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◊ᴺᵉˣᵃˡ ◊ᴸᵃᵗⁱⁿᵘᵐ ◊ᶻᵘˡᵘ ◊ᴸᵉˢˢᵒⁿ⁵⁵ ◊ᵉᵐᵘᵛᵃ
Welcome to Lesson 55 of the Latinum Institute isiZulu course. This lesson focuses on the English word “back” and the several isiZulu words that divide its work: emuva, -buya and umhlane.
What does “back” mean in isiZulu?
English “back” is one word doing at least four jobs, and isiZulu assigns a different word to each.
As a direction — behind, to the rear — it is emuva (also written emva). As an action of returning it is the verb -buya. As the part of the body it is umhlane, a noun with no connection to either. And as the adverb meaning “again”, English “come back again”, it is futhi, the word of Lesson 54.
The one to watch is the second. Buya is a verb and carries its own subject concord: ngizobuya, “I shall come back”. Emuva is a locative and cannot conjugate. They combine readily — buyela emuva, “to turn back” — but they are not interchangeable, and a learner who tries to make emuva do the work of a verb will produce nothing.
Course Index:
https://latinum.substack.com/p/index
Key Takeaways:
Emuva (or emva) is the locative “behind, at the back”
-buya is the verb “to return, come back”
-buyela is the applicative, “to return to” a place
-buyisa is the causative, “to bring back”
Umhlane is the back of the body, an unrelated noun
“Back again” uses futhi from Lesson 54
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emuva [ɛˈmuː.va] — “behind, at the back”. The locative prefix e- with the stem -muva.
emva [ˈɛːm.va] — the contracted form, commoner in writing and in the compound emva kwa-.
buya [ˈɓuː.ja] — “return”. Initial implosive /ɓ/, as in bese and nabo.
buyela [ɓuˈjeː.la] — applicative, “return to”. Note the stress shifts to the penultimate syllable of the longer word.
buyisa [ɓuˈjiː.sa] — causative, “bring back”. The -is- extension is the subject of Lesson 57.
umhlane [umˈɬaː.nɛ] — “the back” of a body. The hl is the voiceless lateral fricative /ɬ/.
ngemuva [ŋɛˈmuː.va] — “behind”, with the instrumental nga- fused to emuva.
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55.1 Buya (ˈɓuː.ja) return-IMP
55.2 Ngizobuya (ŋi.zɔˈɓuː.ja) I-will-return kusasa (kuˈsaː.sa) tomorrow
55.3 Wabuyela (wa.ɓuˈjeː.la) he-returned emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) back
55.4 Emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) behind kwendlu (kwɛnˈɮuː) of-the-house kunesihlahla (ku.nɛ.siˈɬaː.ɬa) there-is-a-tree
55.5 Umhlane (umˈɬaː.nɛ) the-back wami (ˈwaː.mi) my ubuhlungu (u.ɓuˈɬuː.ŋu) is-painful
55.6 Bheka (ˈbeː.ka) look-IMP emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) back
55.7 Ngibuyisa (ŋi.ɓuˈjiː.sa) I-bring-back incwadi (inˈǀwaː.di) the-book
55.8 Wabuya (waˈɓuː.ja) he-returned futhi (ˈfuː.tʰi) again
55.9 Nami (ˈnaː.mi) I-also ngizobuyela (ŋi.zɔ.ɓuˈjeː.la) I-will-return ekhaya (ɛˈkʰaː.ja) home
55.10 Bahamba (ɓaˈhaː.mɓa) they-walk emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) behind kwethu (ˈkweː.tʰu) of-us
55.11 Ubuyile (u.ɓuˈjiː.lɛ) you-have-returned
55.12 Ngicabanga (ŋi.ǀaˈɓaːŋa) I-think ukuthi (u.kuˈtʰi) that uzobuya (u.zɔˈɓuː.ja) he-will-return
55.13 Buyela (ɓuˈjeː.la) return-IMP emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) back kancane (ka.nˈǀaː.nɛ) a-little
55.14 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwesikhathi (kwɛ.siˈkʰaː.tʰi) of-time eside (ɛˈsiː.dɛ) long wabuya (waˈɓuː.ja) he-returned
55.15 Ngibuyele (ŋi.ɓuˈjeː.lɛ) I-returned emsebenzini (ɛ.msɛ.ɓɛnˈziː.ni) to-work
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55.1 Buya! → “Come back!”
