Learn Sango

Where it's spoken

Central African Republic

Speakers

around 5 million including second-language speakers

Writing system

Latin alphabet

Sango is a national language that almost everyone in the Central African Republic shares, making it very high-leverage for a small footprint.

What makes Sango different

• Grammar is light, which is why it spread as a common language.
• Tone is written with accents in careful spelling.
• Borrows extensively from French.

Your first Sango phrases

Each phrase is written the way it's spelled, then respelled for English speakers with the stressed syllable in capitals.

• Bara alaHello/BA-ra AH-la/
• Merci mingiThank you/MER-see MEEN-gee/
• TondaaPlease/ton-DAH/
• Ala ngbâ nzoniGoodbye/AH-la ng-BAH n-ZO-nee/
• EhYes/EH/
• PëpeNo/PEH-peh/
• NzoniGood/n-ZO-nee/
• PardonSorry/par-DON/

Want the full list? Read the free Sango phrasebook with pronunciation, grab the free printable Sango starter kit, or compare SemaSoma with other African language apps.