bemba

See also: Bemba

English

Noun

bemba (plural bembas)

1. (music, Trinidad and Tobago) A type of folk drum used in Trinidad and Tobago.

Alternative forms

• bembe

Anagrams

• mabbe

Bangi

Verb

bemba

1. to travel

Lingala

Etymology

Borrowed from Bangi bemba.

Verb

-bemba (infinitive kobemba)

1. to travel

Spanish

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly derived from Lingala mbembo (“big bottom lip”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbemba/ [ˈbẽm.ba]
• Rhymes: -emba
• Syllabification: bem‧ba

Noun

bemba f (plural bembas)

1. (Canary Islands, Ecuador, Central America, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Caribbean, slang, offensive) Mouth with large and bulky lips stereotypical of a person of African descent.
   1. (El Salvador, slang, vulgar) large vulva

Adjective

bemba f sg

1. feminine singular of bembo

Further reading

• “bembo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swahili

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu [Term?].

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Verb

-bemba (infinitive kubemba)

1. to coax, seduce

Conjugation

Conjugation of -bemba
Positive present -nabemba Subjunctive -bembe Negative -bembi Imperative singular bemba
Infinitives
Positive kubemba Negative kutobemba
Imperatives
Singular bemba Plural bembeni
Tensed forms
Habitual hubemba Positive past positive subject concord + -libemba Negative past negative subject concord + -kubemba
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nabemba) Singular Plural 1st person ninabemba/nabemba tunabemba 2nd person unabemba mnabemba 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anabemba wanabemba other classes positive subject concord + -nabemba
Negative present (negative subject concord + -bembi) Singular Plural 1st person sibembi hatubembi 2nd person hubembi hambembi 3rd person m-wa(I/II) habembi hawabembi other classes negative subject concord + -bembi
Positive future positive subject concord + -tabemba Negative future negative subject concord + -tabemba
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -bembe) Singular Plural 1st person nibembe tubembe 2nd person ubembe mbembe 3rd person m-wa(I/II) abembe wabembe other classes positive subject concord + -bembe
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -sibembe Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngebemba Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singebemba Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalibemba Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalibemba
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -abemba) Singular Plural 1st person nabemba twabemba 2nd person wabemba mwabemba 3rd person m-wa(I/II) abemba wabemba m-mi(III/IV) wabemba yabemba ji-ma(V/VI) labemba yabemba ki-vi(VII/VIII) chabemba vyabemba n(IX/X) yabemba zabemba u(XI) wabemba see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwabemba pa(XVI) pabemba mu(XVIII) mwabemba
Perfect positive subject concord + -mebemba "Already" positive subject concord + -meshabemba "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jabemba "If/When" positive subject concord + -kibemba "If not" positive subject concord + -sipobemba Consecutive kabemba / positive subject concord + -kabemba Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kabembe
Object concord (indicative positive) Singular Plural 1st person -nibemba -tubemba 2nd person -kubemba -wabemba/-kubembeni/-wabembeni 3rd person m-wa(I/II) -mbemba -wabemba m-mi(III/IV) -ubemba -ibemba ji-ma(V/VI) -libemba -yabemba ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kibemba -vibemba n(IX/X) -ibemba -zibemba u(XI) -ubemba see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kubemba pa(XVI) -pabemba mu(XVIII) -mubemba Reflexive -jibemba
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -bemba- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -bembaye -bembao m-mi(III/IV) -bembao -bembayo ji-ma(V/VI) -bembalo -bembayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -bembacho -bembavyo n(IX/X) -bembayo -bembazo u(XI) -bembao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -bembako pa(XVI) -bembapo mu(XVIII) -bembamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -bemba) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yebemba -obemba m-mi(III/IV) -obemba -yobemba ji-ma(V/VI) -lobemba -yobemba ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chobemba -vyobemba n(IX/X) -yobemba -zobemba u(XI) -obemba see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kobemba pa(XVI) -pobemba mu(XVIII) -mobemba
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.