Bambara overview

Free Bambara starter kit — 25 phrases you can print

A one-page Bambara cheat sheet for absolute beginners. Every phrase shows the Bambara spelling, what it means, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud today. Mali, with speakers in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Guineaaround 15 million including second-language speakers.

First words

Greet someone and be polite

  • I ni ceHello/EE nee CHEH/
  • BarikaThank you/BA-ree-kah/
  • Aw bisimilaWelcome/aw bee-see-MEE-la/
  • K'an bɛnGoodbye/kahn BEHN/
  • AwoYes/AH-wo/
  • AyiNo/AH-yee/
  • N'i sɔnnaPlease/n ee SAWN-na/
  • HakɛtoSorry/ha-KEH-to/

Free starter kit

Get all 25 Bambara phrases

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Is Bambara hard to learn?

  • Two tones, high and low, carried on every syllable.
  • Word order is subject–object–verb.
  • Greetings are long and expected — cutting them short reads as rude.