Koyra Chiini
Songhai
Koyra Chiini, literally “town language,” is a Songhay language spoken in Timbuktu and nearby settlements along the Niger Bend in Mali, including Diré, Goundam, Tonka, and Niafunké. It forms a western Songhay dialect complex and is sharply differentiated from Koyraboro Senni farther east around Gao, while Djenné Chiini is a closely related western variety. Its basic clause order is subject–verb–object, not SOV, with mood, aspect, and negation particles occurring before the verb; postpositions nevertheless follow their complements. Noun phrases generally place adjectives, numerals, demonstratives, definiteness, and plural marking after the noun. Koyra Chiini lacks contrastive lexical or grammatical tone, unlike several non-Malian Songhay languages, and its documented phonology includes contrasts between short and long vowels.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Koyra Chiini
Water
hari
/hari/
Fire
nuune
/nuːne/
Sun
wari
/wari/
Moon
handu
/handu/
Star
handariya
/handaːɾija/
Mother
nya
/ɲa/
Father
baaba
/baːba/
I
ay
/aj/
You
ni
/ni/
Name
maa
/maː/
Eye
mo
/mo/
Hand
kambe
/kambe/
Heart
bine
/bine/
Love
baŋa
/baŋa/
Tree
tuuri
/tuːri/
House
huu
/huː/
Dog
hansi
/hansi/
Cat
muusu
/muːsu/
Eat
ŋwa
/ŋwa/
Drink
hane
/hane/
One
afo
/afo/
Two
ihinka
/ihiŋka/
Hello
fofo
/fofo/
Thank you
barka
/barka/
Good
boori
/boːri/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Songhai languages
| Meaning | Koyra Chiini | Koyraboro Senni | Zarma | Bishnupriya Manipuri | Fula | Wolaytta | Aari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | hari /hari/ | hari /hari/ | hari /hari/ | পানি /paːni/ | ndiyam /ndijam/ | haatta /haːtːa/ | waki /waki/ |
| Fire | nuune /nuːne/ | nuune /nuːne/ | danji /dandʒi/ | আগুন /aːɡun/ | yiite /jiːte/ | tama /tama/ | mola /mola/ |
| Sun | wari /wari/ | wayna /wajna/ | wayna /wajna/ | বেল /bel/ | naange /naːŋɡe/ | awa /awa/ | háy /haj/ |
| Moon | handu /handu/ | handu /handu/ | handu /handu/ | জুনাক /dʒunak/ | lewru /lewɾu/ | aginaa /aɡinaː/ | arfi /arfi/ |
| Star | handariya /handaːɾija/ | handariya /handaːɾija/ | handariya /handaːɾija/ | তারা /taɾa/ | hoodere /hoːdeɾe/ | xoolinttee /tʼoːlintːeː/ | manka /ˈmanka/ |
| Mother | nya /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ | ñaa /ɲaː/ | মা /maː/ | yumma /jumːa/ | aaya /aːja/ | inde /inde/ |
| Father | baaba /baːba/ | baaba /baːba/ | baba /baba/ | বাবা /baːba/ | baaba /baːba/ | aawa /aːwa/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | ay /aj/ | ay /aj/ | ay /aj/ | মি /mi/ | miin /miːn/ | taani /taːni/ | ita /ʔiˈta/ |
| You | ni /ni/ | ni /ni/ | ni /ni/ | তি /ti/ | aan /aːn/ | neeni /neːni/ | ahna /ahˈna/ |
| Name | maa /maː/ | maa /maː/ | maa /maː/ | নাম /nam/ | innde /inːde/ | sunttaa /suntːaː/ | naami /naːˈmi/ |
| Eye | mo /mo/ | mo /mo/ | mo /mo/ | চোখ /tʃokʰ/ | yiitere /jiːteɾe/ | ayfee /ajfeː/ | aafi /aːfi/ |
| Hand | kambe /kambe/ | kambe /kambe/ | kambe /kambe/ | হাত /haːt/ | junngo /dʒuŋːɡo/ | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | kushum /kuʃum/ |
| Heart | bine /bine/ | bine /bine/ | bina /bina/ | মন /mon/ | ɓernde /ɓeɾnde/ | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | lubba /lubːa/ |
| Love | baŋa /baŋa/ | baŋa /baŋa/ | baa /baː/ | মায়া /maja/ | yiɗde /jiɗːe/ | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | gaya /ɡaja/ |
| Tree | tuuri /tuːri/ | tuuri /tuːri/ | tuuri /tuːri/ | গাছ /ɡaːtʃʰ/ | lekki /lekːi/ | mittaa /mitːaː/ | miza /miza/ |
| House | huu /huː/ | huu /huː/ | fu /fu/ | ঘর /ɡʱaɾ/ | suudu /suːdu/ | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | kara /kara/ |
| Dog | hansi /hansi/ | hansi /hansi/ | hansi /hansi/ | কুট্টা /kuʈːaː/ | rawandu /ɾawandu/ | kanaa /kanaː/ | kana /kana/ |
| Cat | muusu /muːsu/ | muusu /muːsu/ | muusu /muːsu/ | বিল্লি /bilːi/ | ullundu /ulːundu/ | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | shanɡo /ʃaŋɡo/ |
| Eat | ŋwa /ŋwa/ | ŋwa /ŋwa/ | ŋwa /ŋwa/ | খাব /kʰaːb/ | ñaamde /ɲaːmde/ | miya /miːja/ | itte /itːe/ |
| Drink | hane /hane/ | hane /hane/ | hañu /haɲu/ | পান কর /paːn kaɾ/ | yarude /jaɾude/ | ushiya /uʃija/ | ushe /uʃe/ |
| One | afo /afo/ | afo /afo/ | affo /afːo/ | এক /ek/ | go'o /ɡoʔo/ | issino /isːino/ | kollo /kolːo/ |
| Two | ihinka /ihiŋka/ | ihinka /ihiŋka/ | ihinka /ihiŋka/ | দুই /dui/ | ɗiɗi /ɗiɗi/ | naaʼʼa /naːʔːa/ | qasken /qasˈken/ |
| Hello | fofo /fofo/ | fofo /fofo/ | fofo /fofo/ | নমস্কার /nomoskar/ | jam tan /dʒam tan/ | saro /saro/ | saro /saro/ |
| Thank you | barka /barka/ | barka /barka/ | fofo /fofo/ | ধইন্যবাদ /dʱoinjobaːd/ | a jaaraama /a dʒaːɾaːma/ | galatay /ɡalataj/ | galatoma /ɡalatoma/ |
| Good | boori /boːri/ | boori /boːri/ | boori /boːri/ | ভালা /bʱaːlaː/ | moƴƴo /moƴːo/ | lo'o /loʔo/ | goodi /ɡoːdi/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.