Negative particle

MEANING 1

Not

Example of use

Te ne(te ine) MEANING it isnot I

Te we(te iwe) MEANING it isnot you

Te o (te yo) MEANING it is not he

Ico te coMEANINGthat is not it (thatis  not the way we behave)

Te muntu, iyo ni nama MEANINGthat is not a man, it is an animal

Lubuko ulo nakupeela te lwa kukakula MEANING the instrument of evocation I have given you must not be untied(opened)

 

 

MEANING 2

In interrogativesentences, the “te is equivalent to an affirmation

Example of use

Ø Te we balefwaya? MEANING Is it not you they are looking for?

Ø Tefyo twalekweba? MEANING Is it not what we told you?

Ø Tekuleka afwa? MEANING Why not let him die in peace?

 

MEANING 3

Also used as anINTENSIVE way of emphazing

Example of use

Imitiyatwala uno mwaka, te pa kutwala! MEANING The trees are bearing this year, they are bearingvery much indeed

Abaiceba pano tepakwiba!MEANING the children of this place steal, what robbers!

Te pabusuma! Cawame cibiMEANING how nice that is! It is certainly very beautiful.

Efyowacilafwaya, te? MEANING That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?

 

OTHERRELATED WORDS/USES/SOURCES/FUNCTIONS

 

FIGURATIVESPEECH/IDOMS/PHRASES/COLLO QUIAL USE/ EXPRESSION