The current system of name classes that we use is based on the 1955 work of Desmond Thorne Cole, and comprises 18 noun classes. This in turn, deriving its roots from the work of German linguist, Carl Friedrich Michael Meinhof at the end of the 19th century.
They are Classes 1 to 18, excluding 12 and 13 (but with an additional Class 1a and 1b) which brings the total back up to 18.

Table 1: Notes on Noun Classes and Prefixes

Class	Prefix	Notes on Prefixes	Notes on the Noun Class
1	mo-	m- and ngw- are sometimes written as other class prefixes, but are actually just phonological changes to mo-. Examples: ngw- from ngwana originated as mo+ana. M- from mmopi originated as mo+bopi.	1. Nouns associated with ordinary humans or human vocations, eg modisa, ngwale, mhudi. 2. Proper nouns naming ethnic groups or tribes start with Mo-, eg Mosotho, Morolong. 3. Adoptive words denoting personal use, eg moPalestina (Palestinian), mokeresete (christian). 4. Kinship terms DO NOT belong in Class 1, but instead Class 1a.
1a	ɸ	Includes proper nouns used as names, and therefore cannot have a fixed prefix.	1. Proper nouns for names of people, places, etc. Examples: Montshwari, Solomon, New York. 2. Kinship terms like mme (mother), rramogolo (uncle), malome (uncle), rrangwane (uncle). These words behave as Class 9 words (with their latent N), but have plurals with the prefix bo-. 3. Animals which are found in Class 9, but when used in a personalised/personified context (eg tshwene (baboon/simian) can be pluratised as ditshwene or botshwene when personalised, and all other animals (eg mmutla (hare)).
2	ba-	Plural for Class 1. All words in this class have prefix ba-.	Plural for Class 1. All words in this class have prefix ba- in the place of mo- for the singulars.
2a	bo-	Plural for Class 1a. All words in this class have prefix bo-.	Plural for Class 1a. All words in this class have prefix bo-appended to the whole Class 1a singular, eg bomalome (uncles), boMichael.
3	mo-	m- and ngw- are sometimes written as other class prefixes, but are actually just phonological changes to mo-. Examples: ngw- from ngwedi originated as mo-edi. M- from mmino originated as mo-bino.	All other non-locative nouns with the prefix mo-, or its consequent ngw- and m-. Examples include molelo, ngwedi, mhiko.
4	me-	Plural for Class 3. All words in this class have prefix me-.	Plural for Class 3. All words in this class have prefix me- in the place of mo- for the singulars.
5	le-	Easily confused with Class 11’s lo-. Most of the differences are due to variances in dialects, as some may say lerato, while others say lorato. However, there are some words which are specific to either Class  or 11. The best trick to determine whether it is supposed to be in Class 5 or 11 is by checking if the plural begins with ma (then Class 5) or di (then Class 11).	1. Nouns associated negatively with humans or human vocations, eg legodu (thief), lelatswathipa (bootlicker). 2. Proper nouns naming foreign or ethnic groups or tribes start with Le-, eg Lekgowa, Lezulu. However, this usage has fallen out of favour with proponents of political correctness, insisting all ethnic names should be in Class 11 (eg Lezulu should be Mozulu, etc). 3. Adoptive words denoting personal use, eg lepolitiki (politician), leinjiniere (engineer). 4. Non-human concrete and abstract nouns whose plurals have the prefix ma-.
6	ma-	.	Plural for Class 5. All words in this class have prefix ma- in the place of se- for the singulars.
7	se-	.	1. Nouns associated negatively with humans or human vocations, eg serukhuthi (criminal), sebolai (murderer). 2. Nouns associated positively with humans or human vocations, denoting expertise, eg seopedi (good singer – beyond just “moopedi”), seroki (expert tailor – beyond just “moroki”). 3. Adoptive words which start with a sound similar to the prefix se- in their native language, eg. seterata (from street), setulo (stool). 4. Adoptive words denoting language and culture, eg sejuta (Jewish), seJeremane (German). 5. Non-human concrete and abstract nouns.
8	di-	.	Plural for Class 7. All words in this class have prefix di- in the place of se- for the singulars.
9	N-	Words in this class are said to have a latent n- prefix. The n sound is not manifest in some of the words, but its effect can be felt in the phonological changes (nasalisation) it brings to the stems of the nouns. Examples: kgomo originates from n+gomo, tshimo from n+simo.	1. Words that do not appear to belong in any of the other classes because they do not have obvious prefixes. 2. Foreign or adopted words, eg mercury (mercury), parafini (paraffin). 3. Kinship terms DO NOT belong in Class 9, but instead Class 1a.
10	diN-	Plural for Class 9 and 11. All words in this class have prefix di- with the latent N for both Class 9 and Class 11 words. Examples: Class 9 podi (n+bodi) becomes dipodi; Class 11 lore becomes dinthe (din+re, and the ‘re’ is nasalised to ‘the’).	Plural for Class 9 and 11. All words in this class have prefix di- with the latent N for both Class 9 and Class 11 words. Examples: Class 9 podi (n+bodi) becomes dipodi; Class 11 lore becomes dinthe (din+re, and the re is nasalised to nthe).
11	lo-	Easily confused with Class 5’s le-. Most of the differences are due to variences in dialects, as some may say lorato, while others say lerato. However, there are some words which are specific to either Class  or 11. The best trick to determine whether it is supposed to be in Class 5 or 11 is by checking if the plural begins with ma (then Class 5) or di (then Class 11).	1. Mainly abstract nouns, eg lorato (love), loso (death), losika (family). 2. A noun form associated with large sizes or multitudes, eg lonko (extreme smell), lonku (many sheep)
14	bo-	.	1. Abstract nouns, eg bogosi (royalty), boroko (sleep), botshwakga (laziness). 2. Adoptive words which start with a sound similar to the prefix bo- in their native language, eg. borotho (from bread), borukgwe (broek in Afrikaans). 3. Adoptive words denoting cultural or vocational tendencies of attributes, eg bopodise (police-like), boChaena (Chinese).
15	go-	.	Infinitive verbs classified as nouns. Examples: go ja (to eat), go robala (to sleep)
16	fa-	.	Locative nouns which are not derived from verb stems. They form the stem of adverbs of place, eg fatshe (floor), fale (there/yonder)
17	go-	.	Locative nouns which are not derived from verb stems. They form the stem of adverbs of place, eg godimo (top).
18	mo-	.	Locative nouns which are not derived from verb stems. They form the stem of adverbs of place, eg morago, moseja.

