This is a simple phrase and vocabulary list for Maninka/Malinké, the primary Manding variety spoken in Guinea in West Africa.

More recently, I have also inserted some videos that I created that complement the list.

Greetings

Greetings are essential in Malinké and Manding in general.

The day is divided into four different times, which are covered below.

A minimal greeting sequence goes something like this:

1. Openings
2. Question
3. Response

In practice, the morning has questions that are distinct from the other times of day. This is reflected below.

Openings

I (ni) sɔɔma

Good morning

I ni tele

Good day

I ni wura

Good afternoon/evening

I ni su

Good night [as in, “hello” at night]

I ni ke / I ni wale

Hello [at any time]

I ni se / I ni sɛnɛ

Welcome

Nba

male greeting interjection

Nse

female greeting interjection

Questions - morning

Tana ma si?

Did an ill not pass the night?

Hɛɛrɛ sira?

Did you sleep in peace?

I kɛndɛ sira?

Did you sleep healthily?

I sen naani sira?

Did you sleep with four legs?

Questions - day & night

Tana ma tele?

Is/was there an ill in the day?

Hɛɛrɛ telenna?

Has the day passed in peace?

Questions - general

Tana tɛ?

There’s no ill?

Tana tɛ ___

Is there no ill ___

… yen?

there?

… yan?

… here?

… Kankan?

… in Kankan?

… lu ma?

… in the courtyard?

… i bada?

at your place?

… denbaya la?

upon your family?

Responses - general

Tana si tɛ

There’s no ill

Ala-tando

Praise be to God (there is no ill)

Alhamdulillah (< Ar.)

Praise be to God (there is no ill)

Questions - people

___ ye yen?

___ is there?

I na …

Your mom …

I fa …

Your dad …

I la mɔɔ …

Your people …

Responses - people

À ye yan/yen.

He/she is here/there.

À ko ka i fo!

He/she says to greet you!

Ko n ye i fo!

He/she said that I should greet you!

Questions - health

___ ka kɛndɛ?

___ is healthy?

N …

I …

I …

You …

À …

He/she …

Responses - health

___ ka kɛndɛ

___ is healthy

___ man kɛndɛ

___ is not healthy

Origin

This list is an adaptation of one part of the following unpublished Peace Corps manual that was written some time in the early 2000s:

Sharghi, Aaron, and Tony Gemignani. “I di an samba, huh?”: A Maninka Study Guide for Guinea. Peace Corps - Guinea, n.d.

I interpreted their list into proper Maninka orthography, changed some of the translations, and omitted some of the original content.