Kĩmĩĩru
Meru
Niger-Congo (Atlantic-Congo, Bantu, E.50/E.60 — Mount Kenya cluster)
Meru (Kĩmĩĩru) is a Bantu language of central Kenya spoken by the Ameru people on the eastern and northeastern slopes of Mount Kenya, with roughly 2 million speakers. It belongs to the Mount Kenya cluster of the Bantu E.50 / E.60 zone alongside Kikuyu (ki), Embu (ebu), and Kamba (kam), with which it shares extensive cognate vocabulary and a 7-vowel ATR-contrast system. The orthography uses tilde diacritics on ĩ and ũ to mark the non-ATR (lax) variants — a convention shared with Kikuyu and Embu. Meru comprises several mutually intelligible varieties: Imenti (the largest and basis of standard written Meru), Tigania, Igembe, Igoji, Mwimbi-Muthambi, and Chuka; Tharaka, spoken on the southern fringe, is sometimes classified as a separate language. The Bible was fully translated by 1964. Meru is recognized as an indigenous Kenyan language under the 2010 constitution and is used in primary education and regional broadcasting.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Meru
Water
rũũjĩ
/ɾuːdʒi/
Fire
mwaki
/mwaki/
Sun
rĩũa
/ɾiua/
Moon
mweri
/mweɾi/
Star
njata
/ɲdʒata/
Mother
mami
/mami/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
nyie
/ɲie/
You
wee
/weː/
Name
rĩĩtwa
/ɾɪːtwa/
Eye
rĩĩthwa
/ɾiːθwa/
Hand
njara
/ndʒaɾa/
Heart
ngoro
/ŋɡoɾo/
Love
wendo
/wendo/
Tree
mũtĩ
/muti/
House
nyomba
/ɲomba/
Dog
ngiti
/ŋɡiti/
Cat
nyau
/ɲau/
Eat
kũrĩa
/kuɾia/
Drink
kũnyũa
/kuɲua/
One
ĩmwe
/imwe/
Two
ijĩrĩ
/idʒɪɾɪ/
Hello
mwega
/mweɡa/
Thank you
nĩ baba
/ni baba/
Good
mwega
/mweɡa/
Sources
- Ethnologue 27: Meru
- Glottolog: Meru (meru1247)
- Maho (2009) NUGL Online (Bantu E.50/E.60 group)
- Marete (1986) The Meru People
- Möhlig (1974) A dialectological grammar of Meru
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Atlantic-Congo, Bantu, E.50/E.60 — Mount Kenya cluster) languages
| Meaning | Meru | Embu | Kikuyu | Kamba | Asu | Ndau | Nyaturu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | rũũjĩ /ɾuːdʒi/ | mai /mai/ | maaĩ /maːi/ | kĩw'ũ /kiwu/ | mende /mende/ | mvura /mvuɾa/ | maazi /maːzi/ |
| Fire | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mshika /mʃika/ | muriro /muɾiɾo/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | syũa /sjua/ | idhuva /iðuʋa/ | zuva /zuva/ | nzua /nzua/ |
| Moon | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mwei /mwei/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | mwedzi /mwedzi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ |
| Star | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | njata /ɲdʒata/ | nzaĩ /nzai/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ | nyenyedzi /ɲeɲedzi/ | nyeenyeeri /ɲeːɲeːri/ |
| Mother | mami /mami/ | mami /mami/ | maitũ /maitu/ | mwaitũ /mwaitu/ | mama /mama/ | amai /amai/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | asa /asa/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ |
| I | nyie /ɲie/ | nĩĩ /niː/ | niĩ /niː/ | nyie /ɲie/ | mine /mine/ | ini /ini/ | une /une/ |
| You | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | wee /weː/ | we /we/ | uwe /uwe/ | iwe /iwe/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | rĩĩtwa /ɾɪːtwa/ | ĩsyĩtwa /isʲitwa/ | izina /izina/ | zina /zina/ | izina /izina/ |
| Eye | rĩĩthwa /ɾiːθwa/ | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | riitho /riːðo/ | ĩtho /iθo/ | iiso /iːso/ | ziso /ziso/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ |
| Hand | njara /ndʒaɾa/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | kw'oko /kwoko/ | mkono /mkono/ | chanza /tʃanza/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Heart | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoo /ŋɡoː/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Love | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | lumba /lumba/ | rudo /ɾudo/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ |
| Tree | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mti /mti/ | muti /muti/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | nyomba /ɲomba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngitĩ /ŋɡiti/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbga /imbɡa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | nyau /ɲau/ | nyau /ɲau/ | nyaũ /ɲau/ | mbaka /mbaka/ | paka /paka/ | kiti /kiti/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũya /kuja/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kudya /kudʒa/ | kuria /kuɾia/ |
| Drink | kũnyũa /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| One | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | imwe /imwe/ | chimwe /tʃimwe/ | umwe /umwe/ |
| Two | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | ijĩrĩ /idʒɪɾɪ/ | igĩrĩ /iɣɪɾɪ/ | ilĩ /ili/ | avili /aβili/ | piri /piɾi/ | aviri /aβiri/ |
| Hello | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | mwĩaĩle /mwiaile/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ | mhoroi /mhoɾoji/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ |
| Thank you | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | nĩ vinya /ni viɲa/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ | ndatenda /ndatenda/ | asante /aˈsante/ |
| Good | mwega /mweɡa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | wega /weɡa/ | museo /museo/ | mwamba /mwamba/ | kanaka /kanaka/ | kihi /kihi/ |
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