Nyaudzosingwi starting with M

Figurative Expressions

• maduDescribes snapping or cutting through something hard. Compare mhedu.
• maniDescribes gripping something so that it cannot go away or fall. He held the child mani at the door so that it would not run off.
• maraduDescribes scratching or scraping with the fingernails.
• mataDescribes sticking fast onto something. Also describes running hard without looking back, as when fleeing.
• mbaDescribes grasping something with the palm of the hand, or taking up a quantity of things with the hands, as when one grabbed mba a handful of groundnuts and left. Also of squeezing forcefully: he seized my hands mba and I could not wriggle free.
• mbandiDescribes gripping something firmly, usually with the fingers. Mother took hold mbandi of the handle of the pot.
• mbe-eUsed of the sky when it is growing light and white. Of a person, a heart that is mbe-e is a good, gentle heart.
• mbembe-eUsed of a garment that is spotlessly clean and white, as the apostolics' robes were mbembe-e.
• mbetuUsed of a hare: when it goes mbetu you have caught sight of it for only a brief moment.
• mbeya mbeyaDescribes the staggering of a person who is drunk.
• mbikitiUsed of a person standing about doing nothing at all; compare tumbi. Also of falling down to the ground.
• mbu-uUsed of a garment that, once washed, goes mbu-u, meaning it has come out really clean and white.
• mbu-uUsed of a miller's head when it is covered in flour and white all over.
• mbureteteUsed of something such as a plate that is so clean that not a speck of dirt remains on it and it shines.
• mburumbuDescribes speaking as though one's mouth is full or one has something in it being chewed.
• mbwa mbwa mbwaDescribes the going out of a fire that had been blazing with flames leaping upward. Compare mbo mbo mbo.
• mbwambwambwaDescribes the rotting of mushrooms or of shamba.
• mbwandiUsed of a woman who goes mbwandi with her dress when sitting down, meaning she covers herself up well so that what is underneath is not seen.
• mbwerekesheVariant spelling of "bwerekeshe".
• me-eThe cry of a goat; bleating.
• meduDescribes breaking bread apart into pieces. Mother took the sadza left over from the evening before, broke it up medu and threw it to the dog.
• memeteDescribes the swarming of bees or ants onto food or onto a container holding sugar. Compare memetere.
• memetereDescribes the filling of a container with small grain or maize, such as a cart, a gomo or a sack.
• mepfenuVariant spelling of "mepfu".
• mhemha mhemhaDescribes walking back and forth in one spot while looking about, as a person who has lost money does.
• mheya mheyaDescribes a person walking with the legs crossing over each other as though about to fall, such as a drunk person does. Compare dzera dzera, pera pera.
• mhiDescribes lifting something up; also the forceful snatching or heaving of something up off the ground. Compare bidzu, mhidzu.
• mhidzuVariant spelling of "mhi".
• mhodyoUsed of a house left standing wide open and bare, with all the household goods taken out of it.
• mina minaDescribes walking with the back drawn in or hollowed, as done by a very thin person or an emaciated animal.
• miningu mininguUsed of weaving or plaiting done in a way that shows skill.
• minyuDescribes being injured in such a way that a bone is twisted out of place or displaced against another.
• mire mireDescribes waiting for someone only a short while and then leaving because they are taking too long.
• mirididiDescribes standing still with nothing to do.
• miriziziDescribes standing over people who are seated or eating, which is bad manners.
• mo-oThe noise made by a great many bees. Compare nzi-i.
• mokotoDescribes the disintegrating of something placed in water. Also the flowing or streaming of tears or of sand.
• momote
• moneDescribes the swirling of smoke or dust as it is driven upwards into the sky by the wind. A whirlwind went mone in the yard.
• monereDescribes winding thread around a stick or a bobbin. Also describes taking a roundabout, winding route to the place you want to reach.
• monyoroDescribes wriggling or writhing along in the manner of a snake.
• mopfoDescribes the softness of something that has been cooked, or of bread.
• mu-uThe sound of a cow lowing.
• munyunguThe small noise you make when trying to chew hard food with your mouth closed.
• muruDescribes rising to one's feet after having been seated; compare simu, nyamu.
• mvochoThe sound of something falling with a noise, usually into grass or among leaves.
• mvorokoshoDescribes suddenly falling, or falling into a hole you had not seen while walking along.
• mwandaDescribes the scattering of things or people about a place. People scattered mwanda at the wedding when a swarm of bees came upon them.
• mwararaDescribes clothes lying scattered, thrown about all over the place. Compare bvururu.
• mwarauDescribes scratching hard and painfully with the fingernails, so that the person is injured.
• mwaruDescribes the tearing or ripping of something such as paper or cloth. Compare bvaru.
• mwauDescribes the tearing of something such as a shirt, ripping it with both hands.
• mwe mwe mweDescribes smiling at someone without showing the teeth. Compare mweku mweku.
• mwechuDescribes the sudden tearing of a shirt or cloth that rips unexpectedly, as in "When he pulled me hard, my shirt went mwechu." Also used of a broad, breaking smile that brings out all of a person's beauty.
• mwekuDescribes a faint smile, merely a slight "oo", where the person does not carry it any further.
• mwenguDescribes a slight smile that does not spread far; also used of telling lies.
• mwenyuDescribes the chuckling or smiling of infants when they are played with or tickled.
• mwepfuDescribes the breaking off of a piece of something such as a cooked sweet potato or pumpkin.
• mweuUsed of a garment that tears, as when it is caught by a wire. Example: as I was coming out, my trousers caught on a nail at the doorway and went mweu.
• mwi-iVariant spelling of "mwiro".
• mwi mwiUsed of staying silent when you are the one expected to have something to say about the matter under discussion.
• mwiroDescribes falling completely silent, not speaking at all nor making any audible noise. Compare mwi-i.