Basic Colour Cards (isiXhosa-English)
This is a set of 16 cards designed for teaching Foundation Phase or Primary School learners the isiXhosa words for 15 basic colours. It begins with a cover page showing all the colours included in the set. Thereafter, each card shows one plain circle of colour. At the bottom of card you will see the isiXhosa word for the colour in a bigger (white) font, with the English translation in a smaller (yellow) font.
Please note that there are spelling variations in use for both blue (bhlowu/blowu) and purple (pepuli/pepeli). As such we have had to make choices around these which won't suit everyone. For example, we have chosen the spelling ‘bhlowu' (instead of blowu) to align with the Oxford ISIXHOSA-ISINGESI School Dictionary.
Please note also that there are word options for 5 of the colours. For example, besides 'bhlowu' the other word in use for blue is ‘zuba’. Typically words from English and Afrikaans are more often used in urban areas. Where there are choices to be made, please teach the word most commonly used in your area.
The colours on the cards are listed below:
1. mhlophe (white)
2. mnyama (black)
3. bomvu (red)
4. tyheli/mthubi (yellow)
5. bhlowu/zuba (blue)
6. orenji (orange)
7. luhlaza (green)
8. pepuli/msobo (purple)
9. pinki (pink)
10. brawuni/mdaka (brown)
11. greyi/ngwevu (grey)
12. lubhelu (beige)
13. silivere (silver)
14. golide (gold)
15. namabalabala (colourful/many different colours)
To recycle and consolidate most of these words, learners can sing along to Songs 8 and 9 in the Xhosa Fundis' product titled, IsiXhosa Songs for Kids - Blue Songs and Booklet (ISBN 978-1-7764999-5-3). These delightful and catchy songs are titled 'Colours/Imibala' and 'We are not the same/Asifani' respectively.