Acholi–English Dictionary

Look up Acholi words and get English translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Browse the common-word table below or type a Acholi word into the lookup tool.

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Browse common Acholi vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
an	pronoun	I	An atye kany kombedi. I am here now.
in	pronoun	you	In itye larem na. You are my friend.
en	pronoun	he	En tye i gang. He is at home.
en	pronoun	she	En min awa. She is my mother.
wa	pronoun	we	Wa tye ka cito gang. We are going home.
gi	pronoun	they	Gi tye i cukul. They are in school.
ango	pronoun	what	I mito ango kombedi? What do you want now?
kwene	adverb	where	Gang mamegi tye kwene? Where is your house?
karangene	adverb	when	I bino karangene? When will you come?
nga	pronoun	who	Nga tye i dog gang? Who is at the door?
pi ngo	adverb	why	I tye ki cwercwiny pi ngo? Why are you sad?
nining	adverb	how	I ngeyo nining? How do you know?
bedo	verb	to be	Gi bedo ki yomcwiny matek. They are very happy.
bedo ki	verb	to have	An abedo ki buk. I have a book.
timo	verb	to do	Wa timo tic. We do the work.
cito	verb	to go	Gi cito i cukul. They go to school.
bino	verb	to come	Tim ber ibin kany kombedi. Please come here now.
nen	verb	to see	An aneno dwe. I see the moon.
ngeyo	verb	to know	En ngeyo nying na. She knows my name.
pongo	verb	to think	An apongo pi gang. I think about home.
mito	verb	to want	Gi mito pi mapol. They want more water.
dwongo	verb	to need	Wa dwongo kony mamegi. We need your help.
timo	verb	to make	En timo ca ber. She makes good tea.
mako	verb	to take	Mak buk icit kwede gang. Take the book home.
miyo	verb	to give	Miya pi manok. Give me some water.
waco	verb	to say	En waco ada. He says the truth.
wac	verb	to tell	Waci nying mamegi. Tell me your name.
penyo	verb	to ask	An apenyo lapeny acel. I ask one question.
nongo	verb	to find	Wa onongo latin. We found the child.
ngiyo	verb	to look	Ngiyi polo. Look at the sky.
tiyo ki	verb	to use	Wa tiyo ki mesa man. We use this table.
tic	verb	to work	Gi tic ceng acel acel. They work every day.
cam	verb	to eat	Latin camo bele. The child eats rice.
mat	verb	to drink	An amat pi ngic. I drink cold water.
nino	verb	to sleep	Latino nino maber. The baby sleeps well.
wuot	verb	to walk	Wa wuot i cukul. We walk to school.
ringo	verb	to run	Labwony ringo oyot. The boy runs fast.
kwan	verb	to read	En kwan buk. She reads a book.
coyo	verb	to write	An acoyo nying na. I write my name.
loko	verb	to speak	Gi loko Acoli maber. They speak Acholi well.
winyo	verb	to listen	Winyi lapwonya. Listen to the teacher.
winyo	verb	to hear	An awinyo wer. I hear the music.
wilo	verb	to buy	Wa wilo cam manyen. We buy fresh food.
culo	verb	to sell	Gi culo rec kany. They sell fish here.
culo	verb	to pay	An aculo cente. I pay the money.
kony	verb	to help	Tim ber ikony latin. Please help the child.
mar	verb	to love	An amar familia na. I love my family.
bedo	verb	to live	Wa bedo i Gulu. We live in Gulu.
tho	verb	to die	Yat macon tho mot mot. Old trees die slowly.
kwan	verb	to learn	Lutino kwan i cukul. Children learn at school.
pwonyo	verb	to teach	Gi pwonyo lutino. They teach the children.
yab	verb	to open	Yab dog gang kombedi. Open the door now.
loro	verb	to close
dano	noun	person	Dano ma tye ka eni kica. That person is kind.
