Kuhusu Lugha hii

Jifunze lugha ya Kisukuma (Sukuma) bure kupitia kamusi hii mtandaoni. Tafuta maneno, salamu, sentensi za mazungumzo na tafsiri ya Kiswahili — hasa kwa wasemaji na wanafunzi wa Mwanza, Shinyanga, Simiyu na maeneo ya Ziwa Victoria.

Anza na mambo ya kila siku: salamu (Ng’wangaluka, Mwadila), nakupenda (Nakutogilwe), na misemo. Tumia tafsiri Kiswahili → Kisukuma au Kisukuma → Kiswahili, au pakua kamusi PDF.

Jina Wasukuma linatokana na neno “sukuma” lenye maana ya “kaskazini” katika Kisukuma na Kinyamwezi. Wanyamwezi waliwaita “Bhasukuma” — watu wa kaskazini mwao — na Wasukuma waliwaita Wanyamwezi “Bhadakama”. Wasukuma wenyewe hulirejelea jina hili kama “bhasukuma”, na umoja ni “nsukuma”.

Maana ya “kaskazini” haitumiki peke yake kama utambulisho. Wasukuma hutumia viashiria vya mwelekeo: Kiiya (mashariki / mawio ya jua), dakama (kusini, pia eneo la Unyamwezi), shashi (upande wa Washashi na makabila ya Mara), na Ngw’eli (alama nyingine ya mwelekeo).

Maria Nyanjige akinukuliwa, anaeleza historia ya Wasukuma katika simulizi: asili inahusishwa na Ethiopia, na kabila limegawanyika katika sehemu tatu zenye lafudhi zinazotofautiana kidogo — Wasukuma wa Mwanza, wa Tabora na wa Shinyanga. Hii ni simulizi ya kienyeji, si hukumu ya kihistoria iliyokamilika.

Makumbusho ya Bujora (karibu na Mwanza) yanahifadhi tamaduni za Wasukuma. Simulizi za eneo hilo zinasema zamani liliitwa Kujorwaningo — katika Kisukuma, maana inayoelezwa ni “kunyonga shingo” — kutokana na eneo kuwa hatari kwa wanyama na watu.

Kisukuma ni lugha ya Kibantu inayofanana na Kinyamwezi. Katika uainishaji wa Malcolm Guthrie iko katika kundi la F20. Ni mojawapo ya lugha kubwa nchini Tanzania, yenye wasemaji wengi kwenye mwambao wa kusini mwa Ziwa Victoria.

Wasukuma huishi hasa kaskazini-magharibi mwa Tanzania: mikoa ya Mwanza (pamoja na Nyamagana), Simiyu, Shinyanga, sehemu za Tabora, na kusini-magharibi mwa Mara. Familia nyingi zimehamia pia kusini kuelekea Rukwa na Katavi, zikipitia maeneo ya Wapimbwe.

Shughuli kuu za kiuchumi ni kilimo, ufugaji, uvuvi na biashara. Pamba ni zao kuu la biashara; hulimwa pia mpunga, tumbaku, mahindi, viazi na kunde. Kuna uchimbaji wa madini kama dhahabu na almasi katika Mwanza na Shinyanga. Sherehe za jadi zilishikilia mavuno, unyago, ndoa na misiba; watemi walikuwa viongozi wa kijamii.

Kisukuma kina fonimu zinazotofautisha maana. Kwa mfano (Kimunasukuma, Mwanza): lekaga (acha) na sekaga (cheka); zulaga (vua) na zugaga (pika); enjaga (chukua) na engaga (ondoka); ngubho (kiboko) na ngobho (nguo).

Learn the Kisukuma (Sukuma) language free with this online dictionary: look up words, greetings, conversation phrases, and Swahili translations — especially useful for learners and speakers around Mwanza, Shinyanga, Simiyu and Lake Victoria.

Start with everyday speech: greetings (Ng’wangaluka, Mwadila), I love you (Nakutogilwe), and proverbs. Use Swahili → Kisukuma or Kisukuma → Swahili translation, or download the dictionary PDF.

The name Wasukuma comes from sukuma, “north”, in Kisukuma and Kinyamwezi. The Nyamwezi called them Bhasukuma — people to their north — and the Sukuma called the Nyamwezi Bhadakama. Speakers refer to themselves as bhasukuma (singular nsukuma).

“North” is one of several directional markers: Kiiya (east / sunrise), dakama (south, also Unyamwezi), shashi (toward the Shashi / Mara peoples), and Ngw’eli (another directional label).

Maria Nyanjige, quoted on Sukuma history, recounts an oral tradition that links origins to Ethiopia and describes three dialect areas — Mwanza, Tabora and Shinyanga — with small accent differences. Treat that as community narrative, not a settled academic verdict.

The Bujora museum near Mwanza preserves Sukuma cultural material. Local naming tradition says the place was once Kujorwaningo, explained in Kisukuma as “to wring the neck”, because the area was dangerous.

Kisukuma is a Bantu language close to Kinyamwezi (Guthrie group F20). It is one of Tanzania’s largest community languages, spoken mainly south of Lake Victoria — Mwanza, Simiyu, Shinyanga, parts of Tabora and south-west Mara — with later movement toward Rukwa and Katavi.

Main livelihoods are farming, herding, fishing and trade (cotton, grains, and mining around Mwanza and Shinyanga). Traditional celebrations marked harvest, initiation, marriage and funerals; chiefs (watemi) were community leaders.