ — Sesotho: ua (to fall)

[w]

Labio-velar approximant /w/ — Sesotho: wena (you)

[j]

Palatal approximant /j/ — Sesotho: yena (he/she)

Expand All Collapse All

What is the Sesotho language?

What is the lateral affricate tlh in Sesotho?

Where is Sesotho spoken?

How do aspirated stops work in Sesotho?

What is the ISO 639-3 code for Sesotho?

How does Sesotho count to ten?

What is the relationship between Sesotho and Setswana?

References:

[1] University of Pretoria (UP), Department of African Languages. "Sesotho sa Leboa / Southern Sotho — Sotho-Tswana Language Group". Retrieved from University of Pretoria — African Languages Department
[2] South African History Online (SAHO). "Sesotho — Language, People and Heritage of the Basotho". Retrieved from South African History Online — Sesotho Language and Culture