Nyaudzosingwi starting with S

Figurative Expressions

• sa
• sadaguDescribes having one part of the body protruding further out than the others. Example: the belly of a pregnant woman sticks out sadagu. Compare sadu.
• sadamaDescribes holding the head tilted back with the stomach pushed forward.
• saduVariant spelling of "sadagu".
• sai saiDescribes the swelling up of a part of the body. Example: he was punched in the face and it swelled up sai sai. Also describes being full to the brim, as a river would be.
• saka sakaDescribes rain falling gently and softly.
• samhu
• sandaraDescribes being level or even, as the ground or some other surface might be. Also describes the swelling of a place that has been beaten or injured: he was stung by a bee and his face swelled up sandara. Compare saisai.
• sanduDescribes suddenly changing what you were saying or doing. He had admitted stealing, then went sandu and denied it.
• sara-ara
• semuDescribes separating one strip or portion from another. Example: I broke off a lump of sadza and it was set aside just so.
• sendaDescribes standing while leaning against something. Variant: zenda.
• sengu
• sesenuDescribes removing the outer skins or peel of a fruit or of other such things.
• sesepuDescribes the softening of things that are being pounded or ground. I pounded the nuts in the mortar until they were sesepu.
• seseu
• seuDescribes removing the husk or the outer skin of something.
• shadabuDescribes sitting with the legs spread apart in an indecent manner.
• shadagu
• shakuIf something is shaku, it is so full that it spills over. Example: the granary was shaku with maize. Also describes falling on one's back.
• shanyaUsed of someone lying down in a way that shows exhaustion or pain; also of the falling of something that cannot stand on its own, and of a person or animal tumbling over and over.
• shapu
• shiThe slight sound made by a large snake, either as it moves or when it is angered.
• shiDescribes tying something tightly, as when a woman binds a bundle of grass fast.
• shidu
• shishishiDescribes the hardening of something that had been soft, such as sadza. Also describes tying something tightly.
• shishivaDescribes remaining fixed upon one thing, unwilling to be parted from it.
• shoche
• shodoDescribes filling a sack very full; compare shutu. Also describes being injured at the joints of the body where bones meet, through a misstep or through being trodden on.
• shokoshokoThe rattling noise made by groundnuts that have not yet been shelled.
• shozhono
• shukutuDescribes things burning without any flame. Also describes feeling weak in the body. Compare rukutu.
• shuraDescribes the crushing or squashing of things such as eggs or dry leaves.
• shura
• shutuDescribes an angry person's silence — being so sullen that they want nobody to speak to them; e.g. a man who came home late and found his wife sitting in silence. Also used of things being packed full, as in a sack or elsewhere.
• shwakataThe sound made by dry leaves when they are trodden on.
• shwape
• shwatuVariant spelling of "shwape".
• shwauDescribes the thorough drying out of trees or other things that were formerly soft and green. Once the rains had gone, the maize was left dried right out.
• shwe
• shwetaKuti shweta shweta describes the walk of a person who is not wearing anything. Kuti shwete shwete describes the walk of a person wearing tight-fitting clothes.
• shwi-iDescribes being completely full, as a bus packed full of people; also of slamming on the brakes suddenly.
• si
• sikaDescribes doing something wholeheartedly, without turning back; if your elder brother says sika to playing the guitar, you will not budge him from it.
• sikiDescribes making as if to do something and then holding back, as in feinting a punch at someone.
• simuDescribes getting up quickly, springing to one's feet. Example: when the people saw the snake they got up at once.
• sipitiDescribes a person standing bolt upright.
• sobodoDescribes eating little by little, a small bit at a time.
• sonhoTo dream of falling from a great height.
• sonhomoDescribes something snapping or breaking and then tumbling over and over.
• sononoDescribes following something everywhere it goes, as a dog that kept close behind VaMuchazvirega as they went off to a beer-drink.
• sororoDescribes arriving at or leaving a place softly and quietly, without anyone seeing.
• sudunuDescribes the untying or loosening of a place that had been tied up. Compare tepfenyu.
• suduruDescribes moving from where you were and going a little way further off, as when people shifted a short distance away from others while discussing their family affairs.
• sudzunuDescribes the coming loose or undoing of things that had been tied or bound together. Compare svudzunu, sukunu.
• sukuDescribes shoving something off to one side without caring about it, or out of anger; also the letting go of something that had been held or tied up, as in: if I turn this dog loose, nobody will stand there. Compare sunde, supfu.
• sukunuVariant spelling of "sudzunu".
• sumuVariant spelling of "simu".
• sunaUsed when something is placed with its top turned to face downwards.
• sunasunaDescribes bending or stooping down towards the ground.
• sunataDescribes drinking by sucking. Related to -natira.
• sundeDescribes simply abandoning something you were holding or looking after; e.g. a child who, on being told about school, dropped everything and went without having eaten a thing. Compare suku, supfu.
• sungunuDescribes the coming loose of things that had been tied together.
• sunhuDescribes letting go or releasing what one is holding.
• sununuKuti sununu sununu describes a person just walking along without looking where they are going.
• supfuVariant spelling of "suku".
• surududuDescribes tilting or drooping the head to show sadness.
• suruvaDescribes feeling without joy, that is, feeling sad.
• sva-aUsed of driving away birds or goats so that they leave a place where they are not wanted.
• svaduDescribes swallowing something without chewing it. Compare tungarwi.
• svakuDescribes coming out of a house or a hole quickly. Compare svati, hovo, dhu.
• svapuDescribes the coming away of bark-fibre or bark from a tree.
• svata
• svatataDescribes the air going out of a ball or a car wheel. Compare svavata.
• svatuDescribes something springing or spattering up, as porridge does when it is thickening on the fire.
• svauDescribes the coming off of skin that has been burnt.
• svavataVariant spelling of "svatata".
• sve-eUsed of sucking or sipping up a drink.
• sve-eSaid to a person who is being rebuked for a mistake they have made.
• sveerere
• svetuDescribes drinking water or the like down in a single draught.
• svetuDescribes leaping up into the air. Example: when he reached a water-filled ditch he leapt and landed standing on the other side.
• svi-iDescribes a darkening, such as the sky growing dark outside, or of other things.
• sviyoDescribes whistling with the mouth.
• svorododoDescribes the slipperiness of something that is hard to hold. Example: when hair is washed with relaxer it becomes slippery in just this way.
• svotoDescribes the stripping of bark-fibre (gavi), or the peeling away of the skin of a person who has been burnt.
• svuThe noise you make when driving away goats or chickens.
• svunguruDescribes a person lying down or sleeping with no clothes on.
• swatuDescribes being straight, without a single bend or twist. Compare tasa.
• swi
• swi-iThe squeaking cry made by mice or rats.
• switiDescribes the falling to the ground of a soft, thick food such as nhopi or bota.
• switoDescribes a sudden turn from happiness into sorrow.