55.2 Ngizobuya kusasa. → “I'll come back tomorrow.”
55.3 Wabuyela emuva. → “He turned back.”
55.4 Emuva kwendlu kunesihlahla. → “There's a tree behind the house.”
55.5 Umhlane wami ubuhlungu. → “My back hurts.”
55.6 Bheka emuva! → “Look behind you!”
55.7 Ngibuyisa incwadi. → “I'm bringing the book back.”
55.8 Wabuya futhi. → “He came back again.”
55.9 Nami ngizobuyela ekhaya. → “I'll be going back home too.”
55.10 Bahamba emuva kwethu. → “They're walking behind us.”
55.11 Ubuyile? → “Are you back?”
55.12 Ngicabanga ukuthi uzobuya. → “I think he'll come back.”
55.13 Buyela emuva kancane. → “Move back a little.”
55.14 Emva kwesikhathi eside wabuya. → “After a long time he returned.”
55.15 Ngibuyele emsebenzini. → “I went back to work.”
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55.1 Buya!
55.2 Ngizobuya kusasa.
55.3 Wabuyela emuva.
55.4 Emuva kwendlu kunesihlahla.
55.5 Umhlane wami ubuhlungu.
55.6 Bheka emuva!
55.7 Ngibuyisa incwadi.
55.8 Wabuya futhi.
55.9 Nami ngizobuyela ekhaya.
55.10 Bahamba emuva kwethu.
55.11 Ubuyile?
55.12 Ngicabanga ukuthi uzobuya.
55.13 Buyela emuva kancane.
55.14 Emva kwesikhathi eside wabuya.
55.15 Ngibuyele emsebenzini.
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Grammar Rules for “back” in isiZulu:
1. Emuva — the Locative
Emuva is built on the locative prefix e-, like ekhaya (at home) and emsebenzini (at work). It cannot take a subject concord and cannot be conjugated. It answers “where”, not “what happened”.
Bheka emuva. (Look back.)
Bahamba emuva kwethu. (They walk behind us.)
To govern a following noun, emuva takes the possessive concord kwa-, which fuses with the noun's initial vowel:
emuva kwendlu (behind the house — kwa- + indlu)
emuva kwethu (behind us)
emva kwesikhathi (after a time)
This same construction supplies the temporal “after” of Lesson 56.
2. -buya — the Verb
Buya conjugates fully and takes the ordinary concords:
ngiyabuya (I am returning), ubuya, sibuya, bayabuya
ngizobuya (I shall return)
wabuya (he returned)
ubuyile (he has returned, perfect in -ile)
The perfect suffix -ile expresses a completed action whose result stands: ubuyile means he has come back and is here.
3. The Verb Extensions
Buya is a good verb on which to see the extension system, which is the engine of Zulu word-formation:
-buya — to return
-buyela — applicative, to return to a place: ngibuyele emsebenzini
-buyisa — causative, to bring back: ngibuyisa incwadi
The applicative -el- adds a goal or beneficiary; the causative -is- adds an agent who makes the action happen. Both were met in earlier lessons — cabangela in Lesson 53's citation is the applicative of cabanga — and the causative is treated at length in Lesson 57.
4. Umhlane — the Body
Umhlane is a class 3 noun and unrelated to the other words in this lesson:
Umhlane wami ubuhlungu. (My back is sore.)
The mistake to avoid is using emuva of the body: ✗ emuva wami for “my back” is not Zulu.
5. “Back” Meaning “Again”
Where English says “come back again”, isiZulu adds futhi from Lesson 54:
Wabuya futhi. (He came back again.)
Note that buya alone already contains the idea of return, so futhi is only added when repetition is genuinely meant.
Common Errors to Avoid:
Conjugating emuva: ✗ ngiyaemuva → ✓ ngiyabuya
Using emuva for the body: ✗ emuva wami → ✓ umhlane wami
Omitting the possessive concord: ✗ emuva indlu → ✓ emuva kwendlu
Confusing -buyela and -buyisa: the first returns oneself, the second returns something else
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Ukubuya and the Migrant Journey
Few verbs carry more weight in modern Zulu life than -buya. The pattern of labour migration — from KwaZulu-Natal to the mines and cities of Gauteng — made the return home an event with its own vocabulary and its own season. Ukubuya ekhaya, coming home, is associated above all with December, when cities empty and the roads south fill. The question uzobuya nini? — when will you come back? — is asked at every departure.