Table 2: Noun Classes and Grammar Elements #1

Class	Prefix	Pronoun	Demonstrative	Relative Marker	Possessive
1	mo-	ene	yo	yo o	wa
	monna	monna ene	monna yo montsho	monna yo o nkgang	monna wa gago
1a	ɸ	ene	yo	yo o	wa
	Gabriel/rakgadi	Gabriel ene	rakgadi yo montsho	rakgadi yo o botlhale	Gabriel wa gago
2	ba-	bone	ba	ba ba	ba
	basadi	basadi bone	basadi ba bararo	basadi ba ba rekisang	basadi ba Modimo
2a	bo-	bone	ba	ba ba	ba
	boRaphael/bomalome	boRaphael bone	bomalome ba batona	bomalome ba ba disang	boRaphael ba Gaborone
3	mo-	one	o	o o	wa
	mopipi	mopipi one	mopipi o mosetlha	mopipi o o metsi	mopipi wa batho
4	me-	yone	e	e e	ya
	meropa	meropa yone	meropa e mennye	meropa e e senyegileng	meropa ya rona
5	le-	lone	le	le le	la
	lerapo	lerapo lone	lerapo le lesweu	lerapo le le thata	lerapo la tlou
6	ma-	one	a	a a	a
	maaka	maaka one	maaka a matala	maaka a a golegang	maaka a mogolo
7	se-	sone	se	se se	sa
	selepe	selepe sone	selepe se setona	selepe se se bokete	selape sa magagane
8	di-	tsone	tse	tse di	tsa
	dibini	dibini tsone	dibini tse tlhano	dibini tse di masisi	dibini tsa gae
9	N-	yone	e	e e	ya
	katse	katse yone	katse e ntsho	katse e e bonolo	katse ya maabane
10	diN-	tsone	tse	tse di	tsa
	dipodi	dipodi tsone	dipodi tse pedi	dipodi tse di dinaka	dipodi tsa mashi
11	lo-	lone	lo	lo lo	lwa
	lore	lore lone	lore lo lokima	lore lo lo metsi	lore lwa mogodi
14	bo-	jone/bone	jo [/bo]	jo bo [/bo bo]	ja/jwa
	botsipa	botsipa jone	botsipa jo bontsi	botsipa jo bo belaetsang	botsipa ja bolalome
15	go-	gone	mo	mo go	ga
	go ja	go ja gone	go ja mo gonnye	go ja go go feteletseng	go ja ga bone
16	fa-	gone	fa	mo go	ga
	fale	fale gone	fale fa bontshong	fale mo go gaufi	fale ga gagwe
17	go-	gone	mo	mo go	ga
	godimo	godimo gone	godimo mo marulelong	godimo mo go yone	godimo ga gago
18	mo-	gone	mo	mo go	ga
	morago	morago gone	morago mo gonnye	morago mo go kgakala	morago ga bone

