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◊ᴺᵉˣᵃˡ ◊ᴸᵃᵗⁱⁿᵘᵐ ◊ᶻᵘˡᵘ ◊ᴸᵉˢˢᵒⁿ⁵⁶ ◊ᵉᵐᵛᵃᵏʷᵃ
Welcome to Lesson 56 of the Latinum Institute isiZulu course. This lesson focuses on the English preposition “after” and its isiZulu equivalents, chiefly emva kwa- and kamuva.
What does “after” mean in isiZulu?
The answer connects directly to Lesson 55. The word for “behind” and the word for “after” are the same: emva, or emuva. Where English distinguishes a spatial preposition from a temporal one, isiZulu uses one locative for both, exactly as it treats what lies behind and what has already happened as the same direction.
Emva kwendlu is “behind the house”; emva kwesikhathi is “after a time”. The construction is identical, and only the noun decides whether the sense is spatial or temporal.
Two further words complete the picture. Kamuva means “later, afterwards”, standing alone without governing a noun. And the verb -landela, “to follow”, supplies the sense of one thing coming after another in sequence.
Course Index:
https://latinum.substack.com/p/index
Key Takeaways:
Emva kwa- (or emuva kwa-) means both “behind” and “after”
The concord kwa- fuses with the following noun: kwesikhathi, kwalokho, kwakhe
Emva kokudla means “after eating”, with kwa- + the infinitive uku-
Kamuva means “later, afterwards” and governs nothing
Kwa ti emva kwalokho is the narrative formula “it came to pass afterwards”
-landela is the verb “to follow”
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emva [ˈɛːm.va] — “after, behind”. The commoner form in the compound.
emva kwa- [ˈɛːm.va ˈkwa] — with the possessive concord, before a noun.
kwesikhathi [kwɛ.siˈkʰaː.tʰi] — “of time”, showing kwa- fused with isikhathi to give kwe-.
kwalokho [kwaˈlɔː.kʰɔ] — “of that”. Here kwa- meets the demonstrative lokho with no vowel change.
kokudla [kɔ.kuˈɮa] — “of eating”, from kwa- + ukudla. Note the fusion kwa- + u- giving ko-.
kamuva [kaˈmuː.va] — “later, afterwards”.
landela [lanˈdeː.la] — “to follow”. Applicative in form, and always so used.
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56.1 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwesikhathi (kwɛ.siˈkʰaː.tʰi) of-time wabuya (waˈɓuː.ja) he-returned
56.2 Ngemuva (ŋɛˈmuː.va) after kwesonto (kwɛˈsɔːn.tɔ) of-a-week ngizohamba (ŋi.zɔˈhaː.mɓa) I-will-go
56.3 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwalokho (kwaˈlɔː.kʰɔ) of-that sahamba (saˈhaː.mɓa) we-went
56.4 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwami (ˈkwaː.mi) of-me kwafika (kwaˈfiː.ka) there-arrived omunye (ɔˈmuː.ɲɛ) another
56.5 Kamuva (kaˈmuː.va) later sabonana (sa.ɓɔˈnaː.na) we-saw-each-other futhi (ˈfuː.tʰi) again
56.6 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kokudla (kɔ.kuˈɮa) of-eating siyalala (si.jaˈlaː.la) we-sleep
56.7 Wafika (waˈfiː.ka) he-arrived emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwami (ˈkwaː.mi) of-me
56.8 Ngemuva (ŋɛˈmuː.va) after kwenyanga (kwɛˈɲaː.ŋa) of-a-month wabuya (waˈɓuː.ja) he-returned
56.9 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwempi (kwɛmˈpʰiː) of-the-war kwaba (ˈkwaː.ɓa) there-was nokuthula (nɔ.kuˈtʰuː.la) peace
56.10 Nami (ˈnaː.mi) I-also ngafika (ŋaˈfiː.ka) I-arrived emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwakhe (ˈkwaː.kʰɛ) of-him
56.11 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kokucabanga (kɔ.ku.ǀaˈɓaːŋa) of-thinking wathula (waˈtʰuː.la) he-was-silent
56.12 Kwathi (ˈkwaː.tʰi) it-came-to-pass emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwalokho (kwaˈlɔː.kʰɔ) of-that wahamba (waˈhaː.mɓa) he-went
56.13 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwemvula (kwɛmˈvuː.la) of-the-rain kwavela (kwaˈveː.la) appeared ilanga (iˈlaː.ŋa) the-sun
56.14 Sizohamba (si.zɔˈhaː.mɓa) we-will-go emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwehora (kwɛˈhɔː.ra) of-an-hour
56.15 Umfana (umˈfaː.na) the-boy wamlandela (wa.mlanˈdeː.la) followed-him
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56.1 Emva kwesikhathi wabuya. → “After a while he came back.”
