Local Dishes

1. Bogobe

   Bogobe (stiff porridge, the everyday staple)

   Usage

   The porridge at the centre of everyday meals, eaten with meat or vegetables

   Grammar Note

   Noun bogobe covers porridge cooked from grain flour in general. The grain is added after it, as in bogobe bja lehea

2. Bogobe bja lehea

   Maize porridge

   Usage

   The most common porridge, made from maize meal

   Grammar Note

   The linker bja agrees with bogobe (class 14). lehea is maize as a grain

3. Bogobe bja mabelethoro

   Sorghum porridge

   Usage

   A traditional grain porridge made from sorghum meal

   Grammar Note

   A regularly composed sentence

4. Bupi bja lehea

   Maize meal

   Usage

   The flour that porridge is cooked from, sold in bags at markets and shops

   Grammar Note

   The same form appears on product names

5. Mabelethoro

   Sorghum

   Usage

   An old grain crop, used for porridge and for beer

   Grammar Note

   The grain is written mabelethoro, because plain mabele can mean something else

6. Merogo

   Vegetables

   Usage

   General word for the greens and vegetables served with porridge

   Grammar Note

   Plural noun; the singular moroho names one kind of leafy vegetable

7. Khabetšhe

   Cabbage

   Usage

   A vegetable often cooked as a side to porridge

   Grammar Note

   Loanword from English cabbage, spelled the Sepedi way with š

8. Ditamati

   Tomatoes

   Usage

   Common in fields and at markets

   Grammar Note

   Plural form with the di- prefix; the singular is tamati

9. Dipotata

   Sweet potatoes

   Usage

   Eaten boiled or steamed

   Grammar Note

   Plural form, used as the name of the food

10. Nama ya go bešwa

    Grilled meat (braai)

    Usage

    Meat grilled over a fire, shared by a group at midday

    Grammar Note

    Noun plus ya plus a passive infinitive (meat that is grilled); it covers what English calls a braai

11. Hlapi le ditšhipisi

    Fish and chips

    Usage

    The classic takeaway of fried fish with chips

    Grammar Note

    "le" means "and". "hlapi" is fish and "ditšhipisi" is borrowed from English chips

12. Dijo tša setšo

    Traditional foods

    Usage

    A way to ask about or name the dishes of the local tradition

    Grammar Note

    The linker is tša because dijo takes the class 8 agreement

13. Dijo tša difihlolo

    Breakfast

    Usage

    The morning meal; difihlolo alone can also mean breakfast

    Grammar Note

    "difihlolo" is breakfast; "dijo tša" (food of) precedes it

14. Dijo tša dilalelo

    Supper

    Usage

    The evening meal; dilalelo alone also works

    Grammar Note

    "dilalelo" is supper; "dijo tša" (food of) precedes it

15. Ke rata bogobe

    I like porridge

    Usage

    A short way to say what you like, handy as a remark to a host

    Grammar Note

    Ke rata means "I like". A regularly composed sentence

16. Bogobe le merogo

    Porridge with vegetables

    Usage

    The standard pairing, useful when ordering or describing a meal

    Grammar Note

    A regularly composed sentence

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