Verb transitive and intransitive.

MEANING 1.

To hit, strike, beat.

Example of use

1.     Atoola umuti amumamo MEANING: He picked up a stick and hit her/him with it.

2.     Uma umuntu ulupi MEANING: Slap a person.

3.     Uma umuntu imfwila MEANING: Beat a person to death.

4.     Uma umuntu umupupo MEANING: To thrash a person.

SYNONYM/SIMILARWORD/COMPARE/CONTRAST

Umisha

MEANING 2

To do something.

Example of use

1.      Uma ulumpasha MEANING: To dig a small furrow for irrigation.

2.      Uma ulumpasha mu kwimbila kapanga MEANING: To dig a furrow so as to get a rat out of its burrow.

3.      Uma umulamba, MEANING: Tomake a track in high grass.

SYNONYM/SIMILARWORD/COMPARE/CONTRASTS

Uma umukonkola.

MEANING 3

To be dry.

Example of use

1.      Uma ndi or uma mukoto MEANING: To be very dry.

2.      Ameenshi yalyuma mu mumana  MEANING: The water dried up in the river.

OTHER RELATEDWORD/USES/FUNCTIONS

REFLEXIVE: Yuma;

Example of use

Ayuma pa cimuti MEANING: He hit himself against a piece of wood.

FIGURATIVESPEECH/IDIOMS/PHRASES/COLLOQUIAL USE/EXPRESSIONS.

1.     Uma insoka ku mutwe na ku busoolo LITERAL TRANSLATION To hit a snake on the head and on the tail MEANING; to extort or to demand exaggerated compensation.

2.     Uma ku mutima MEANING: To be heartless.

3. IDIOM/FIGURATIVE

Ukulobamo ilyauma,  MEANING: To achieve nothing, to be empty handed

Example of use

Ba chomba nabaloba ilyauma mu cupo cabo, MEANING: Chomba’s expectations in his marriage are not forthcoming.

SYNONYM/SIMILARWORD/COMPARE/CONTRASTS

Inkonshamolu, ukufuma na umunwe mukanwa.

SYNONYM/SIMILARWORD/COMPARE/CONTRASTS

Umalala.

3.     Uma mu kanwe, MEANING: To indulge in abuse, to argue.

4.     Uma umutwe, MEANING: To be stubborn, to be slow in learning, to be dumb.

EXPRESSION: Uma umutengo MEANING:The bush does not give any more gam e(is barren).

SYNONYM/SIMILARWORD/COMPARE/CONTRASTS

Impanga naitalama.

PROVERBS

Uwauma nafyala, amumina limo.

Literal translation

The person who strikes his mother in law does it only once.

Meaning

He will never have the chance to quarrel with her again because the marriage will have ended there and then. Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb

Bemba Meaning

Mu cibemba nga waikatamofye nokofyala panono ninshi wacito mulandu ku kukupoka umukashi. Nga wamusunkamofye, umukashi taukwete.