Kinyarwanda overview

Free Kinyarwanda starter kit — 25 phrases you can print

A one-page Kinyarwanda cheat sheet for absolute beginners. Every phrase shows the Kinyarwanda spelling, what it means, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud today. Rwanda, with close relatives in Burundi and Ugandaaround 12 million.

First words

Greet someone and be polite

  • MurahoHello/moo-RA-ho/
  • MurakozeThank you/moo-ra-KO-zeh/
  • Murakaza nezaWelcome/moo-ra-KA-za NEH-za/
  • MurabehoGoodbye/moo-ra-BEH-ho/
  • YegoYes/YEH-go/
  • OyaNo/O-ya/
  • NyabunekaPlease/nya-boo-NEH-ka/
  • MbabariraSorry/m-ba-ba-REE-ra/

Free starter kit

Get all 25 Kinyarwanda phrases

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Is Kinyarwanda hard to learn?

  • Tone and vowel length both change meaning.
  • Words get long: prefixes and suffixes stack onto one verb stem.
  • Very close to Kirundi, spoken in Burundi.