Mende
Niger-Congo (Mande)
Mende is a Mande language of the Niger-Congo family spoken by about 2 million people, chiefly in southern and eastern Sierra Leone and by smaller communities in Liberia and Guinea. It is one of Sierra Leone's principal national languages and serves as a provincial working language in much of its core area. Mende is tonal and is normally written today with a Latin-based orthography. The right-to-left Mende Kikakui syllabary was devised around 1917 by Mohamed Turay and substantially expanded by Kisimi Kamara, who promoted it from the 1920s; although it is now little used, Unicode encodes it as a distinct script.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Mende
Water
njei
/ndʒei/
Fire
ngombu
/ŋɡombu/
Sun
foni
/foni/
Moon
ngewɔ
/ŋɡewɔ/
Star
ngɔlɔ
/ᵑɡɔlɔ/
Mother
nje
/ndʒe/
Father
nya
/ɲa/
I
nya
/ɲá/
You
bi
/bí/
Name
láá
/láá/
Eye
ngama
/ŋɡama/
Hand
lɔkɔ
/lɔkɔ/
Heart
mola
/mola/
Love
ndolo
/ndolo/
Tree
ngulu
/ŋɡulu/
House
pɛlɛ
/pɛlɛ/
Dog
nguje
/ŋɡudʒe/
Cat
gɔngɔ
/ɡɔŋɡɔ/
Eat
mɛ
/mɛ/
Drink
ngu
/ŋɡu/
One
yila
/jila/
Two
fele
/félé/
Hello
bua
/bua/
Thank you
bisɛ
/bisɛ/
Good
nyande
/ɲande/
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Mande) languages
| Meaning | Mende | Kpelle | Dii | Ewondo | Bulu | Fijian | Zande |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | njei /ndʒei/ | ya /ja/ | mam /mam/ | medzim /medzim/ | medim /medim/ | wai /wai/ | ime /ime/ |
| Fire | ngombu /ŋɡombu/ | kɔ̃a /kõa/ | mvə̀ /mvə/ | ndoa /ndoa/ | ndoa /ndoa/ | buka /mbuka/ | we /we/ |
| Sun | foni /foni/ | pelei /pelei/ | ngə̄ə̀ /ŋɡəə/ | dzōb /dʒoːb/ | zobé /zobe/ | matanisiga /matanisiŋa/ | uru /uɾu/ |
| Moon | ngewɔ /ŋɡewɔ/ | kɔŋɔ /kɔŋɔ/ | mboɔn /mbɔɔn/ | ngɔn /ŋɡɔn/ | ngon /ŋɡon/ | vula /βula/ | diwi /diwi/ |
| Star | ngɔlɔ /ᵑɡɔlɔ/ | ɓɔlɔŋ /ɓɔ̀lɔ̀ŋ/ | tewre /tewre/ | ôtɛtɛ /ótɛtɛ/ | ôtɛtɛ /ótɛtɛ/ | kalokalo /kalokalo/ | kerekuru /kɛɾɛkuɾu/ |
| Mother | nje /ndʒe/ | ngaa /ŋaː/ | na /na/ | nyia /ɲia/ | nyia /ɲia/ | tina /tina/ | na /na/ |
| Father | nya /ɲa/ | laai /laːi/ | ba /ba/ | tara /taɾa/ | tata /tata/ | tama /tama/ | ba /ba/ |
| I | nya /ɲá/ | ŋá /ŋá/ | am /am/ | ma /má/ | ma /má/ | au /au/ | mi /mi/ |
| You | bi /bí/ | í /í/ | mo /mo/ | wa /wá/ | wô /wô/ | iko /iko/ | mo /mo/ |
| Name | láá /láá/ | laa /lâː/ | yiŋ /jiŋ/ | jôé /ʒóé/ | jôé /ʒóé/ | yaca /jaða/ | rimo /ɾimo/ |
| Eye | ngama /ŋɡama/ | ŋɛ /ŋɛ/ | ngə̀ə /ŋɡəə/ | dzìs /dʒis/ | zis /zis/ | mata /mata/ | bangiri /baŋɡiɾi/ |
| Hand | lɔkɔ /lɔkɔ/ | yee /jeː/ | paà /paa/ | woó /woʔo/ | wo /wo/ | liga /liŋa/ | be /be/ |
| Heart | mola /mola/ | lii /liː/ | ngēli /ŋɡeli/ | nlem /nlem/ | nlem /nlem/ | uto /uto/ | ngbaduse /ŋɡbaduse/ |
| Love | ndolo /ndolo/ | gboma /ɡboma/ | kūngí /kuŋɡi/ | nye'e /ɲeʔe/ | nye'a /ɲeʔa/ | loloma /loloma/ | kpinyemu /kpiɲemu/ |
| Tree | ngulu /ŋɡulu/ | woo /woː/ | ngà /ŋɡa/ | elé /ele/ | élé /ele/ | kau /kau/ | ngua /ŋɡua/ |
| House | pɛlɛ /pɛlɛ/ | pere /pere/ | gā /ɡa/ | nda /nda/ | nda /nda/ | vale /βale/ | bambu /bambu/ |
| Dog | nguje /ŋɡudʒe/ | nyila /ɲila/ | mvù /mvu˩/ | mvu /mvu/ | mvu /mvu/ | koli /koli/ | ango /aŋɡo/ |
| Cat | gɔngɔ /ɡɔŋɡɔ/ | gbele /ɡbele/ | ngwā /ŋɡwa/ | esìŋga /esiŋɡa/ | esinga /esiŋɡa/ | pusi /pusi/ | gbabo /ɡbabo/ |
| Eat | mɛ /mɛ/ | nyii /ɲiː/ | kpén /kpen˥/ | di /di/ | dzia /dʒia/ | kana /kana/ | ri /ɾi/ |
| Drink | ngu /ŋɡu/ | yiti /jiti/ | kpɔ̀ /kpɔ/ | nyu /ɲu/ | nyu /ɲu/ | gunu /ŋunu/ | mbira /mbiɾa/ |
| One | yila /jila/ | taa /taː/ | hīn /hin/ | fok /fok/ | fok /fok/ | dua /ndua/ | sa /sa/ |
| Two | fele /félé/ | feere /fèːɽè/ | reɓ /reɓ/ | bɛ̌ /bɛ̌/ | bɛ̌ /bɛ̌/ | rua /rua/ | ue /uwe/ |
| Hello | bua /bua/ | halee /haleː/ | mbóò /mboo/ | mbɔlɔ /mbɔlɔ/ | mbolo /mbolo/ | bula /mbula/ | mo ima ya /mo ima ja/ |
| Thank you | bisɛ /bisɛ/ | balika /balika/ | vɛɛɛ /vɛːɛ/ | akiba /akiba/ | akiba /akiba/ | vinaka /βinaka/ | oni-tambua /oni-tambua/ |
| Good | nyande /ɲande/ | nyaŋa /ɲaŋa/ | gáà /ɡa˥a˩/ | mbaŋ /mbaŋ/ | mbamba /mbamba/ | vinaka /βinaka/ | wene /wene/ |
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