Table 3: Noun Classes and Grammar Elements #2

Class	Prefix	Subject Agreement	Object Agreement	1st Person	2nd Person	3rd Person
1	mo-	o-	m-	yo	yoo	yole
	monna	monna o a bitsa	mmitse monna yoo	mmitse monna yo	mmitse monna yoo	mmitse monna yole
1a	ɸ	o-	m-	yo	yoo	yole
	Gabriel/rakgadi	Gabriel o a bitsa	mmitse rakgadi yoo	mmitse rakgadi yo	mmitse rakgadi yoo	mmitse rakgadi yole
2	ba-	ba-	ba-	ba	bao	bale
	basadi	basadi ba a bitsa	ba bitse basadi bao	ba bitse basadi ba	ba bitse basadi bao	ba bitse basadi bale
2a	bo-	ba-	ba-	ba	bao	bale
	boRaphael/bomalome	boRaphael ba a bitsa	ba bitse bomalome bao	ba bitse bomalome ba	ba bitse bomalome bao	ba bitse bomalome bale
3	mo-	o-	o-	o	oo	ole
	mopipi	mopipi o a sha	o tshube mopipi oo	o tshube mopipi o	o tshube mopipi oo	o tshube mopipi ole
4	me-	e-	e-	e	eo	ele
	meropa	meropa e a tlhodiya	e letse, meropa eo	e letse, meropa e	e letse, meropa eo	e letse, meropa ele
5	le-	le-	le-	le	leo	lele
	lerapo	lerapo le a robega	le robe, lerapo leo	le robe, lerapo le	le robe, lerapo leo	le robe, lerapo lele
6	ma-	a-	a-	a	ao	ale
	maaka	maaka a a golega	a ganetse, maaka ao	a ganetse, maaka a	a ganetse, maaka ao	a ganetse, maaka ale
7	se-	se-	se-	se	seo	sele
	selepe	selepe se a rema	se lotse, selepe seo	se lotse, selepe se	se lotse, selepe seo	se lotse, selepe sele
8	di-	di-	di-	tse	tseo	tsele
	dibini	dibini di a opela	di opedise, dibini tseo	di opedise, dibini tse	di opedise, dibini tseo	di opedise, dibini tsele
9	N-	e-	e-	e	eo	tse
	katse	katse e a ngapa	e kobe, katse eo	e kobe, katse e	e kobe, katse eo	e kobe, katse ele
10	diN-	di-	di-	tse	tseo	tsele
	dipodi	dipodi di a thula	di game, dipodi tseo	di game, dipodi tse	di game, dipodi tseo	di game, dipodi tsele
11	lo-	lo-	lo-	lo	loo	lole
	lore	lore lo thusa mooki	lo obe, lore loo	lo obe, lore lo	lo obe, lore loo	lo obe, lore lole
14	bo-	bo-	bo-
	botsipa	botsipa bo a thusa	bo supe, botsipa joo	bo supe, botsipa jo	bo supe, botsipa joo	bo supe, botsipa jole
15	go-	go-	–	–	–	–
	go ja	go ja go  a lapisa	–	–	–	–
16	fa-	go-	–	–	–	–
	fale	fale go a direga	–	–	–	–
17	go-	go-	–	–	–	–
	godimo	godimo go a sokodisa	–	–	–	–
18	mo-	go-	–	–	–	–
	morago	morago go a nametsa	–	–	–	–

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