Emuva in Proverb
The direction backwards carries the sense of the past as well as the rear, and isiZulu shares with many languages the metaphor by which what is behind is what has already happened. Ukubheka emuva, to look back, is used both literally and of reflecting on the past.
The Back and Respect
Turning one's back is as pointed a gesture in Zulu etiquette as elsewhere, and the noun umhlane appears in expressions of rejection. Conversely, ukufulathela — to turn away from — is a strong word for abandonment, and one that recurs in izibongo.
Regional Variation
Both emuva and emva are current; emva is somewhat commoner in print and in the fixed compound emva kwa-, while emuva is more usual in speech. Neither is regionally restricted.
Idiomatic Expressions:
Buya! — come back
Uzobuya nini? — when will you come back?
Buyela emuva — go back, turn back
Ukubheka emuva — to look back, to reflect
Emuva kwesikhathi — after a time
Sekuyisikhathi sokubuya — it is time to return
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From Henry Callaway, Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus (1868). In this tale a woman pursued across the sea persuades her pursuers to hold on to a rope, then cuts it. The passage records what the survivors on the far bank decided to do.
Part F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
Kwa za kwa sala (kwa.za.kwaˈsaː.la) at-length-there-remained a ba ba bangaki (a.ɓa.ɓa.ɓaˈŋaː.ki) not-many ngapetsheya (ŋa.pʰɛˈtʃeː.ja) on-the-other-side Wa ti (ˈwaː.tʰi) said omunye (ɔˈmuː.ɲɛ) one walabo (waˈlaː.ɓɔ) of-those abaseleyo (a.ɓa.sɛˈleː.jɔ) who-remained Ba za ba pela (ɓa.za.ɓaˈpʰeː.la) they-are-coming-to-an-end abantu (aˈɓaːn.tu) the-people benkosi (ɓɛnˈkʰɔː.si) of-the-king Ba se be buyela (ɓa.sɛ.ɓɛ.ɓuˈjeː.la) they-then-returned emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) back
Part F-B: The Text with Translation
Kwa za kwa sala a ba ba bangaki ngapetsheya, se be bancinyane kambe. Wa ti omunye walabo abaseleyo, “Ba za ba pela abantu benkosi.” Ba se be buyela emuva.
→ Callaway's own translation: “At length there remained a very few on the other side, they being now few indeed. And one of those who remained said, ‘At last the people of the king are come to an end.' So they turned back.”
Part F-C: Original isiZulu Text
Kwa za kwa sala a ba ba bangaki ngapetsheya, se be bancinyane kambe. Wa ti omunye walabo abaseleyo, “Ba za ba pela abantu benkosi.” Ba se be buyela emuva.
Part F-D: Grammar Commentary
Ba se be buyela emuva is the construction of Section D in a single clause: the applicative -buyela with the locative emuva. Callaway translates it “they turned back”, and the applicative is doing real work — they returned towards somewhere, not merely reversed.
Ba se be is a compound of the subject concord ba-, the marker se (now, already) and the participial concord be-. Modern orthography joins these: base bebuyela. The disjunctive spelling here is Callaway's, as described in the course corpus notes.
Kwa za kwa sala is the narrative formula “at length it came about that there remained”, with the class 17 concord kwa- repeated. Such doubled kwa- constructions are characteristic of Zulu storytelling and mark the passage of time within a tale.
Ngapetsheya, “on the other side”, is modern ngaphesheya — Callaway does not mark the aspiration of ph, exactly as he does not mark it in futi for futhi, met in Lesson 54.
Note abaseleyo, a relative built on -sala (to remain) with the relative concord aba- and the relative suffix -yo: “those who remained”.
Part F-E: Literary Commentary
The tale belongs to a type Callaway himself noted as widespread — the pursuers who trust the pursued and are destroyed by it. What gives this version its force is the flatness of the closing sentence. The survivors say only that the king's people are finished, and then they turn back. There is no lament and no vengeance; the story simply reverses direction, and buyela emuva carries the whole weight of the retreat.
