Bamanankan
Bambara
Niger-Congo (Mande, Western Mande, Central Mande, Manding)
Bambara (Bamanankan) is a Mande language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken by around 14 million people including second-language speakers. It is the most widely spoken language in Mali, where it functions as the principal lingua franca, and it is also used in neighboring West African countries. A tonal language with basic subject-object-verb word order, it is written mainly in the Latin script but also in the N'Ko and Arabic (Ajami) scripts.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Bambara
Water
ji
/dʒi/
Fire
tasuma
/tasuma/
Sun
tile
/tile/
Moon
kalo
/kalo/
Star
dolo
/dòlo/
Mother
ba
/ba/
Father
fa
/fa/
I
ne
/nè/
You
i
/í/
Name
tɔgɔ
/tɔ̀ɡɔ/
Eye
ɲɛ
/ɲɛ/
Hand
bolo
/bolo/
Heart
dusu
/dusu/
Love
kanu
/kanu/
Tree
jiri
/dʒiɾi/
House
so
/so/
Dog
wulu
/wulu/
Cat
jakuma
/dʒakuma/
Eat
dumuni
/dumuni/
Drink
min
/min/
One
kelen
/kelen/
Two
fila
/fìla/
Hello
i ni ce
/i ni tʃɛ/
Thank you
i ni ce
/i ni tʃɛ/
Good
ka ɲi
/ka ɲi/
Computer
ɔridinatɛri
/ɔridinatɛri/
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Mande, Western Mande, Central Mande, Manding) languages
| Meaning | Bambara | Dyula | Xaasongaxango | Eastern Maninka | Kita Maninkakan | Western Maninkakan | Konabéré |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ |
| Fire | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | ta /ta/ |
| Sun | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tle /tle/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ |
| Moon | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ |
| Star | dolo /dòlo/ | dolo /dólo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | tɛnɛ /tɛ̀nɛ̀/ |
| Mother | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | na /na/ | ba /ba/ |
| Father | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ |
| I | ne /nè/ | ń /ŋ́/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | n /ǹ/ |
| You | i /í/ | í /í/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /í/ |
| Name | tɔgɔ /tɔ̀ɡɔ/ | tɔgɔ /tɔ́gɔ/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | to /tō/ |
| Eye | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ña /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ |
| Hand | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ |
| Heart | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ |
| Love | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kana /kana/ |
| Tree | jiri /dʒiɾi/ | yiri /jiri/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiri/ |
| House | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | lu /lu/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ |
| Dog | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wuli /wuli/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | fugo /fuɡo/ |
| Cat | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyukuma /ɲukuma/ |
| Eat | dumuni /dumuni/ | dun /dun/ | domu /domu/ | domu /domu/ | don /don/ | don /don/ | don /don/ |
| Drink | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ |
| One | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kele /kele/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Two | fila /fìla/ | fila /fìla/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | pla /plà/ |
| Hello | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sogoma /i ni soɡoma/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sögöma /i ni soɣoma/ | ka kɛ /ka kɛ/ |
| Thank you | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | baraka /baɾaka/ |
| Good | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | nyi /ɲi/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ñuman /ɲuman/ | nyuman /ɲuman/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ |
| Computer | ɔridinatɛri /ɔridinatɛri/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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