ndovu
noun
one thousand shillings.
Ndovu means one thousand shillings in Sheng.
Origins
Ndovu is the Swahili word for elephant. Kenya’s 1994-series banknotes, including the 1,000-shilling note, featured an elephant among their security imagery, which likely explains the nickname.
Sources3
Chege Githiora, Sheng: peer language, Swahili dialect or emerging Creole? (2002), p. 180.
One thousand shillings in Sheng.
- 10 old skul slang names for money (The Standard)
Lists ndovu among the Sheng names for the Sh1000 note introduced in 1994, referring to the animals featured on the notes.
- Kenyan shilling (Wikipedia)
Describes the 1994 banknote series as featuring Mount Kenya, a lion, and an elephant.
Examples
Ndovu hapa ni shilingi elfu moja.
Ndovu here means one thousand shillings.
Una ndovu ya kulipa nauli?
Do you have one thousand shillings to pay the fare?
Nahitaji ndovu ya nauli.
I need one thousand shillings for the fare.
Bei ni ndovu.
The price is one thousand shillings.
Nimelipa ndovu.
I have paid one thousand shillings.
Nimetuma ndovu.
I have sent one thousand shillings.
Nimepata ndovu.
I have received one thousand shillings.
Nauli ni ndovu.
The fare is one thousand shillings.
Chenji ni ndovu.
The change is one thousand shillings.