56.2 Ngemuva kwesonto ngizohamba. → “I'm leaving after a week.”
56.3 Emva kwalokho sahamba. → “After that we left.”
56.4 Emva kwami kwafika omunye. → “Somebody else arrived after me.”
56.5 Kamuva sabonana futhi. → “Later we saw each other again.”
56.6 Emva kokudla siyalala. → “After eating we sleep.”
56.7 Wafika emva kwami. → “He arrived after me.”
56.8 Ngemuva kwenyanga wabuya. → “After a month he came back.”
56.9 Emva kwempi kwaba nokuthula. → “After the war there was peace.”
56.10 Nami ngafika emva kwakhe. → “I arrived after him as well.”
56.11 Emva kokucabanga wathula. → “After thinking it over he said nothing.”
56.12 Kwathi emva kwalokho wahamba. → “It came about that afterwards he left.”
56.13 Emva kwemvula kwavela ilanga. → “After the rain the sun came out.”
56.14 Sizohamba emva kwehora. → “We'll go in an hour's time.”
56.15 Umfana wamlandela. → “The boy followed him.”
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56.1 Emva kwesikhathi wabuya.
56.2 Ngemuva kwesonto ngizohamba.
56.3 Emva kwalokho sahamba.
56.4 Emva kwami kwafika omunye.
56.5 Kamuva sabonana futhi.
56.6 Emva kokudla siyalala.
56.7 Wafika emva kwami.
56.8 Ngemuva kwenyanga wabuya.
56.9 Emva kwempi kwaba nokuthula.
56.10 Nami ngafika emva kwakhe.
56.11 Emva kokucabanga wathula.
56.12 Kwathi emva kwalokho wahamba.
56.13 Emva kwemvula kwavela ilanga.
56.14 Sizohamba emva kwehora.
56.15 Umfana wamlandela.
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Grammar Rules for “after” in isiZulu:
1. The Construction Emva Kwa-
The locative emva (or emuva) governs a noun by means of the possessive concord kwa-, which fuses with the noun's initial vowel:
kwa- + isikhathi → kwesikhathi (of time)
kwa- + inyanga → kwenyanga (of a month)
kwa- + imvula → kwemvula (of the rain)
kwa- + ukudla → kokudla (of eating)
kwa- + lokho → kwalokho (of that)
The fusion rules are the same throughout the language: kwa- + i- gives kwe-, kwa- + u- gives ko-, kwa- + a- gives kwa-. These are the rules already met with nga- in Lesson 53 and na- in Lesson 54.
With pronouns the concord takes the possessive stems: emva kwami (after me), emva kwakho (after you), emva kwakhe (after him or her), emva kwethu (after us).
2. Spatial and Temporal Are One
The identity is complete. Emva kwendlu is behind the house; emva kwesikhathi is after a time. IsiZulu draws no formal distinction, and the noun alone decides.
This is worth dwelling on, because it reflects a consistent orientation: what is behind is what has passed. The same logic makes phambi kwa- serve both “in front of” and “before”.
3. Emva Kokwenza — “After Doing”
To say “after doing something”, isiZulu uses emva kwa- with the infinitive, which is a noun of class 15 beginning uku-:
emva kokudla (after eating — kwa- + ukudla)
emva kokucabanga (after thinking)
emva kokufika (after arriving)
The fusion kwa- + uku- gives koku-. English uses a participle here; isiZulu uses a verbal noun.
4. Kamuva — “Later”
Kamuva stands alone and governs nothing:
Kamuva sabonana futhi. (Later we met again.)
It is the answer to “when”, not a preposition. Where English says “I'll see you after”, isiZulu says kamuva.
5. Kwathi — the Narrative Formula
Kwathi (Callaway writes kwa ti) opens a great many sentences in Zulu narrative and means “it came to pass”. Combined with the words of this lesson it gives the standard transition of oral storytelling:
Kwathi emva kwalokho... (It came about that afterwards...)
