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◊ᴺᵉˣᵃˡ ◊ᴸᵃᵗⁱⁿᵘᵐ ◊ᶻᵘˡᵘ ◊ᴸᵉˢˢᵒⁿ⁵⁸ ◊ᵇⁱˡⁱ
Welcome to Lesson 58 of the Latinum Institute isiZulu course. This lesson focuses on the English number “two” and its isiZulu equivalent, the stem -bili.
What does “two” mean in isiZulu?
The number itself is simple. The difficulty, and the interest, is that isiZulu numerals are not fixed words. They are stems that must agree with the noun they count, taking a concord from its class.
English says “two” whether it counts people, cattle, houses or days. IsiZulu says ababili of people, ezimbili of cattle, amabili of days and emibili of trees. The stem -bili never changes; the prefix always does.
This makes the numerals an excellent test of whether the noun class system has been learned, and an unforgiving one. A learner who does not know that abantu is class 2 cannot count them.
Only the first five numerals behave this way. From six upwards isiZulu uses nouns of a different kind, which do not agree — isithupha (six), ishumi (ten) — and these are treated in a later lesson.
Course Index:
https://latinum.substack.com/p/index
Key Takeaways:
The stem is -bili; the prefix agrees with the noun's class
abantu ababili (people), izinkomo ezimbili (cattle), amalanga amabili (days), imithi emibili (trees)
Bobabili means “both of them”, from the class 2 concord
Numerals one to five agree; six and above do not
Kabili means “twice”, with the adverbial prefix ka-
Isibili means “truly, in fact” — the same stem in another class
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-bili [ˈɓiː.li] — the stem, with the implosive /ɓ/.
ababili [a.ɓaˈɓiː.li] — “two”, of class 2 nouns (people).
ezimbili [ɛ.zimˈbiː.li] — of classes 8 and 10. Note that here the b is preceded by m and becomes the plain /b/, not the implosive.
amabili [a.maˈɓiː.li] — of class 6.
emibili [ɛ.miˈɓiː.li] — of class 4.
bobabili [ɓɔ.ɓaˈɓiː.li] — “both of them”.
kabili [kaˈɓiː.li] — “twice”.
Note on the implosive: In ababili and amabili the b is /ɓ/, drawn inward. In ezimbili the nasal m before it forces the plain /b/. This alternation is automatic and applies wherever a nasal precedes.
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58.1 Abantu (aˈɓaːn.tu) people ababili (a.ɓaˈɓiː.li) two
58.2 Izinkomo (i.zinˈkʰɔː.mɔ) cattle ezimbili (ɛ.zimˈbiː.li) two
58.3 Amalanga (a.maˈlaː.ŋa) days amabili (a.maˈɓiː.li) two
58.4 Imithi (iˈmiː.tʰi) trees emibili (ɛ.miˈɓiː.li) two
58.5 Nginabantwana (ŋi.na.ɓanˈtwaː.na) I-have-children ababili (a.ɓaˈɓiː.li) two
58.6 Bobabili (ɓɔ.ɓaˈɓiː.li) both bayasebenza (ɓa.ja.sɛˈɓɛːn.za) they-work
58.7 Ngithenge (ŋiˈtʰeː.ŋɛ) I-bought izincwadi (i.zinˈǀwaː.di) books ezimbili (ɛ.zimˈbiː.li) two
58.8 Ngikubonile (ŋi.ku.ɓɔˈniː.lɛ) I-have-seen-you kabili (kaˈɓiː.li) twice
58.9 Sizohamba (si.zɔˈhaː.mɓa) we-will-go emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwamalanga (kwa.maˈlaː.ŋa) of-days amabili (a.maˈɓiː.li) two
58.10 Amadoda (a.maˈdɔː.da) men amabili (a.maˈɓiː.li) two afika (aˈfiː.ka) arrived
58.11 Nami (ˈnaː.mi) I-also nginezinkomo (ŋi.nɛ.zinˈkʰɔː.mɔ) I-have-cattle ezimbili (ɛ.zimˈbiː.li) two
58.12 Ngicabanga (ŋi.ǀaˈɓaːŋa) I-think ukuthi (u.kuˈtʰi) that zimbili (zimˈbiː.li) they-are-two
58.13 Sebenzisa (sɛ.ɓɛnˈziː.sa) use izandla (i.zaˈnɮaː) hands zombili (zɔmˈbiː.li) both
58.14 Bafika (ɓaˈfiː.ka) they-arrived bobabili (ɓɔ.ɓaˈɓiː.li) both-of-them
58.15 Isibili (i.siˈɓiː.li) truly uyasebenza (u.ja.sɛˈɓɛːn.za) he-does-work
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58.1 Abantu ababili. → “Two people.”