lacoo	noun	man	Lacoo tye ki tek. The man is strong.
dako	noun	woman	Dako tye ka tedo cam. The woman is cooking.
latin	noun	child	Latin tye ka nino. The child is sleeping.
labwony	noun	boy	Labwony tye ka ringo. The boy is running.
nyako	noun	girl	Nyako tye ka kwan. The girl is reading.
familia	noun	family	Familia na dit. My family is large.
min	noun	mother	Min awa tye kany. My mother is here.
won	noun	father	Won awa tic matek. My father works hard.
larem	noun	friend	Larem na bino i dyer. My friend came yesterday.
gang	noun	house	Gang manyen. The house is new.
gang	noun	home	Wa tye ka cito gang. We are going home.
cukul	noun	school	Cukul dit. The school is big.
piny	noun	country	Piny wa tye ki kwo muber. Our country is peaceful.
piny	noun	world	Piny tye ka lokke. The world is changing.
yo	noun	street	Yo tye ki lwak mapol. The street is busy.
ot	noun	room	Ot leng. The room is clean.
cawa	noun	time	Cawa cito oyot. Time goes quickly.
ceng	noun	day	Tin ceng lyeto. Today is a hot day.
dyewor	noun	night	Dyewor ngic. The night is cold.
odiko	noun	morning	An awuot odiko weng. I walk every morning.
otino	noun	evening	Wa mato ca otino man. We drink tea this evening.
wiki	noun	week	An atic wiki weng. I work every week.
dwe	noun	month	Dwe man tye ki tic mapol. This month is busy.
mwaka	noun	year	Mwaka man ber. This year is good.
tin	adverb	today	An atye ki yomcwiny tin. I am happy today.
kiny	adverb	tomorrow	Wa bino kiny. We will come tomorrow.
dyer	adverb	yesterday	En bino dyer odiko. She came yesterday morning.
kombedi	adverb	now	Bin kany kombedi tim ber. Come here now please.
ceng	noun	sun	Ceng lyeto. The sun is hot.
dwe	noun	moon	Dwe lengo dyewor man. The moon is bright tonight.
acer	noun	star	An aneno acer acel. I see one star.
polo	noun	sky	Polo tye rangi blue. The sky is blue.
piny	noun	earth	Piny en gang wa. The earth is our home.
mac	noun	fire	Mac lyeto. The fire is hot.
pi	noun	water	Pi leng. The water is clean.
kot	noun	rain	Kot dit. The rain is heavy.
yamo	noun	wind	Yamo tye ki tek. The wind is strong.
yat	noun	tree	Yat man bor. That tree is tall.
got	noun	mountain	Got malo. The mountain is high.
aala	noun	river	Aala tye ki pi mapol. The river has much water.
cam	noun	food	Cam dong otayari. The food is ready.
mukaati	noun	bread	An acamo mukaati tin. I ate bread today.
bele	noun	rice	Bele lyeto. The rice is hot.
ringo	noun	meat	Wa tye ka tedo ringo. We are cooking meat.
rec	noun	fish	Rec manyen. The fish is fresh.
tol	noun	egg	Latin acamo tol. The child ate an egg.
cak	noun	milk	Latino mato cak. The baby drinks milk.
nyig yat	noun	fruit	Wa wilo nyig yat manyen. We buy fresh fruit.
ca	noun	tea	En mato ca ceng acel acel. She drinks tea daily.
kawa	noun	coffee	An amat kawa kombedi. I drink coffee now.
wiye	noun	head	Wiye na tye ka two tin. My head hurts today.
wang	noun	eye	Wanggi tye makwar. Her eye is red.
iti	noun	ear	Iti na winyo maber. My ear hears well.
dog	noun	mouth	Yab dogi matek. Open your mouth wide.
um	noun	nose	Um na ngic. My nose is cold.
cing	noun	hand	Lwok cingi kombedi. Wash your hands now.
tye	noun	foot	Tye na two matek. My foot hurts badly.
