Indulgences

1. Umqombothi

   Umqombothi (traditional low-alcohol beer)

   Usage

   A cloudy light-brown beer brewed from maize and sorghum malt. Its alcohol content is usually under 3%, it is sour in taste, and it costs less than commercial beer

   Grammar Note

   Class 3 noun (um-/imi-). q is a palatal click, not the English q sound

2. Iwayini

   Wine

   Usage

   The word to match on a menu or label. Red is iwayini ebomvu, white is iwayini emhlophe

   Grammar Note

   Class 9 noun (i-/ii-, plural iiwayini). Adjectives take the class 9 concord e-

3. Icuba

   Tobacco

   Usage

   The leaf tobacco itself. Note that an identically spelled noun also means "earring", so pairing it with a word like inqawa (pipe) removes the ambiguity in a shop

   Grammar Note

   Class 5 noun (i-/ama-, plural amacuba). c is a dental click, close to the English "tsk" sound, and nothing to do with the letter c in English

4. Inqawa

   Smoking pipe

   Usage

   The pipe you pack tobacco into. It also turns up in craft and souvenir shops

   Grammar Note

   Class 9 noun (i-/ii-, plural iinqawa). nq is a single nasalised palatal click, not an n followed by a q

5. Ilekese

   Sweet / candy

   Usage

   Useful at a kiosk or a spaza shop. Sweets are usually sold loose, so the plural iilekese is just as common

   Grammar Note

   Class 9 noun (i-/ii-, plural iilekese)

6. Ikeki

   Cake

   Usage

   Cake in general. The spelling ikeyiki is also used

   Grammar Note

   Class 9 noun (i-/ii-, plural iikeki)

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