58.2 Izinkomo ezimbili. → “Two cattle.”
58.3 Amalanga amabili. → “Two days.”
58.4 Imithi emibili. → “Two trees.”
58.5 Nginabantwana ababili. → “I have two children.”
58.6 Bobabili bayasebenza. → “They both work.”
58.7 Ngithenge izincwadi ezimbili. → “I bought two books.”
58.8 Ngikubonile kabili. → “I've seen you twice.”
58.9 Sizohamba emva kwamalanga amabili. → “We're leaving in two days.”
58.10 Amadoda amabili afika. → “Two men arrived.”
58.11 Nami nginezinkomo ezimbili. → “I have two cattle as well.”
58.12 Ngicabanga ukuthi zimbili. → “I think there are two.”
58.13 Sebenzisa izandla zombili. → “Use both hands.”
58.14 Bafika bobabili. → “They both arrived.”
58.15 Isibili uyasebenza. → “He really does work.”
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58.1 Abantu ababili.
58.2 Izinkomo ezimbili.
58.3 Amalanga amabili.
58.4 Imithi emibili.
58.5 Nginabantwana ababili.
58.6 Bobabili bayasebenza.
58.7 Ngithenge izincwadi ezimbili.
58.8 Ngikubonile kabili.
58.9 Sizohamba emva kwamalanga amabili.
58.10 Amadoda amabili afika.
58.11 Nami nginezinkomo ezimbili.
58.12 Ngicabanga ukuthi zimbili.
58.13 Sebenzisa izandla zombili.
58.14 Bafika bobabili.
58.15 Isibili uyasebenza.
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Grammar Rules for -bili in isiZulu:
1. The Concord Table
The stem -bili takes the adjective concord of the noun it counts. The commonest plural classes:
Class 2 (abantu, people) → ababili
Class 4 (imithi, trees) → emibili
Class 6 (amalanga, days; amadoda, men) → amabili
Class 8 (izihlalo, chairs) → ezimbili
Class 10 (izinkomo, cattle; izincwadi, books) → ezimbili
Classes 8 and 10 both give ezimbili, which reduces the burden slightly. Note that the numeral follows its noun: abantu ababili, never ✗ ababili abantu.
2. Numerals One to Five
Only the first five stems agree:
-nye (one), -bili (two), -thathu (three), -ne (four), -hlanu (five)
Thus abantu abathathu (three people), izinkomo ezine (four cattle), amalanga amahlanu (five days).
“One” is irregular in taking a different set of forms, and is often expressed with -dwa (alone): umuntu oyedwa, one person.
3. Six and Above
From six the numerals are nouns and do not agree:
isithupha (six), isikhombisa (seven), isishiyagalombili (eight), isishiyagalolunye (nine), ishumi (ten)
Note that isishiyagalombili, “eight”, contains -bili: literally “leaving out two”, that is, two short of ten. The stem of this lesson is buried inside the higher numeral.
4. Bobabili — “Both”
The form bobabili means “both of them” and stands alone as a pronoun:
Bobabili bayasebenza. (They both work.)
Bafika bobabili. (They both arrived.)
It is built on the class 2 concord and has parallels in other classes: zombili (both, of classes 8 and 10), as in izandla zombili, both hands.
5. Kabili — “Twice”
The adverbial prefix ka- gives frequency:
kanye (once), kabili (twice), kathathu (three times)
Ngikubonile kabili. (I have seen you twice.)
