How to say colours in Bambara: 7 words checked against reference sources (Bambara of Mali, official spelling (tones not written)). Many languages of the region have few basic colour words and describe the others by comparison.
1
Colours
jɛmanwhite
finmanblack
bilenmanalso: blen.manred
nɛrɛmugumaalso: nɛrɛmugulama, nɛrɛmayellow
bulalamaalso: bulamablue
ɲugujilamaalso: binkɛnɛlamagreen
Lankiriman(colour, not glossed in the source)
Test yourself
1. What does “finman” mean?
2. What does “bilenman” mean?
3. What does “nɛrɛmuguma” mean?
4. What does “bulalama” mean?
Where do these words come from?
The words in this article come from: Peace Corps Mali Bambara courses, Bamadaba dictionary (Corpus Bambara de Référence). They are copied with their exact spelling; when two sources disagree, the variant is shown. Do you speak this language and spot a mistake? Write to us.
The words in this article come from: Peace Corps Mali Bambara courses, Bamadaba dictionary (Corpus Bambara de Référence). They are copied with their exact spelling; when two sources disagree, the variant is shown. Do you speak this language and spot a mistake? Write to us.