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

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? ( ?)

Numbers
un' - 1

dus - 2

tris - 3

kuatru- 4

cinku - 5

seis - 6 seti - 7

oitu - 8

novi - 9

des - 10

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

Colors
Burmedju - red

Azul - blue

Pretu - black

Branku - white

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.

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 ?