The concord kwa- here is class 17, the impersonal locative class, and has no antecedent — it is the same impersonal ku- met in kwaba and kwafika.
Common Errors to Avoid:
Omitting the concord: ✗ emva isikhathi → ✓ emva kwesikhathi
Wrong fusion: ✗ emva kwaukudla → ✓ emva kokudla
Using kamuva with a noun: ✗ kamuva kwesikhathi → ✓ emva kwesikhathi
Using an English-style participle: ✗ emva kudla → ✓ emva kokudla
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Time Behind and Time Ahead
That emva serves both “behind” and “after”, while phambi serves both “in front of” and “before”, gives isiZulu a consistent spatial model of time in which the past lies behind the speaker and the future ahead. This matches English usage closely enough that learners rarely stumble over it, but it is worth noting that the mapping is a choice rather than a necessity: not every language places the past behind.
Sequence in Oral Narrative
Zulu storytelling is strongly sequential, and the transitions carry much of the structure. Kwathi, kwathi emva kwalokho, and the plain kwaba are the joints of a told tale, and a listener follows the shape of a story partly by counting them. Callaway's texts, taken down from oral performance, are full of them, and the citation below shows one at work.
Emva Kwempi
Emva kwempi — after the war — is a phrase with particular resonance in KwaZulu-Natal, where the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the civil conflicts that followed remain part of family memory. Historical writing in isiZulu uses the phrase without further specification much as English writing once used “after the war”.
Regional Variation
Emva and emuva are both current, and ngemva and ngemuva add the instrumental nga- without changing the sense. All four are correct; emva kwa- is the commonest written form.
Idiomatic Expressions:
Emva kwalokho — after that
Emva kwesikhathi — after a while
Kamuva — later on
Emva kokudla — after the meal
Kwathi emva kwalokho — it came to pass afterwards
Phambi kwa- — before, in front of (the opposite construction)
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From Henry Callaway, Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus (1868), from the cycle of Ulangalasenthla and Ulangalasenzantsi — two chiefs, one of whom pursues the other across the country. This passage opens the episode in which the pursuit begins.
Part F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
Kwa ti (ˈkwaː.tʰi) it-came-to-pass emuva (ɛˈmuː.va) afterwards UlangalasenAla (u.la.ŋa.la.sɛnˈɬaː) Ulangalasenthla wa landelisa (wa.lan.dɛˈliː.sa) he-caused-to-follow impi (imˈpʰiː) the-army yake (ˈjaː.kʰɛ) his yonke (ˈjɔːn.kɛ) all Wa ti (ˈwaː.tʰi) he-said Hamba ni ke (ˈhaː.mɓa.ni.kɛ) go-you-then Ku lungile (ku.luˈŋiː.lɛ) it-is-right ni buye ke nina (ni.ˈɓuː.jɛ.kɛ.ˈniː.na) and-return-then-you banta bami (ˈɓaːn.ta.ˈɓaː.mi) children mine
Part F-B: The Text with Translation
Kwa ti emuva UlangalasenAla wa landelisa impi yake yonke. Wa ti, “Hamba ni ke. Ku lungile. Ni m kg'edel' enAle kanye nabantwana bake; ni buye ke nina, banta bami.”
→ Callaway's own translation: “It came to pass afterwards that Ulangalasenthla made all his army pursue him. He said, ‘Go. You can kill them now. Put an end to him in the wilderness, together with his children; and then do you come back, my people.'”
Part F-C: Original isiZulu Text
Kwa ti emuva UlangalasenAla wa landelisa impi yake yonke. Wa ti, “Hamba ni ke. Ku lungile. Ni m kg'edel' enAle kanye nabantwana bake; ni buye ke nina, banta bami.”
Part F-D: Grammar Commentary
Kwa ti emuva is the formula of Section D in its 1868 spelling: modern isiZulu writes kwathi emuva, “it came to pass afterwards”. Callaway translates emuva here as “afterwards” — purely temporal — whereas the same word in the Lesson 55 citation, ba se be buyela emuva, was purely spatial. The two passages come from the same book and demonstrate the double duty better than any invented example could.
Wa landelisa is the causative of -landela (to follow), giving “made follow, caused to pursue”. The causative extension -is- is the subject of Lesson 57, and this is a clean instance: the chief does not follow, he makes his army follow.