6. Isibili — “Truly”
The same stem in class 7 gives isibili, “truth, reality”, used adverbially to mean “really, in fact”. The connection is to the idea of a thing confirmed by a second witness.
Common Errors to Avoid:
Using one concord for all nouns: ✗ izinkomo ababili → ✓ izinkomo ezimbili
Placing the numeral first: ✗ ababili abantu → ✓ abantu ababili
Making six and above agree: ✗ abantu abasithupha → ✓ abantu abayisithupha (with the copulative)
Confusing kabili and ezimbili: the first counts occasions, the second counts things
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Counting Cattle
Izinkomo ezimbili is not a neutral phrase. Cattle are the traditional measure of wealth, the substance of ilobolo (bridewealth), and the medium of sacrifice to the ancestors, and Zulu has an extraordinarily detailed vocabulary for describing individual beasts by colour and marking. Counting them accurately is a serious matter, and the concord system is used with precision in that context whatever liberties speech may take elsewhere.
Two as a Pair
Bobabili and zombili describe natural pairs — two hands, two eyes, two people who belong together. The form carries a sense of completeness that the bare numeral does not, and to say bobabili of a couple is to treat them as a unit.
The Reed and the Two
The origin account cited below has two people, a man and a woman, emerging from uHlanga, the reed or reed-bed. Callaway collected several versions, and the number is constant across them. The word uhlanga also means a source or origin, and the double sense is not accidental.
The Higher Numerals
Isishiyagalombili, eight, means “leave out two” — counting down from ten on the fingers rather than up from one. Isishiyagalolunye, nine, means “leave out one”. The system reveals how counting was physically done, and the number two of this lesson is embedded in it.
Idiomatic Expressions:
Bobabili — both of them
Izandla zombili — both hands
Kabili — twice
Isibili — truly, in fact
Kanye kanye — one by one
Ngokubili — in two ways
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From Henry Callaway, The Religious System of the Amazulu (1870). Callaway questioned an informant about the first man, and recorded the reply. This is the Zulu account of human origins, in which the first people emerge from uHlanga, the reed.
Part F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
Kwa tiwa (kwaˈtiː.wa) it-was-said kwa puma (kwaˈpʰuː.ma) there-came-out abantu (aˈɓaːn.tu) people ababili (a.ɓaˈɓiː.li) two ohlangeni (ɔ.ɬaˈŋeː.ni) from-the-reed Kwa puma (kwaˈpʰuː.ma) there-came-out indoda (inˈdɔː.da) a-man kwa puma (kwaˈpʰuː.ma) there-came-out umfazi (umˈfaː.zi) a-woman
Part F-B: The Text with Translation
Kwa tiwa kwa puma abantu ababili ohlangeni. Kwa puma indoda, kwa puma umfazi.
→ Callaway's own translation: “It was said that two people came out of a reed. There came out a man and a woman.”
Part F-C: Original isiZulu Text
Kwa tiwa kwa puma abantu ababili ohlangeni. Kwa puma indoda, kwa puma umfazi.
Part F-D: Grammar Commentary
Abantu ababili is the construction of Section D in its plainest form: the class 2 noun abantu followed by its numeral with the class 2 concord aba-. Callaway translates “two people”, and no other concord would be possible here.
Kwa tiwa is the impersonal passive met in Lesson 54 — “it was said” — with the class 17 concord and the passive -w-. Modern orthography writes kwathiwa.
Kwa puma is the same impersonal ku- with -phuma, to come out. Repeating it for each of the two people — kwa puma indoda, kwa puma umfazi — is characteristic of the style, and gives the sentence the cadence of recitation rather than report.
Ohlangeni is the locative of uhlanga, formed with the circumfix o- ... -ini. The noun means both a reed and a source or origin, and the account depends on the double sense.
Callaway writes tiwa and puma where modern isiZulu writes thiwa and phuma, since he does not mark aspiration — the correspondence recorded in the course corpus notes and met in every citation from this source.
