Gĩkũyũ
Kikuyu
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu)
Kikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) is the most widely spoken Bantu language in Kenya, native to the Mount Kenya region and the central highlands. The Agĩkũyũ are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. Kikuyu has a 7-vowel system (with ATR contrast) and uses tilde diacritics on ĩ and ũ to mark non-ATR variants — an orthographic convention also used in Embu and Meru. Played a central role in the Mau Mau independence struggle (1952-60); Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, was a Kikuyu speaker. Latin script with characteristic tilde-marked vowels.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Kikuyu
Water
maaĩ
/maːi/
Fire
mwaki
/mwaki/
Sun
rĩũa
/ɾiwa/
Moon
mweri
/mweɾi/
Star
njata
/ɲdʒata/
Mother
maitũ
/maitu/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
niĩ
/niː/
You
wee
/weː/
Name
rĩĩtwa
/ɾɪːtwa/
Eye
riitho
/riːðo/
Hand
guoko
/ɡuoko/
Heart
ngoro
/ŋɡoɾo/
Love
wendo
/wendo/
Tree
mũtĩ
/muti/
House
nyũmba
/ɲumba/
Dog
ngui
/ŋɡui/
Cat
nyaũ
/ɲau/
Eat
kũrĩa
/kuɾia/
Drink
kũnyua
/kuɲua/
One
ĩmwe
/imwe/
Two
igĩrĩ
/iɣɪɾɪ/
Hello
wĩmwega
/wimweɡa/
Thank you
nĩ wega
/ni weɡa/
Good
wega
/weɡa/
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu) languages
| Meaning | Kikuyu | Embu | Meru | Kamba | Shambala | Asu | Nyaturu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | maaĩ /maːi/ | mai /mai/ | rũũjĩ /ɾuːdʒi/ | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | mazi /mazi/ | mende /mende/ | maazi /maːzi/ |
| Fire | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | moto /moto/ | mshika /mʃika/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | syũa /sjua/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | idhuva /iðuʋa/ | nzua /nzua/ |
| Moon | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwei /mwei/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ |
| Star | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | nzaĩ /nzai/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ | nyeenyeeri /ɲeːɲeːri/ |
| Mother | maitũ /maitu/ | mami /mami/ | mami /mami/ | mwaitũ /mwaitu/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | asa /asa/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ |
| I | niĩ /niː/ | nĩĩ /niː/ | nyie /ɲie/ | nyie /ɲie/ | niye /nije/ | mine /mine/ | une /une/ |
| You | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | we /we/ | weye /weje/ | uwe /uwe/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | ĩsyĩtwa /isʲitwa/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ |
| Eye | riitho /riːðo/ | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | rĩĩthwa /ɾiːθwa/ | ĩtho /iθo/ | izo /izo/ | iiso /iːso/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ |
| Hand | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | njara /ndʒaɾa/ | kw'oko /kwoko/ | ukono /ukono/ | mkono /mkono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Heart | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Love | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | lumba /lumba/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ |
| Tree | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyomba /ɲomba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | ngitĩ /ŋɡiti/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | nyaũ /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | mbaka /mbaka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũya /kuja/ | kuya /kuja/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ |
| Drink | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyũa /kuɲua/ | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| One | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imo /imo/ | imwe /imwe/ | umwe /umwe/ |
| Two | igĩrĩ /iɣɪɾɪ/ | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | ilĩ /ili/ | mbili /mbili/ | avili /aβili/ | aviri /aβiri/ |
| Hello | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ |
| Thank you | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | asante /asante/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | asante /aˈsante/ |
| Good | wega /weɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | museo /museo/ | hedi /hedi/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | kihi /kihi/ |
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