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Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
55.16 USipho (uˈsiː.pʰɔ) Sipho wayesebenza (wa.jɛ.sɛˈɓɛːn.za) was-working eGoli (ɛˈɡɔː.li) in-Johannesburg
55.17 Wayehlala (wa.jɛˈɬaː.la) he-lived khona (ˈkʰɔː.na) there iminyaka (i.miˈɲaː.ka) years emine (ɛˈmiː.nɛ) four
55.18 Njalo (nˈdʒaː.lɔ) always ngoDisemba (ŋɔ.diˈsɛː.mɓa) in-December wayebuya (wa.jɛˈɓuː.ja) he-would-return ekhaya (ɛˈkʰaː.ja) home
55.19 Unina (uˈniː.na) his-mother wayembuza (wa.jɛmˈɓuː.za) would-ask-him Uzobuya (u.zɔˈɓuː.ja) will-you-return nini (ˈniː.ni) when
55.20 Ngizobuya (ŋi.zɔˈɓuː.ja) I-will-return maduze (maˈduː.zɛ) soon washo (ˈwaː.ʃɔ) he-said
55.21 Kodwa (ˈkɔː.dwa) but wayehlala (wa.jɛˈɬaː.la) he-stayed isikhathi (si.siˈkʰaː.tʰi) time eside (ɛˈsiː.dɛ) long
55.22 Ngelinye (ŋɛˈliː.ɲɛ) on-one ilanga (iˈlaː.ŋa) day wabheka (waˈbeː.ka) he-looked emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) back
55.23 Wacabanga (wa.ǀaˈɓaːŋa) he-thought ngomndeni (ŋɔ.mnˈdeː.ni) about-the-family wakhe (ˈwaː.kʰɛ) his
55.24 Ngicabanga (ŋi.ǀaˈɓaːŋa) I-think ukuthi (u.kuˈtʰi) that sekuyisikhathi (sɛ.ku.ji.siˈkʰaː.tʰi) it-is-now-time sokubuya (sɔ.kuˈɓuː.ja) of-returning
55.25 Wathenga (waˈtʰeː.ŋa) he-bought ithikithi (i.tʰiˈkiː.tʰi) a-ticket
55.26 Wabuyela (wa.ɓuˈjeː.la) he-returned ekhaya (ɛˈkʰaː.ja) home ngesitimela (ŋɛ.si.tiˈmeː.la) by-train
55.27 Unina (uˈniː.na) his-mother wamubona (wa.muˈɓɔː.na) saw-him esangweni (ɛ.saˈŋweː.ni) at-the-gate
55.28 Nami (ˈnaː.mi) I-also bengikulindile (ɓɛ.ŋi.ku.linˈdiː.lɛ) I-was-waiting-for-you washo (ˈwaː.ʃɔ) she-said
55.29 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwalokho (kwaˈlɔː.kʰɔ) of-that akaphindanga (a.ka.pʰinˈdaː.ŋa) he-did-not-again wahamba (waˈhaː.mɓa) go
55.30 Wasebenza (wa.sɛˈɓɛːn.za) he-worked eduze (ɛˈduː.zɛ) near nekhaya (nɛˈkʰaː.ja) to-home
Part B: Natural Sentences
55.16 USipho wayesebenza eGoli. → “Sipho was working in Johannesburg.”
55.17 Wayehlala khona iminyaka emine. → “He lived there for four years.”
55.18 Njalo ngoDisemba wayebuya ekhaya. → “Every December he would come home.”
55.19 Unina wayembuza, “Uzobuya nini?” → “His mother would ask him, ‘When will you come back?'”
55.20 “Ngizobuya maduze,” washo. → “‘I'll come back soon,' he said.”
55.21 Kodwa wayehlala isikhathi eside. → “But he stayed a long time.”
55.22 Ngelinye ilanga wabheka emuva. → “One day he looked back.”
55.23 Wacabanga ngomndeni wakhe. → “He thought about his family.”
55.24 “Ngicabanga ukuthi sekuyisikhathi sokubuya.” → “‘I think it's time to go back.'”