Part F-E: Literary Commentary
Callaway's method was to ask, record and print the reply without smoothing it, and the flatness of the answer is part of its value: kwa tiwa, “it was said” — the informant reports a tradition rather than asserting a doctrine. What follows is a creation account of great economy. Two people, one man and one woman, and a reed; and in the sentences immediately after, all the works of life come out at their word. The numeral is doing structural work, since everything that follows depends on there having been exactly two.
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Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
58.16 Ekhaya (ɛˈkʰaː.ja) at-home kwethu (ˈkweː.tʰu) of-ours kunezindlu (ku.nɛ.zinˈɮuː) there-are-houses ezimbili (ɛ.zimˈbiː.li) two
58.17 Enye (ˈeː.ɲɛ) one indala (inˈdaː.la) is-old enye (ˈeː.ɲɛ) the-other intsha (inˈtʃaː) is-new
58.18 Emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) behind kwazo (ˈkwaː.zɔ) of-them kunemithi (ku.nɛ.miˈtʰiː) there-are-trees emibili (ɛ.miˈɓiː.li) two
58.19 Sinezinkomo (si.nɛ.zinˈkʰɔː.mɔ) we-have-cattle ezimbili (ɛ.zimˈbiː.li) two
58.20 Ubaba (uˈɓaː.ɓa) father noMama (nɔˈmaː.ma) and-mother basebenza (ɓa.sɛˈɓɛːn.za) work bobabili (ɓɔ.ɓaˈɓiː.li) both
58.21 Bahamba (ɓaˈhaː.mɓa) they-go emsebenzini (ɛ.msɛ.ɓɛnˈziː.ni) to-work kabili (kaˈɓiː.li) twice ngesonto (ŋɛˈsɔːn.tɔ) a-week
58.22 Ngifunda (ŋiˈfuːn.da) I-study izilimi (i.ziˈliː.mi) languages ezimbili (ɛ.zimˈbiː.li) two
58.23 Nginabafowethu (ŋi.na.ɓa.fɔˈweː.tʰu) I-have-brothers ababili (a.ɓaˈɓiː.li) two
58.24 Bobabili (ɓɔ.ɓaˈɓiː.li) both bahlala (ɓaˈɬaː.la) live eThekwini (ɛ.tʰɛˈkwiː.ni) in-Durban
58.25 Ngiyababona (ŋi.ja.ɓaˈɓɔː.na) I-see-them emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwezinyanga (kwɛ.ziˈɲaː.ŋa) of-months ezimbili (ɛ.zimˈbiː.li) two
58.26 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwamalanga (kwa.maˈlaː.ŋa) of-days amabili (a.maˈɓiː.li) two bayabuya (ɓa.jaˈɓuː.ja) they-return
