Unit 3 Vocab

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Unit 3

Numbers 1-10

kelen
one
fila [fla]
two
saba
three
naani
four
loolu
five
wɔɔrɔ
six
wɔrɔnwila
seven
seyi
eight
kɔnɔndɔ
nine
tan
ten
jeli
how many; how much
adamaden
human being
karo
month; moon

Plurals

-lu/nu
plural marker
ninnu [nunu]
these
sɛnɛkɛla
farmer
sannina / sannikɛla
buyer; customer; client
siyaman
many; a lot
bɛɛ
all
talu
possessive pronoun in plural form (e.g., 'ours; yours')
juman/ɲiman/ɲuman
which (one)
jumannu / ɲimannu / ɲumannu
which (ones)
faama
authority (figure); official; officer; person of means
faantan
poor person
bana
sickness; illness
sasa
(common) cold
sumaya
malaria; fever; flu (lit. 'slowness')
borifen
vehicle; "set of wheels" [includes bikes, etc]
Ɛ!
Eek! / Jeez! / Whoa!

Verbs in the Present

k'à fɔ
to say something; to speak a language
k'à mɛn
to hear something; to understand a language
k'à faamun
to understand something
ka bɔ
to exit; come out of; be from
ka taa/taga
to go/leave [Maninka/Bambara]
ka wa
to go/leave [Maninka]
ka kuma
to talk; speak
angilɛkan/anglais-kan
English
maninkakan
Maninka (language)
tubabukan
French (language)
ka na
to come
k'à san
to buy something
ka
infinitive marker
Kodiwari
Côte d'Ivoire
Ameriki
America; USA
Faransi
France
ka ban
to end
kaban
already
ka se

to arrive; to be able to

Ala y'à ɲuman se!
May God make him/her arrive properly!
sunɔɔ
sleep; sleepiness
k'à yida
to show something
Ala ye sinin yida an na!
May God show us tomorrow!
ka baara kɛ
to work (lit. 'to do work') [Bambara]
ka baara
to work [Maninka]
k'à kɛ
to do/make something
ka sɛnɛ kɛ
to farm (lit. 'to do farming')
k'à sɛnɛ
to farm something
ka nkɔni fɔ
to play the ngoni
ka dɔnkili la
to sing (lit. 'to lay down a song')
k'à damun/domu
to eat something
ka damunni/domuni kɛ
to eat (lit. 'to do food')
k'à min
to drink something
k'à fo
to greet/thank someone
ka foli kɛ
to greet/thank (lit. 'to do greeting')
konin
in any case; but
ka bon lɔ
to erect/build a house
ka nisi gbɛn
to herd cows (lit. 'to chase cow')
ka jese la
to weave (lit. 'to create thread')
ka jɛɛ mina/mida
to fish (lit. 'to grab fish')
ka wili/wuli
to rise; get up
ka don
to enter
k'à feere
to sell something
k'à karan
to read/study something
karan
reading; studies
k'à sɛbɛ
to write something
ka sii
to sit

Question Words

ba
yes/no question marker [Maninka]
wa
yes/no question marker [Bambara]
jɔn
who
min
where
mun
what
di
how
ɲa
manner
ɲa di
how (lit. "manner how")
juman/ɲiman/ɲuman
which
jumannu/ɲimannu/ɲumannu
which [plural]
jeli
how many/much
tuma juman/ɲiman
when (lit. 'which time')
munna / mun dɔ
why (lit. 'on what' / 'in what')
mun kosɔn
why; because of what
mun kanma/kama
why; what for
bawo
because
sisɛn-sisɛn / ten-ten
right now
lon
day
lɔɔkun
week/market cycle
karo
month
san
year
ɲinan
this year
saron
last year
malo
rice [typically Maninka]
kini
(cooked) rice [typically Bambara]
k'à ta
to take something
ɲamakuji
ginger juice
konko
the bush; the wilderness
fodo
(farming) field
sanmakulun
airplane
lonlan
foreigner; guest
jatii/jetii
host

Adjectives

kuda
new
fitinin
little
ɲuman [< ɲiman]
good
duman [< diman]
pleasing; tasty; pleasant
-nɛn/nin
little; wee
-dennɛn
little; wee [lit. 'little kid']
-ba
big; large
belebele
big; large
belebeleba
big; large [lit. 'big-big']
misɛn(man)
thin; skinny; small
jan (janmanjan)
long; tall; far
sudun(man)
short; near
juu(man)
bad; mean; evil
gboman
displeasing; gross; unpleasant
dɔɔman
small; few; young
siyaman
abundant; numerous; a lot
fisaman
better
kɛndɛ(man)
healthy; fresh
nɔɔman
easy
gbɛlɛn(man)
difficult
fin(man)
black
wulen(man)
red; brown [Maninka/Jula]
bilen(man)
red; brown [Bambara]
gbɛ(man)
white; clean; pure [Maninka]
jɛ(man)
white; clean; pure [Bambara]
koron
worthless

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