55.25 Wathenga ithikithi. → “He bought a ticket.”
55.26 Wabuyela ekhaya ngesitimela. → “He went back home by train.”
55.27 Unina wamubona esangweni. → “His mother saw him at the gate.”
55.28 “Nami bengikulindile,” washo. → “‘I too have been waiting for you,' she said.”
55.29 Emva kwalokho akaphindanga wahamba. → “After that he never went away again.”
55.30 Wasebenza eduze nekhaya. → “He worked near home.”
Part C: isiZulu Only
55.16 USipho wayesebenza eGoli.
55.17 Wayehlala khona iminyaka emine.
55.18 Njalo ngoDisemba wayebuya ekhaya.
55.19 Unina wayembuza, “Uzobuya nini?”
55.20 “Ngizobuya maduze,” washo.
55.21 Kodwa wayehlala isikhathi eside.
55.22 Ngelinye ilanga wabheka emuva.
55.23 Wacabanga ngomndeni wakhe.
55.24 “Ngicabanga ukuthi sekuyisikhathi sokubuya.”
55.25 Wathenga ithikithi.
55.26 Wabuyela ekhaya ngesitimela.
55.27 Unina wamubona esangweni.
55.28 “Nami bengikulindile,” washo.
55.29 Emva kwalokho akaphindanga wahamba.
55.30 Wasebenza eduze nekhaya.
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The story runs the three words of the lesson through their distinct roles:
-buya as Verb: 55.18, 55.19 and 55.20 all conjugate the verb — wayebuya (habitual past), uzobuya (future), ngizobuya (first person future). None of these could be expressed with emuva.
-buyela as Applicative: 55.26, wabuyela ekhaya. The goal ekhaya requires the applicative; wabuya ekhaya would be understood but is less idiomatic.
Emuva as Locative: 55.22, wabheka emuva. Here it is pure direction, and there is no return involved at all — a useful contrast with 55.26 on the same page.
Emva kwa- as “After”: 55.29 gives emva kwalokho, “after that”, anticipating Lesson 56 where the temporal use is treated in full. The identity of the spatial and temporal word is the link between the two lessons.
The Habitual Past: 55.18 and 55.19 use waye- plus the verb to express what used to happen repeatedly — “every December he would return”. Compare wabuyela in 55.26, a single completed act.
Negative Perfect: 55.29, akaphindanga, from -phinda (to repeat) with the negative a- and the past negative suffix -anga. Literally “he did not repeat going”, the ordinary Zulu way of saying “never again”.
Recycled Structures: 55.23 and 55.24 carry cabanga from Lesson 53, and 55.28 carries nami from Lesson 54.
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The Implosive in Buya
Buya begins with /ɓ/, drawn inward. Contrast bheka /ˈbeː.ka/ in 55.6 and 55.22, which has the plain pulmonic /b/ written bh. The two verbs appear in the same lesson precisely so the contrast can be drilled: buya and bheka differ in their first consonant and in nothing else structurally.
The Lateral Fricative in Umhlane
Umhlane, wayehlala and ihlathi all contain hl /ɬ/. Place the tongue as for l and blow air over the sides without voicing.
Locative Formation
Emuva, ekhaya, emsebenzini, esangweni and eduze all show the locative in e-. With most nouns the circumfix e- ... -ini is used, with predictable sound changes: umsebenzi gives emsebenzini, isango gives esangweni. This is among the most productive processes in the language.
Vowel Fusion Continues
55.30 has nekhaya, from na- + ikhaya — the additive of Lesson 54 fusing na- + i- to ne-. The same fusion produced noMama there.
Callaway's Orthography
The citation writes ngapetsheya for modern ngaphesheya and separates ba se be where modern Zulu writes base be. Aspiration unmarked, disjunctive division: the two adjustments recorded in the course corpus notes.
Recommended Audio Resources:
December radio broadcasts from uKhozi FM are saturated with this vocabulary, since the return home is the season's dominant subject — ukubuya ekhaya, ukubuyela emakhaya, uzobuya nini.
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◊ᴺᵉˣᵃˡ ◊ᴸᵃᵗⁱⁿᵘᵐ ◊ᶻᵘˡᵘ ◊ᴸᵉˢˢᵒⁿ⁵⁵ ◊ᵉᵐᵘᵛᵃ ◊ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉ
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