Everything below is what a beginner actually needs first: greetings, polite words, numbers, family, food, time and getting around. Each entry shows the Bambara spelling, the English meaning, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud without guessing.
Ne tɔgɔ ye Amara yeMy name is Amara/neh TAW-gaw yeh a-MA-ra yeh/
I tɔgɔ ye jɔn ye?What is your name?/ee TAW-gaw yeh jawn YEH/
I ka kɛnɛ wa?How are you?/ee ka KEH-neh wa/
Toro tɛI am fine/TO-ro teh/
JiWater/JEE/
DumuniFood/doo-MOO-nee/
TerikɛFriend/teh-ree-KEH/
SoHouse/SOH/
Counting
Numbers one to five and shopping at the market
KelenOne/KEH-len/
FilaTwo/FEE-la/
SabaThree/SA-ba/
NaaniFour/NAA-nee/
DuuruFive/DOO-roo/
A boli joli?How much is it?/a BO-lee JO-lee/
SuguMarket/SOO-goo/
JiWater/JEE/
WariMoney/WA-ree/
Questions people ask about Bambara
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.
Where is Bambara spoken?
Mali, with speakers in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea — around 15 million including second-language speakers. Writing system: Latin alphabet with ɛ, ɔ and ɲ (N'Ko script also used).
Can I learn Bambara for free?
Yes. This phrasebook is free to read, and SemaSoma gives you the first three units of the course plus 15 translations a day before anything is paid.