Kriol
Guinea-Bissau Kriol
Romance (creole)
Guinea-Bissau Kriol (Kriyol, also called Guineense) is a Portuguese-lexified creole spoken throughout Guinea-Bissau and in neighboring Casamance, Senegal. It serves as Guinea-Bissau's principal lingua franca and is increasingly acquired as a first language, especially in Bissau, while Portuguese remains the country's only official language. Most vocabulary derives from Portuguese, but the grammar reflects both creole development and contact with Atlantic and Mande languages. Kriol typically has SVO order and uses particles such as na, ta, and ba to mark tense, mood, and aspect rather than Portuguese-style verb inflection. Regional and social varieties coexist, and Latin-based spelling is used in literature and education although no single orthographic standard is universally established.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Guinea-Bissau Kriol
Water
ágwa
/aɡwa/
Fire
fogu
/fɔɡu/
Sun
sól
/sɔl/
Moon
lúa
/lua/
Star
strela
/ˈstrɛla/
Mother
máe
/maj/
Father
pai
/paj/
I
ami
/ami/
You
bu
/bu/
Name
nomi
/ˈnomi/
Eye
ólhu
/ɔlʎu/
Hand
mãu
/mɑ̃u/
Heart
korasãu
/korɑsɑ̃u/
Love
amur
/amur/
Tree
árfuré
/arfure/
House
kasa
/kaza/
Dog
kan
/kɑ̃/
Cat
gatu
/ɡatu/
Eat
kumé
/kume/
Drink
bebe
/bebe/
One
un
/ũ/
Two
dus
/dus/
Hello
oi
/oj/
Thank you
obrigádu
/obriɡadu/
Good
bon
/bɔ̃/
Words compared
Compared with related Romance (creole) languages
| Meaning | Guinea-Bissau Kriol | Cape Verdean Creole | Portuguese (Angolan) | Portuguese (Brazil) | Portuguese (Mozambique) | Portuguese | Macanese Portuguese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ágwa /aɡwa/ | agu /aɡu/ | água /aɡwa/ | água /ˈaɡwɐ/ | água /ˈaɡwɐ/ | água /ˈaɡwɐ/ | água /aɣwɐ/ |
| Fire | fogu /fɔɡu/ | fogu /foɡu/ | fogo /foɡu/ | fogo /foɡu/ | fogo /ˈfoɡu/ | fogo /ˈfoɡu/ | fogo /foɣu/ |
| Sun | sól /sɔl/ | sol /sɔl/ | sol /sɔl/ | sol /sɔw/ | sol /sɔl/ | sol /sɔɫ/ | sol /sol/ |
| Moon | lúa /lua/ | lua /lua/ | lua /lua/ | lua /luɐ/ | lua /ˈluɐ/ | lua /luɐ/ | lua /luɐ/ |
| Star | strela /ˈstrɛla/ | strela /ˈstɾelɐ/ | estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/ | estrela /isˈtɾelɐ/ | estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/ | estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/ | estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/ |
| Mother | máe /maj/ | mãi /mɐ̃j/ | mãe /mɐ̃j/ | mãe /mãj/ | mãe /mɐ̃j/ | mãe /mɐ̃j/ | mãe /mɐ̃j̃/ |
| Father | pai /paj/ | pai /paj/ | pai /paj/ | pai /paj/ | pai /paj/ | pai /paj/ | pai /paj/ |
| I | ami /ami/ | mi /mi/ | eu /ew/ | eu /ew/ | eu /ew/ | eu /ew/ | eu /ew/ |
| You | bu /bu/ | bu /bu/ | tu /tu/ | você /voˈse/ | tu /tu/ | tu /tu/ | tu /tu/ |
| Name | nomi /ˈnomi/ | nómi /ˈnɔmi/ | nome /ˈnomɨ/ | nome /ˈnomi/ | nome /ˈnomɨ/ | nome /ˈnomɨ/ | nome /ˈnomɨ/ |
| Eye | ólhu /ɔlʎu/ | odju /odʒu/ | olho /oʎu/ | olho /oʎu/ | olho /ˈoʎu/ | olho /oʎu/ | olho /oʎu/ |
| Hand | mãu /mɑ̃u/ | mon /mɔ̃/ | mão /mɐ̃w/ | mão /mãw/ | mão /mɐ̃w/ | mão /mɐ̃w/ | mão /mɐ̃w̃/ |
| Heart | korasãu /korɑsɑ̃u/ | korason /korasɔ̃/ | coração /kuɾasɐ̃w/ | coração /koɾasãw/ | coração /kuɾɐˈsɐ̃w/ | coração /kuɾɐˈsɐ̃w/ | coração /kuɾɐsɐ̃w̃/ |
| Love | amur /amur/ | amor /amor/ | amor /amoɾ/ | amor /amoɾ/ | amor /ɐˈmoɾ/ | amor /ɐˈmoɾ/ | amor /ɐmoɾ/ |
| Tree | árfuré /arfure/ | arvi /arvi/ | árvore /aɾvoɾe/ | árvore /ˈaɾvoɾi/ | árvore /ˈaɾvuɾɨ/ | árvore /ˈaɾvuɾɨ/ | árvore /aɾvuɾɨ/ |
| House | kasa /kaza/ | kaza /kaza/ | casa /kaza/ | casa /kazɐ/ | casa /ˈkazɐ/ | casa /kazɐ/ | casa /kazɐ/ |
| Dog | kan /kɑ̃/ | katxor /katʃɔr/ | cão /kɐ̃w̃/ | cachorro /kaʃohu/ | cão /kɐ̃w/ | cão /kɐ̃w/ | cão /kɐ̃w̃/ |
| Cat | gatu /ɡatu/ | gatu /ɡatu/ | gato /ɡatu/ | gato /ɡatu/ | gato /ɡatu/ | gato /ɡatu/ | gato /ɡatu/ |
| Eat | kumé /kume/ | kume /kume/ | comer /kumeɾ/ | comer /komeɾ/ | comer /kuˈmeɾ/ | comer /kuˈmeɾ/ | comer /kumeɾ/ |
| Drink | bebe /bebe/ | bebe /bebe/ | beber /bebeɾ/ | beber /bebeɾ/ | beber /bɨˈbeɾ/ | beber /bɨˈbeɾ/ | beber /bɨβeɾ/ |
| One | un /ũ/ | un /un/ | um /ũ/ | um /ũ/ | um /ũ/ | um /ũ/ | um /ũ/ |
| Two | dus /dus/ | dôs /dos/ | dois /dojʃ/ | dois /dojs/ | dois /dojʃ/ | dois /dojʃ/ | dois /dojʃ/ |
| Hello | oi /oj/ | ola /ɔla/ | olá /ɔla/ | oi /oj/ | olá /ɔˈla/ | olá /ɔˈla/ | olá /ɔla/ |
| Thank you | obrigádu /obriɡadu/ | obrigadu /obriɡadu/ | obrigado /obɾiɡadu/ | obrigado /obɾiɡadu/ | obrigado /obɾiˈɡadu/ | obrigado /obɾiˈɡadu/ | obrigado /ɔβɾiɣadu/ |
| Good | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bom /bõ/ | bom /bõ/ | bom /bõ/ | bom /bõ/ | bom /bõ/ |
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