A collection of useful phrases in Bambara (Bamanankan), a Mande language spoken in Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
Key to abbreviations: sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person).
| Phrase | Bamanankan (Bambara) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Idanse I ni sɛ I bisimila (sg) Aw bisimila (pl) |
| Hello (General greeting) | I ni ce (sg) Aw ni ce (pl) |
| Hello (on phone) | |
| How are you? | I ka kεnε wa? (sg) Aw ka kεnε? (pl) Aw ka kεnε wa? (pl) |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | Kεnε Tɔɔrɔ te Ko tε Tana tε |
| Long time no see | |
| What's your name? | I tɔgɔ? (Whats your first name?) I jamu? (Whats your surname?) |
| My name is ... | Ne tɔgɔ ... Ne jamu ... |
| Where are you from? | I bɛ bɔ min? |
| I'm from ... | N bɛ bɔ ... |
| Pleased to meet you | |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) |
I ni sɔgɔma (sg) Aw ni sɔgɔma (pl) |
| Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting) |
I ni tile (sg) Aw ni tile (pl) |
| Good evening (Evening greeting) |
I ni wula (sg) Aw ni wula (pl) |
| Good night | I ni su (sg) Aw ni su (pl) Ka su hεεrε Ka dugu n'yumanjé |
| Goodbye (Parting phrases) |
K'an bεn (inf) N taara |
| Good luck! | |
| Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) |
|
| Have a nice day | Da no nkɔ yie mma wo! |
| Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
K'i ni hɛrɛ bɛn Ka su maya aw kono |
| Bon voyage / Have a good journey |
Ka taa ni ka segin nɔgɔya Ka sira diya (Have a good trip) Ka se n'i nyuman ye (May you arrive well) Ka segin n'i nyuman ye (May you return well) |
| Yes | Awɔ |
| No | Ayi |
| Maybe | A dɔ la |
| I don't know | N t'a don |
| Do you understand? | |
| I understand | |
| I don't understand | N m'a faamu N t'a faamu N t'a mɛn |
| Please speak more slowly | A fɔ dɔɔni dɔɔni |
| Please say that again | Segin a kan A fɔ tuguni Ɲɛ n ma i ka segin a kan |
| Please write it down | I bɛ se ka ɲɛ n ma k’a sɛbɛn n ye wa? |
| Do you speak English? | I bε angilekan men wa? |
| Do you speak Bambara? | I bε bamanankan men wa? |
| Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?') |
|
| Do you speak a language other than Bambara? |
|
| Speak to me in Bambara | |
| How do you say ... in Bambara? | Nin bɛ fɔ cogodi bamanankan na? |
| Excuse me | Hakεto! Aw ye hakεto! |
| How much is this? | Nin ye joli ye? |
| Sorry | A yafa n ma Hakɛto m'a famu |
| Please | Hakɛto |
| Thank you | I ni ce (sg) Aw ni ce (pl) I ni baraji (sg) Aw ni baraji (pl) |
| Reply to thank you | Basi tε (No problem) Nba |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | Ɲεgεn bε min? |
| This gentleman will pay for everything | |
| This lady will pay for everything | |
| Would you like to dance with me? | |
| Do you come here often? | |
| I miss you | I nyɛnafin bɛ n’na |
| I love you | M'bi fe |
| Get well soon | |
| Go away! | Fara n na sa! |
| Leave me alone! | N bila sa! N bila! N bolo bila! N to n bolo ma! |
| Help! | N deme! |
| Fire! | |
| Stop! | I jɔ! |
| Call the police! | |
| Christmas greetings | I ni san kura (sg) Aw ni san kura (pl) Noɛli hɛrɛ ani |
| New Year greetings | Hnit thit ku mingalar pa Kura hɛrɛ |
| Easter greetings | Paki seli hɛrɛ |
| Birthday greetings | Sanbε sanbε |
| Congratulations! | |
| One language is never enough | |
| My hovercraft is full of eels |
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about Bambara | Phrases | Numbers
Other collections of Bambara phrases
https://wikitravel.org/en/Bambara_phrasebook
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Bambara/Vocabulary
https://www.livelingua.com/peace-corps/Bambara/Bambara_Manual.pdf
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
