Local Drinks

1. Mafi

   Mafi (sour milk, maas)

   Usage

   Soured milk, drunk plain or eaten with papa.

   Grammar Note

   A noun; the word alone is enough on a menu or at a shop counter.

2. Mahleu

   Mahleu (fermented maize drink)

   Usage

   Drink made from maize meal; the packaged product is sold under the name mageu.

   Grammar Note

   A noun; the word alone is enough on a menu or at a shop counter.

3. Rooibos

   Usage

   Herbal tea native to South Africa.

   Grammar Note

   A noun; the word alone is enough on a menu or at a shop counter.

4. Metsi a hlwekileng

   Clean water

   Usage

   To check whether water is safe to drink.

   Grammar Note

   Metsi is a plural-class noun and the adjective agrees: "a hlwekileng".

5. Na ke ka nwa metsi ana?

   Can I drink this water?

   Usage

   To ask whether tap or river water is drinkable.

   Grammar Note

   Metsi is plural-class, so the demonstrative is "ana". Composed sentence built with regular Sesotho grammar (composed).

6. Ke batla tee le lebese.

   I would like tea with milk.

   Usage

   To ask for tea with milk.

   Grammar Note

   Tee is from Afrikaans; lebese is milk (plural mabese). Composed sentence built with regular Sesotho grammar (composed).

7. Ke batla kofi.

   I would like coffee.

   Usage

   To ask for coffee in a café or a home.

   Grammar Note

   Kofi is a loan from English coffee. Composed sentence built with regular Sesotho grammar (composed).

8. Seno se tswekere

   Sweet drink

   Usage

   A way to refer to juice or soft drinks.

   Grammar Note

   The plural is dino tse tswekere.

9. Senomaphodi

   Colddrink (soft drink)

   Usage

   The soft drink that South Africans call a "cold drink".

   Grammar Note

   South Africans call a soft drink a "cold drink"; this is the Sesotho form of that word. A noun.

10. Ke batla metsi a batang.

    I would like cold water.

    Usage

    To ask for cold water on a hot day.

    Grammar Note

    Composed sentence built with regular Sesotho grammar (composed).

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