Pharmacy & Health

1. Malo ghakuguliskira mankhwala ghali nkhu?

   Where is the place that sells medicine?

   Usage

   Shop signs often read "Pharmacy" or "Chemist" in English; this asks for the place in words

   Grammar Note

   Literally "the place for selling medicines, where?"; malo takes ma- class agreement, so ghakuguliskira and ghali begin with gh-. kuguliska means "to sell". Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

2. Nkhukhumba munkhwala wa mutu wakuŵinya

   I need medicine for a headache

   Usage

   Name the ailment and the seller picks a medicine

   Grammar Note

   "munkhwala wa + ailment" means "medicine for ..."; mutu wakuŵinya is "a painful head", i.e. a headache. munkhwala is singular and the plural is mankhwala. Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

3. Nkhukhumba munkhwala wakuchepeska kuŵinya

   I need a painkiller

   Usage

   A general request for pain relief, whatever the ache

   Grammar Note

   Literally "medicine that reduces hurting"; kuchepeska is "to reduce" and kuŵinya is "to hurt". Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

4. Nimwe wuli munkhwala uwu?

   How should I take this medicine?

   Usage

   Ask the seller how to take the medicine

   Grammar Note

   nimwe is the subjunctive of kumwa (drink), "should I take"; munkhwala is a mu- class noun, so "this" is uwu. Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

5. Mumwe katatu pa zuŵa

   Take it three times a day

   Usage

   What a pharmacist may say; useful to recognise

   Grammar Note

   mumwe is a subjunctive giving a polite instruction; katatu is "three times" and kaŵiri "twice". Composed from known words and sentence patterns; native review recommended

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