Guinea-Bissau Creole phrasebook
For other Creole languages, see Creole.
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
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
Vowels
Consonants
Common diphthongs
Phrase list
Basics
- 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
Numbers
un' - 1
dus - 2
tris - 3
kuatru- 4
cinku - 5
seis - 6
seti - 7
oitu - 8
novi - 9
des - 10
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
- 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
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
Colors
Burmedju - red
Azul - blue
Pretu - black
Branku - white
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
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
Matabitchu - Breakfast
Djanta - Lunch
Sia - Supper
Bin' nó kume. - Come eat with us.
Pon' - Bread
Arus - Rice
Bianda - Meal with rice
Frutas - Fruit
Verduras - Vegetables
Kadju - Cashew
Batata - Potato
Mankara - Peanut
Adju - Garlic
Sabola - Onion
Bu na kussinha - You are cooking.
Bars
Shopping
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 ( )?