Ni buye ke nina is a subjunctive of instruction — “and then do you return” — with the second person plural concord ni- and the subjunctive final -e on buye. This is the verb of Lesson 55 in its subjunctive form, and the whole clause is an order to come back once the work is done.
Kanye nabantwana bake shows the additive na- of Lesson 54 fused with abantwana: “together with his children”.
Note enAle, modern ehlathini or enhle depending on reading; Callaway's A here represents hl, one of the OCR and orthographic issues recorded in the course corpus notes. His kg' represents the click written q in modern orthography.
Part F-E: Literary Commentary
The passage is an order given and, as the narrative immediately reports, not carried out: the army goes, travels diligently, and never catches up. Callaway's informants tell these pursuit tales with a formal patterning — the command, the setting out, the failure — and the temporal marker emuva is what installs each new movement in sequence. Three words into the episode the listener already knows that time has passed and something new begins.
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Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
56.16 Uzohamba (u.zɔˈhaː.mɓa) will-you-go nini (ˈniː.ni) when
56.17 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after komsebenzi (kɔm.sɛˈɓɛːn.zi) of-work ngizohamba (ŋi.zɔˈhaː.mɓa) I-will-go
56.18 Nami (ˈnaː.mi) I-also ngihamba (ŋiˈhaː.mɓa) I-go emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwakho (ˈkwaː.kʰɔ) of-you
56.19 Sizodla (si.zɔˈɮa) we-will-eat kuqala (kuˈǃaː.la) first noma (ˈnɔː.ma) or kamuva (kaˈmuː.va) later
56.20 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kokudla (kɔ.kuˈɮa) of-eating kungcono (kuŋˈɡɔː.nɔ) it-is-better
56.21 Ngicabanga (ŋi.ǀaˈɓaːŋa) I-think ukuthi (u.kuˈtʰi) that ulungile (u.luˈŋiː.lɛ) you-are-right
56.22 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwalokho (kwaˈlɔː.kʰɔ) of-that sizobuyela (si.zɔ.ɓuˈjeː.la) we-will-return ekhaya (ɛˈkʰaː.ja) home
56.23 Ngemuva (ŋɛˈmuː.va) after kwehora (kwɛˈhɔː.ra) of-an-hour kuzoba (ku.zɔˈɓa) it-will-be mnyama (ˈmɲaː.ma) dark
56.24 Yebo (ˈjɛː.ɓɔ) yes kufanele (ku.faˈneː.lɛ) we-ought sihambe (siˈhaː.mɓɛ) we-go masinyane (ma.siˈɲaː.nɛ) quickly
56.25 Ubaba (uˈɓaː.ɓa) father wathi (ˈwaː.tʰi) said sizobonana (si.zɔ.ɓɔˈnaː.na) we-will-meet kamuva (kaˈmuː.va) later
56.26 Uzofika (u.zɔˈfiː.ka) he-will-arrive emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwethu (ˈkweː.tʰu) of-us
56.27 Emva (ˈɛːm.va) after kwesonto (kwɛˈsɔːn.tɔ) of-a-week sizoya (si.zɔˈja) we-will-go eThekwini (ɛ.tʰɛˈkwiː.ni) to-Durban
56.28 Nami (ˈnaː.mi) I-also ngizoya (ŋi.zɔˈja) I-will-go khona (ˈkʰɔː.na) there
56.29 Kulungile (ku.luˈŋiː.lɛ) it-is-fine sobonana (sɔ.ɓɔˈnaː.na) we-shall-meet futhi (ˈfuː.tʰi) again
56.30 Hamba (ˈhaː.mɓa) go kahle (ˈkaː.ɬɛ) well sobonana (sɔ.ɓɔˈnaː.na) we-shall-meet kamuva (kaˈmuː.va) later
Part B: Natural Sentences
56.16 “Uzohamba nini?” → “‘When are you leaving?'”
56.17 “Emva komsebenzi ngizohamba.” → “‘I'll go after work.'”
56.18 “Nami ngihamba emva kwakho.” → “‘I'll go after you as well.'”
56.19 “Sizodla kuqala noma kamuva?” → “‘Shall we eat first or later?'”
56.20 “Emva kokudla kungcono.” → “‘After eating is better.'”
56.21 “Ngicabanga ukuthi ulungile.” → “‘I think you're right.'”
56.22 “Emva kwalokho sizobuyela ekhaya.” → “‘After that we'll head home.'”
