Kpɛlɛɛ
Kpelle
Niger-Congo (Mande, Southwestern)
Kpelle is one of the largest Liberian languages, also spoken in adjacent Guinea (where it is called Guerzé), with around one million speakers across the two countries. A Mande language of the Southwestern Mande branch, it is tonal and has noun-class remnants. The indigenous Kpelle syllabary was created in the 1930s by Chief Gbili of Sanoyea — a remarkable case of an African intellectual independently developing a writing system — but did not see widespread adoption; Latin is now the standard script.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Kpelle
Water
ya
/ja/
Fire
kɔ̃a
/kõa/
Sun
pelei
/pelei/
Moon
kɔŋɔ
/kɔŋɔ/
Mother
ngaa
/ŋaː/
Father
laai
/laːi/
Eat
nyii
/ɲiː/
Drink
yiti
/jiti/
Love
gboma
/ɡboma/
Heart
lii
/liː/
Tree
woo
/woː/
House
pere
/pere/
Dog
nyila
/ɲila/
Cat
gbele
/ɡbele/
Hand
yee
/jeː/
Eye
ŋɛ
/ŋɛ/
Hello
halee
/haleː/
Thank you
balika
/balika/
One
taa
/taː/
Good
nyaŋa
/ɲaŋa/
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Mande, Southwestern) languages
| Meaning | Kpelle | Mandinka | Assyrian Neo-Aramaic | Konso | Beja | Greenlandic | Kera |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ya /ja/ | jiyo /dʒijo/ | ܡܝܐ /mijja/ | inanta /inanta/ | yam /jam/ | imeq /imeq/ | mam /mam/ |
| Fire | kɔ̃a /kõa/ | dimbaa /dimbaː/ | ܢܘܪܐ /nura/ | iya /ija/ | neʼaat /neʔaːt/ | ikuallaq /ikuaɬːaq/ | ákə̀rə /akərə/ |
| Sun | pelei /pelei/ | tilo /tilo/ | ܫܡܫܐ /ʃimʃa/ | kawa /kawa/ | yint /jint/ | seqineq /seqineq/ | kêr /keːɾ/ |
| Moon | kɔŋɔ /kɔŋɔ/ | karoo /karoː/ | ܣܗܪܐ /sahra/ | ayeena /ajeːna/ | tirig /tiɾiɡ/ | qaammat /qaːmːat/ | mə̀sə̀rə /məsərə/ |
| Mother | ngaa /ŋaː/ | baa /baː/ | ܝܡܐ /jimma/ | eedda /eːdːa/ | indee /iːndeː/ | anaana /anaːna/ | nâ /naː/ |
| Father | laai /laːi/ | faa /faː/ | ܒܒܐ /baba/ | abba /abːa/ | baab /baːb/ | ataata /ataːta/ | bâ /baː/ |
| Eat | nyii /ɲiː/ | domo /domo/ | ܐܟܠ /axil/ | ihaa /ihaː/ | tame /tame/ | nerivoq /neɾivoq/ | nà /na/ |
| Drink | yiti /jiti/ | miŋ /miŋ/ | ܫܬܐ /ʃtaja/ | inakkaa /inakːaː/ | gwaʼa /ɡʷaʕa/ | imerpoq /imeɾpoq/ | sā /saː/ |
| Love | gboma /ɡboma/ | kanu /kanu/ | ܚܘܒܐ /xubba/ | jaalla /dʒaːlːa/ | kima /kima/ | asaaq /asaːq/ | kùm /kum/ |
| Heart | lii /liː/ | sondomoo /sondomoː/ | ܠܒܐ /libba/ | onna /onːa/ | ginʼa /ɡinʕa/ | uummat /uːmːat/ | gùm /ɡum/ |
| Tree | woo /woː/ | yiroo /jiroː/ | ܐܝܠܢܐ /ilana/ | ergaa /erɡaː/ | hindeb /hindeb/ | orpik /oɾpik/ | kòsō /kosoː/ |
| House | pere /pere/ | buŋo /buŋo/ | ܒܝܬܐ /beθa/ | mana /mana/ | gaw /ɡaw/ | illu /iɬːu/ | gòl /ɡol/ |
| Dog | nyila /ɲila/ | wuloo /wuloː/ | ܟܠܒܐ /kalba/ | kareta /kaɾeta/ | yas /jas/ | qimmeq /qimːeq/ | kŋā /kŋaː/ |
| Cat | gbele /ɡbele/ | ñankuma /ɲankuma/ | ܩܛܘ /qaːtu/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | kabsoot /kabsoːt/ | qitsuk /qitsuk/ | mūsā /muːsaː/ |
| Hand | yee /jeː/ | buloo /buloː/ | ܐܝܕܐ /iːða/ | harka /haɾka/ | ay /aj/ | assak /asːak/ | kéu /keu/ |
| Eye | ŋɛ /ŋɛ/ | ɲaa /ɲaː/ | ܥܝܢܐ /ʕajna/ | ila /ila/ | liili /liːli/ | isi /isi/ | gìr /ɡir/ |
| Hello | halee /haleː/ | salaam /salaːm/ | ܫܠܡܐ /ʃlaːma/ | akkam /akːam/ | salaam /salaːm/ | aluu /aluː/ | ásālāmā /asaːlaːmaː/ |
| Thank you | balika /balika/ | abaraka /abaraka/ | ܒܣܝܡܐ /basima/ | galta /ɡalta/ | baraʼoo /baɾaʕoː/ | qujanaq /qujanaq/ | shùkūr /ʃukuːɾ/ |
| One | taa /taː/ | kiliŋ /kiliŋ/ | ܚܕ /xa/ | takka /takːa/ | gaal /ɡaːl/ | ataaseq /ataːseq/ | ká /ka/ |
| Good | nyaŋa /ɲaŋa/ | beteyaa /betejaː/ | ܛܒܐ /tˤaba/ | fayye /fajːe/ | dabaab /dabaːb/ | ajunngilaq /ajuŋːilaq/ | kúɗá /kuɗa/ |
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