cwiny	noun	heart	Cwinygi opore. Her heart is calm.
nying	noun	name	Nying na Ocen. My name is Ocen.
buk	noun	book	Buk man manyen. This book is new.
lok	noun	word	Lok man pe yot. That word is difficult.
leb	noun	language	Acoli leb acel. Acholi is a language.
cente	noun	money	An pe abedo ki cente. I have no money.
tic	noun	work	Tic man pe yot. This work is hard.
mar	noun	love	Mar coko dano kacel. Love brings people together.
wer	noun	music	Wer ber ahinya. The music is beautiful.
lok	noun	story	Lokgi ada. Her story is true.
yo	noun	way	Yo man yot. This way is easy.
gin	noun	thing	Gin ma eni en mara. That thing is mine.
kwo	noun	life	Kwo pire tek ahinya. Life is very important.
dog gang	noun	door	Dog gang oyabe. The door is open.
mesa	noun	table	Mesa leng. The table is clean.
kom	noun	chair	Kom oballe. The chair is broken.
motoka	noun	car	Motoka manyen. The car is new.
ber	adjective	good	Cam man ber. This food is good.
rac	adjective	bad	Pi man ngwec rac. The water smells bad.
dit	adjective	big	Wa bedo ki gang madit. We have a big house.
matidi	adjective	small	Latin matidi. The child is small.
manyen	adjective	new	An awilo buk manyen. I bought a new book.
macon	adjective	old	Gang man macon. That house is old.
bor	adjective	long	Yo bor. The road is long.
kitidi	adjective	short
malo	adjective	high	Got malo. The mountain is high.
piny	adjective	low	Mesa tye piny. The table is low.
lyeto	adjective	hot	Ca lyeto. The tea is hot.
ngic	adjective	cold	Pi ngic. The water is cold.
ki yomcwiny	adjective	happy	Lutino tye ki yomcwiny. The children are happy.
ki cwercwiny	adjective	sad	En tye ki cwercwiny tin. She feels sad today.
ber	adjective	beautiful	Nyako ber. The girl is beautiful.
yot	adjective	easy	Tic man yot. This work is easy.
oyot	adjective	fast	Motoka cito oyot. The car is fast.
mot mot	adjective	slow	Lacoo macon wuot mot mot. The old man walks slow.
atir	adjective	right	Damo mamegi atir. Your answer is right.
pe atir	adjective	wrong	Damo man pe atir. That answer is wrong.
pire tek	adjective	important	Pi pire tek pi kwo. Water is important for life.
ada	adjective	true	Lok man ada. This story is true.
opye	adjective	full
ono	adjective	empty
matidi	adjective	young	Min matidi. The mother is young.
ki tek	adjective	strong	Lacoo man tye ki tek. That man is strong.
pe ki tek	adjective	weak	Latin pe tye ki tek. The child is weak.
makwar	adjective	red
marac	adjective	black	Dyang marac. The cow is black.
maleng	adjective	white
ee	interjection	yes	Ee, an angeyo en. Yes, I know him.
pe	interjection	no	Pe, an pe angeyo. No, I do not know.
pe	adverb	not	An pe atayari. I am not ready.
ki	conjunction	and	Min ki won tye kany. Mother and father are here.
onyo	conjunction	or	Ca onyo kawa ber. Tea or coffee is fine.
ento	conjunction	but	An abino, ento en ocito. I came, but she left.
ka	conjunction	if	Ka ibino, wa cam. If you come, we eat.
pien	conjunction	because	An abedo pien kot ocobo. I stayed because it rained.
ki	preposition	with	An abino ki larem na. I came with my friend.
ma pe ki	preposition	without	En ocito ma pe ki cente. He left without money.
pi	preposition	for	Miyo man pi in. This gift is for you.
ki i	preposition	from	En bino ki i gang. She came from home.
i	preposition	to	Wa ocito i cukul. We went to school.