56.23 “Ngemuva kwehora kuzoba mnyama.” → “‘In an hour it'll be dark.'”
56.24 “Yebo, kufanele sihambe masinyane.” → “‘Yes, we ought to go soon.'”
56.25 “Ubaba wathi sizobonana kamuva.” → “‘Father said we'd see each other later.'”
56.26 “Uzofika emva kwethu.” → “‘He'll arrive after us.'”
56.27 “Emva kwesonto sizoya eThekwini.” → “‘After a week we're going to Durban.'”
56.28 “Nami ngizoya khona.” → “‘I'm going there too.'”
56.29 “Kulungile, sobonana futhi.” → “‘Fine, we'll see each other again.'”
56.30 “Hamba kahle, sobonana kamuva.” → “‘Go well, see you later.'”
Part C: isiZulu Only
56.16 Uzohamba nini?
56.17 Emva komsebenzi ngizohamba.
56.18 Nami ngihamba emva kwakho.
56.19 Sizodla kuqala noma kamuva?
56.20 Emva kokudla kungcono.
56.21 Ngicabanga ukuthi ulungile.
56.22 Emva kwalokho sizobuyela ekhaya.
56.23 Ngemuva kwehora kuzoba mnyama.
56.24 Yebo, kufanele sihambe masinyane.
56.25 Ubaba wathi sizobonana kamuva.
56.26 Uzofika emva kwethu.
56.27 Emva kwesonto sizoya eThekwini.
56.28 Nami ngizoya khona.
56.29 Kulungile, sobonana futhi.
56.30 Hamba kahle, sobonana kamuva.
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The dialogue puts the constructions of Section D into ordinary conversational use:
Emva Kwa- with Nouns: 56.17 (komsebenzi), 56.23 (kwehora), 56.27 (kwesonto). Each shows a different fusion — kwa- + umsebenzi giving ko-, kwa- + ihora and kwa- + isonto giving kwe-.
Emva Kwa- with Pronouns: 56.18 (kwakho), 56.26 (kwethu). The possessive stems follow the concord directly.
Emva Kwa- with an Infinitive: 56.20, emva kokudla. The fusion kwa- + ukudla gives kokudla, and the sense is “after eating”.
Kamuva Standing Alone: 56.19, 56.25 and 56.30 use kamuva with no following noun. Compare 56.17, where a noun follows and emva kwa- is therefore required. Substituting one for the other in either place would be wrong.
The Farewell: 56.30 gives the ordinary parting, hamba kahle, answered in practice by sala kahle from the one who stays. Sobonana kamuva is the everyday “see you later”.
Recycled Structures: 56.18 and 56.28 carry nami from Lesson 54; 56.21 carries ngicabanga ukuthi from Lesson 53; 56.22 carries sizobuyela from Lesson 55; 56.29 carries futhi from Lesson 54.
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Concord Fusion Is Written, Not Merely Spoken
The forms kwesikhathi, kokudla and kwalokho are single written words. The learner must learn to see kwe- and ko- as containing kwa-, exactly as ne- and no- contain na- from Lesson 54 and nge- and ngo- contain nga- from Lesson 53. Once the pattern is recognised the language becomes far more transparent.
The Click in Kuqala
56.19 contains kuqala, “first”, with q — the postalveolar click /ǃ/, made by pulling the tongue sharply from the roof of the mouth. This is the second of the three clicks, after the dental c of cabanga in Lesson 53.
The Lateral Affricate in Kudla
Ukudla and sizodla contain dl /ɮ/, the voiced counterpart of hl /ɬ/. Neither exists in English, and the pair should be practised together.
Penultimate Lengthening Shifts
Emva alone is [ˈɛːm.va], but in the phrase emva kwesikhathi the lengthening moves to the phrase-penultimate syllable, giving [ɛm.va kwɛ.siˈkʰaː.tʰi]. Vowel length in isiZulu belongs to the phrase, not the isolated word.
Callaway's Orthography
The citation writes kwa ti for kwathi, kg' for the click q, and A for hl. All three are documented in the course corpus notes, and all three recur in every passage taken from this source.
Recommended Audio Resources:
Zulu radio drama is the best source for the narrative formulas of this lesson, since kwathi and emva kwalokho do the work that scene changes do on stage. Listen for how often a new episode opens with kwathi.
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