The Creole of Guinea-Bissau (kriol, kiriol, kriolu and Portuguis varying with dialects) is the main language of Guinea-Bissau. It is based on Portuguese and local African languages. The grammar is very simple, but the lack of an official orthography makes written Creole complicated, as it is spelled differently in every text.
Pronouns
[edit]Personal pronouns when subject of a verb
- I
- N' / ngh
- You (sing)
- Bu
- He, she, it
- I
- We
- Nô
- You (pl)
- Bô
- They
- É
Personal pronouns used for emphasis.
- I
- Ami
- You (sing.)
- Abô
- He, she, it
- El
- We
- Anós
- You (pl.)
- Abós
- They
- Elis
Pronunciation guide
[edit]Vowels
[edit]Consonants
[edit]Common diphthongs
[edit]Phrase list
[edit]Basics
[edit]- Hello.
- Bon' dia, bo tarde, bo noite. ( )
- Hello. (informal)
- Kuma? ( )
- How are you?
- Kuma k bu sta? ( ?)
- How are you?
- I kuma? ( ?)
- Fine, thank you.
- N'sta bom, obrigado. ( )
- What is your name?
- Kuma ki bu nome? ( ?)
- My name is ______ .
- Nha nome i ______ . ( _____ .)
- Nice to meet you.
- nkontenti nkunsiu
- Please.
- . tem pacença
- Thank you.
- Obrigado. ( )
- You're welcome.
- De nada. ( )
- Yes.
- Sim. ( )
- No.
- Não. ( )
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- . Colisença
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- Diskulpa / purdan' ( )
- I'm sorry.
- Diskulpa / purdan' ( )
- Goodbye
- Tchau. ( )
- Goodbye (informal)
- N'na bai. ( )
- I can't speak creole [well].
- N'ka obi kriol [dritu]. ( [ ])
- Do you speak English?
- Bu ta papia inglis? ( ?)
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- ké i tem kin' k ta papia inglis li? ( ?)
- Help!
- Djudan'! ( !)
- Look out!
- kuidadu! ( !)
- Good morning.
- Bon' dia. ( )
- How have you slept?
- Kuma k bu mansi?
- I slept well, thank you.
- N'mansi dritu / bem, obrigado.
- Good afternoon.
- Bo tarde. ( )
- Good night.
- Bo noite. ( )
- Good night (to sleep)
- Bo noite/Bon' sonu. ( )
- I don't understand.
- N'ka ntindi. ( )
- Where is the toilet?
- Nunde ki kasa de banho? ( ?)
Problems
[edit]Numbers
[edit]un' - 1
dus - 2
tris - 3
kuatru- 4
cinku - 5
seis - 6
seti - 7
oitu - 8
novi - 9
des - 10
Time
[edit]Clock time
[edit]Duration
[edit]Days
[edit]- today
- aós
- yesterday
- aonti
- tomorrow
- amanha
- this week
- es semana
- last week
- semana passada
- next week
- próssima semana
- Sunday
- dumingu
- Monday
- segunda-fera
- Tuesday
- terça-fera
- Wednesday
- kuarta-fera
- Thursday
- kinta-fera
- Friday
- sesta-fera
- Saturday
- sabadu
Months
[edit]janeiru fevreiru marsu abril maio junhu julhu agustu sitembru otubru novembru dizembru
january february march april may june july august september october november december
Writing time and date
[edit]Colors
[edit]Burmedju - red
Azul - blue
Pretu - black
Branku - white
Amarelu - yellow
Cor di cinza - gray
cor di rosa - pink
Verdi - green
Transportation
[edit]Bus and train
[edit]Directions
[edit]Nunde ku bu na bai? - Where are you going?
N na bai... - I'm going to...
Dianti - in front/ straight
Skerda - left
Dreita - right
Tras - back
La - there
Li - here
Taxi
[edit]Lodging
[edit]Money
[edit]Dinheru - Money
Ami n'ka tene dineru. - I don't have any money
Cen' fran" - 100 CFA
Duzentus - 200 CFA
Trizentus - 300 CFA
Kuatrusentus - 400 CFA
Kinhentus - 500 CFA
Seisentus - 600 CFA
Setecentus - 700 CFA
Oitucentus - 800 CFA
Novcentus - 900 CFA
Mil fran' - 1000 CFA
Dus mil - 2000 CFA
Pagan' - Pay me.
Patin' dinheru - Give me money.
N'misti troku - I want change.
Eating
[edit]Sabi - delicious
Matabitchu - Breakfast
Djanta - Lunch
Sia - Supper
Bin' nó kume. - Come eat with us.
Pon' - Bread
Arus - Rice
Bianda - Meal with rice
Frutas - Fruit
Verduras/Legumes - Vegetables
Kadju - Cashew
Batata - Potato
Mankara - Peanut
Adju - Garlic
Sabola - Onion
Senora - Carrot
Pis - Fish
Galinia - Chicken
Bu na kussinha - You are cooking.
Bars
[edit]Shopping
[edit]Where is the market? Nunde ki fera?
How much does it cost? I kantu?
Do you have ( )? Bu tene ( )?
I want two kilos. N'misti dus kilus.
I only have 500 CFA. N'tene son Kinhentus fran'/ son kinhentus fran' k n'tene.
I want to go to the store. N misti bai taberna.
How much does it cost to go to ( )? I kantu k i kusta pa bai ( )?