58.27 Sisebenzisa (si.sɛ.ɓɛnˈziː.sa) we-use amanzi (aˈmaːn.zi) water omfula (ɔmˈfuː.la) of-the-river
58.28 Nami (ˈnaː.mi) I-also ngisebenza (ŋi.sɛˈɓɛːn.za) I-work lapha (ˈlaː.pʰa) here
58.29 Ngicabanga (ŋi.ǀaˈɓaːŋa) I-think ukuthi (u.kuˈtʰi) that umuzi (uˈmuː.zi) the-homestead muhle (ˈmuː.ɬɛ) is-good
58.30 Isibili (i.siˈɓiː.li) truly ngiyalithanda (ŋi.ja.liˈtʰaːn.da) I-love-it ikhaya (iˈkʰaː.ja) home lami (ˈlaː.mi) my
Part B: Natural Sentences
58.16 Ekhaya kwethu kunezindlu ezimbili. → “At our home there are two houses.”
58.17 Enye indala, enye intsha. → “One is old, the other is new.”
58.18 Emuva kwazo kunemithi emibili. → “Behind them there are two trees.”
58.19 Sinezinkomo ezimbili. → “We have two cattle.”
58.20 Ubaba noMama basebenza bobabili. → “Father and Mother both work.”
58.21 Bahamba emsebenzini kabili ngesonto. → “They go to work twice a week.”
58.22 Ngifunda izilimi ezimbili. → “I'm studying two languages.”
58.23 Nginabafowethu ababili. → “I have two brothers.”
58.24 Bobabili bahlala eThekwini. → “They both live in Durban.”
58.25 Ngiyababona emva kwezinyanga ezimbili. → “I see them every two months.”
58.26 Emva kwamalanga amabili bayabuya. → “After two days they go back.”
58.27 Sisebenzisa amanzi omfula. → “We use water from the river.”
58.28 Nami ngisebenza lapha. → “I work here too.”
58.29 Ngicabanga ukuthi umuzi muhle. → “I think the homestead is a good one.”
58.30 Isibili ngiyalithanda ikhaya lami. → “I truly love my home.”
Part C: isiZulu Only
58.16 Ekhaya kwethu kunezindlu ezimbili.
58.17 Enye indala, enye intsha.
58.18 Emuva kwazo kunemithi emibili.
58.19 Sinezinkomo ezimbili.
58.20 Ubaba noMama basebenza bobabili.
58.21 Bahamba emsebenzini kabili ngesonto.
58.22 Ngifunda izilimi ezimbili.
58.23 Nginabafowethu ababili.
58.24 Bobabili bahlala eThekwini.
58.25 Ngiyababona emva kwezinyanga ezimbili.
58.26 Emva kwamalanga amabili bayabuya.
58.27 Sisebenzisa amanzi omfula.
58.28 Nami ngisebenza lapha.
58.29 Ngicabanga ukuthi umuzi muhle.
58.30 Isibili ngiyalithanda ikhaya lami.
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The description was built so that -bili appears with as many different classes as one text can carry:
Class 10: 58.16 (izindlu ezimbili), 58.19 (izinkomo ezimbili), 58.22 (izilimi ezimbili), 58.25 (izinyanga ezimbili). All take ezimbili.
Class 4: 58.18, imithi emibili. The only class 4 instance, and its concord emi- differs from everything around it.
Class 6: 58.26, amalanga amabili.
Class 2: 58.23, abafowethu ababili.
Bobabili: 58.20 and 58.24, both of persons, standing as a pronoun after or before the verb.
Kabili as Frequency: 58.21, kabili ngesonto, twice a week. Contrast this with the counting forms above — kabili counts occasions, not things.
Isibili as Emphasis: 58.30, the same stem doing adverbial work.
Recycled Structures: 58.18, 58.25 and 58.26 carry emva/emuva kwa- from Lessons 55 and 56; 58.20, 58.27 and 58.28 carry sebenza and sebenzisa from Lesson 57; 58.28 carries nami from Lesson 54; 58.29 carries ngicabanga ukuthi from Lesson 53.
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Implosive and Plain B Together
This lesson contains both: ababili has /ɓ/, ezimbili has /b/ after the nasal. The alternation is not optional and is not marked in spelling. Wherever m or n precedes, the implosive becomes plain.
Concord and Vowel Length
Penultimate lengthening falls on the phrase, so abantu ababili is [a.ɓaːn.tu a.ɓaˈɓiː.li] with the length on the final word. Said in isolation, abantu alone would carry it.
The Locative in Ohlangeni
Formed with o- ... -ini from uhlanga. The locative prefix varies with the noun's initial vowel: e- for most, o- for nouns in u-. Compare ekhaya, emsebenzini, esangweni from earlier lessons with ohlangeni here.
Callaway's Aspiration
The citation writes kwa tiwa and kwa puma for kwathiwa and kwaphuma. Unmarked aspiration, disjunctive division: the same two adjustments as in every passage from this source.
Recommended Audio Resources:
Zulu news bulletins give numerals constantly, with the concords audible and correct — abantu ababili, izimoto ezimbili, izinsuku ezimbili. Counting practice from radio is more useful than from a textbook list, because the numeral is always attached to a noun and therefore always shows its concord.
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◊ᴺᵉˣᵃˡ ◊ᴸᵃᵗⁱⁿᵘᵐ ◊ᶻᵘˡᵘ ◊ᴸᵉˢˢᵒⁿ⁵⁸ ◊ᵇⁱˡⁱ ◊ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉ
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